Not as planned

Our family ski trip did not go as planned.

Our flight out to Utah last Tuesday was cancelled and we didn’t make it out until Thursday (on a much more expensive flight, I might add).

We got to see the kids take ski lessons on Friday, which was awesome. It was the start of a great, if abbreviated, trip.

Then the snow came.

In less than 72 hours, we accumulated some 30 inches of snow and nine inches of “rain.” The first 24 hours were fun, as we played in the snow with the kids.

Then we had to shovel the driveway, which took a couple of hours.

Then the power went out.

Then the house started getting cold. And the electric company kept pushing back its estimated time to get power back to us.

So we got a hotel room 40 minutes away. Just for the night, you know?

Then we stayed at the hotel again because of no power. 

Then we stayed at the hotel again because still no power.

Finally, we made it back to our house in the mountains where we are spending the final night of our trip. 

No adults skied. We spent three days in Provo, Utah finding ways to keep the kids entertained – a bookstore, a children’s museum, a sad little mall with a sad little “playground” (the kids loved the little $1 rides and photo booth though), lots of complimentary breakfasts.

Our trip was not as planned. But it was good. 

After a day of scrambling to figure out accommodations and how we’d manage five kids under the age of five, we all gave up on our expectations of a particular kind of trip. 

We were grateful to be together, enjoying each others’ company, and making memories, sometimes hilariously so, that will last a lifetime.

Our expectations were fulfilled only when they changed, and when we showed gratitude for what we had instead of what we didn’t have. If that isn’t a lesson worth taking into the new year, I don’t know what is.