- It all started in January when we first tried to go to Köln, but parking issues and trying to catch a train prevented us from getting very far, so we scrapped our plans all together and tried again two weeks later.
- Do you remember the time that Eric and I made it all the way to Würzberg, only to turn around because Isabelle had tripped a breaker and blew up our little carpet cleaning machine? Yyyyeah....we really miss that little carpet cleaning machine.
- At about that same time MWR cancelled a day trip to Innsbruck, Austria because not enough people had signed up.
- IVF took up so much of our time this spring that we had to shorten our trip to Paris by four days in order for Eric and I to be close to my doctors.
- IVF also prevented us from going to Salzburg at the end of May. Basically, IVF was just a giant asshole.
- Immediately after cancelling Salzburg for May I re-booked it for mid-June but had forgotten that I committed Isabelle to a dog-sitting job before we knew we had to re-book our trip, so I had to cancel that trip again.
- And then we had to cancel a big trip we had planned and paid for to Poland because of so many changes with Eric's work stuff, which ended up changing again and turned out that we didn't need to cancel in the first place. Thankfully, we were given a full refund so we weren't out any money. But unfortunately, our ideas for Christmas gifts totally suffered.... sorry family!
- We had to cancel plans for our anniversary in Pottenstein, Germany and will have to wait until next summer to reschedule that trip.
- Eric and I had reserved a romantic night at a resort-like hotel in Lichtenstein for the weekend before he had to leave for an unexpected mini-deployment, but then he had to leave a few days earlier than we thought and had to cancel that trip too!
- And for the last few months I have had to pass up all of the great day trips offered through MWR/RTT/USO to Switzerland, Holland, & Austria with a heavy heart because Eric is gone and those are places we want to see together.
- But the hardest, saddest, most pout-worthy trip we had to cancel this year was our fully paid for cruise to Greece. Plane tickets were fully paid for, cruise was fully paid for, hotel in Rome was fully paid for, and spending money was saved and set aside for two weeks on the ocean! But.... when the Army calls.... the Army calls.... fully paid for cruise or not.
Eric and I want to show Isabelle the world....we want to give her the world. We are hoping that our time here will inspire adventure into her spirit, and we truly believe that an adventurous spirit combined with her joyful nature will help her to tackle anything she might face as an adult! That's why all of these cancelled adventures are difficult to handle because it feels like we've wasted an entire year worth of experiences. Our time in Germany is winding down, we're on the downhill slide- living in Europe is a once in a lifetime opportunity- and feeling like we wasted an entire year is something I feel deserves a foot stomp and pouty face.
I know... I know... the Army life is the life he signed up for, and I'm not going to get any sympathy around here. But that doesn't mean that the frustration & disappointment we feel when life gets in the way goes out the window just because my husband is an Army soldier! We're allowed to be frustrated, and honestly, comments like that aren't fair. We know that things change and that the Army needs my husband at a moments notice. The Army is where Eric felt God was calling him to serve, we feel blessed to be in this lifestyle, but we are allowed to make plans and allowed to be very disappointed when those plans change.
Our family has lots of "plans" for the New Year, including re-booking our cruise, but by plans I actually mean hopes and I'm taking a "we'll see" attitude from now on for just about everything. And if it sounds like I'm being bratty because life got in the way a few times this year, I am being a giant brat right now... and it's annoying even to me. Us Schnells have lots to be thankful for! So don't worry, you know it wouldn't be like me to focus on the frustrating parts of life for too long, and I promise that I only did long enough to write this blog post. I am back to focusing on the good parts like always!
But I still give 2014 the official title of 'The Year of the Cancelled Trip,' bratty or not, because it's true. I'm hoping to give 2015 the title of 'We Drove Ourselves Crazy Making Up for 2014'....if I get my way.... check back next year and I'll let you know.
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