Vacation Hassles? Take a Picture!
Looking for some fiction to read this summer? Try a travel
brochure. Those beautiful glossy pamphlets promise you the time
of your life, with nonstop fun. To illustrate their promises,
they show pictures of perfect people with perfect bodies and
perfect teeth, frolicking and smiling. No one has sunburn, sore
feet or indigestion. The children always look squeaky clean, and
they never have tantrums. There are no mosquitoes, no flat
tires, no thunderstorms . . . and no inner brats!
Meanwhile, back on earth, your actual vacation may look
something like this:
1. You've been driving for several hours, when you notice that
the "check engine" light on your dashboard is illuminated. You
get off the highway at the next exit and find a garage that can
fix the car, but it won't be finished till the next day. And
it's going to cost a small fortune.
2. You're on a camping trip. It's been raining for 2 days
straight. The campground is one big mud puddle. And your matches
are wet.
3. You splurge for a resort hotel, but when you get there they
can't find your reservation, and the hotel is fully booked. You
produce your travel agent's confirmation, but the reservations
clerk merely says, "I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do."
4. Everything is crowded. You have to wait in line for food, for
transportation, even for the bathroom. Other people are loud,
pushy and rude.
You'll never see situations like these in a travel brochure. But
I'll bet you've experienced at least one of them on your own
trips. I know I have. And in retrospect I realize that my inner
brat made things seem a lot worse than they were. It blamed and
complained, making not only me miserable, but my family as well.
No vacation is perfect. Inevitably something will go wrong.
Aside from real tragedies (which, fortunately, are rare) most
vacation hassles are about inconvenience, bad weather and minor
mishaps -- all temporary, none life-changing.
Predicaments such as delayed flights, sold-out attractions,
small injuries and unexpected downpours can ruin your vacation
if you allow your inner brat to gripe and grumble over every
annoyance.
Instead, try this: Take a picture. Capture the mishaps. They may
turn out to be your most precious and amusing memories.
I recall a sweltering summer day many years ago, when we ran out
of gas on the highway because my husband was sure we had enough
to bypass one rest stop and get to the next. He was right -
almost. We made it just past the sign that said, "Fuel, Food: 2
miles." Instead of yelling at him with a thousand
I-told-you-sos, I wish I had taken a picture of him standing in
front of that sign, apologetically holding an empty gas can. It
would have been the perfect souvenir from our trip.
If you happen to encounter frustrations on your upcoming
vacation, get out your camera and take a picture. Looking
through the lens will give you a less emotional, more objective
view of the situation. Plus, you