Some of you might know, I was in Japan over the New Years.
It was such a heart cleansing trip back to my home country.
 |
washing my hands, and washing my heart. |
During the trip, I had such an amazing experience in just 3 hours,
and I learned a life.
It might become a bit long story, but please enjoy !!!
The reason I was able to go back to Japan in the New Years season (highest season),
is because I went back to Japan two times with my three children in a past 5 years.
I had accumulated enough mileage points, so I only had to pay for the fuel surcharge.
Otherwise, it is too expensive for me to go back there during the New Years time.
However, the mileage ticket is not very flexible.
I wanted to complete this trip in 10days, since my husband would be left behind with
our three children. But the shortest itinerary was for 16 days.
And the only schedule that I could reserve was
To Tokyo ; Dec 27,
Tokyo to nagasaki on Dec 28,
Nagasaki to Tokyo on Jan 6th,
Tokyo to Vancouver Jan 12th.
I thought the stay in Nagasaki is too long, so I kept the ticket on 6th,
but booked a separate ticket on January 4th with my down's syndrome sister,
so then I can spend more time in Tokyo.
However, while I was in Nagasaki, my sister got sick, so she had to
cancel her flight.
On 4th morning, I went to the airport by myself.
The real story start here !
I arrived the airport and did the automatic check-in. But the machine spitted out
a ticket said,
"Check-in has been closed."
In my mind,
"What does it mean by that? Did I arrive here too early?"
A customer service found me when I was standing around and thinking.
She said,
"I am afraid, madam, but this flight has taken off 20minutes ago."
"Wwww What? The departure time is 10:35am, isn't it?"
"Madam, I am afraid to say, but, the arrival time is 10:35am, and the departure time
is 9:05am."
Great. I missed the flight.
With the most silliest, dumbest reason,
by misunderstanding the arrival and departure time.
"Madam, would you like to be on a cancelation list?"「
.... Well, today is January 4th, one of the most busiest time in Japan. I don't think
there will be any cancelation, and look at this place packed full of people.
However, I put my name on the cancelation list, JUST IN CASE.
Meanwhile, I prayed and begged to someone out there,
"Please, please get me on the earliest flight today! Pleeeeeaaaaaase!"
But I missed one flight, and the second flight.... I thought it was impossible to be on the flight today,,,.
Then I noticed my mind started to think differently, or numb.
I started to think,
"Please get me on the best flight for me. There should be a reason that
I missed the flight, so please show me the good reason."
I sat back and I opened my macbook to check a email box.
There was an email from my cousin who works at Japan Air Line ( the airline that I book the flight with mileage point), and she said
"Hi Mari, if you don't use the mileage ticket for the flight on January 6th, the flight
between Tokyo-Vancouver will be automatically cancelled, so you should contact
the customer service asap."
"Automatic Cancelation? I don't know that!"
（Probably, I did not read the "terms and agreements" as usual.）
So I became creative, and asked the customer service if the mileage ticket on 6th
could be transferred to today's cancelation list.
However.
"Madam, I am afraid but you can not change, nor cancel this ticket because this
is booked with the mileage points. If you do not get on the reserved flight on 6th,
the flight between Tokyo and Vancouver will be cancelled.
I suggest you to use this flight, if you can. "
I felt a chill on my back.
Goose bumps everywhere.
In my mind,
"Thank goodness, I missed the flight this morning! Thank you for the guidance!"
If I got on the flight this morning (January 4th), I would not get on the 6th flight,
because I would be in the destination city already, and automatically
the flight between Tokyo and Vancouver would be cancelled.
Without knowing, I would go to the airport with the excitement of
going back to Vancouver and would find out that I lost the flight.
I would have to purchase the one way ticket between Tokyo and Vancouver,
that would cost me over $2000.
Phewwwwwww ~~~ .
Cheap trip to my home country would turn out to be super expensive trip.
My face turned bright all of the sudden, and told the customer service,
"OK! Thank you for letting me know! I would use the 6th ticket. Could you
please cancel my cancelation list? "
Customer service lady was confused.
"O, Oh, Are you sure?"
With $4 as a cancelation fee, and the entire amount of the ticket on 4th was refund.
As I finished the entire process of refund and cancelation, I heard the announcement
said,
"Cancelation list number 105, please come to the counter."
... That's my number. But I don't need it.
The story continues, still, so don't stop reading!
Meanwhile I was dealing with the refunding, I received a text message from
my older sister.
"Yuki isn't feeling so well, and the doctor decided to do some tests."
Yuki is my sister who has a down's syndrome. (Her flight was canceled because
she wasn't feeling well, that is why I was at the airport by myself.)
I said,
"Well, I missed the flight, so I am able to go back to Yuki's place."
When I arrived at Yuki's place, she was all nervous about the medical words like
"Gastroscopy" or "Local Anaesthesia"
so I told her,
"I will be with you tomorrow at the test, so there is no need to worry."
She looked a bit relieved as she understood that I would be with her at the test.
The next day, I went back to her and stayed with her during the test
by rubbing her feet and doing Reiki.
Everything went well, and they did not find anything wrong in her stomach,
so she went back to her home and had a lunch.
She kept saying to me,
"I am so glad you were able to be with me..."
"I really liked that you rubbed my feet all through the test, that felt good."
"Thank you for rubbing my feet..."
"I was a bit scared, but I was OK because you were there..."
I was so glad that I was able to be there with her.
Thank goodness, I missed the flight.
She was so relieved after the lunch, and kept telling me,
"Mari-chan,,, so silly you,,,, missed the flight."
"What time is the flight tomorrow?"
"Did you check the time and make sure?"
"Be at the airport early, OK?"
She was trying to make sure that I would not miss the flight again.
Her mental age might be younger than me, but she is my big sister. She does not want
to see a little sister making a silly mistake and being hurt.
The 3 hours at the airport, and 2 days after I missed the flight, I learned
the life lesson.
When I found out that I missed the flight, I thought,
"Big mistake! How dumb I am! I messed up the trip plan!"
But there was a big reason that I missed the flight.
First of all, people just don't miss the flight because of their misunderstanding of the arrival and departure time. But it happened to me, miraculously.
And it happened at the busiest time of the year, so then I was given some time
to think while waiting for the airplane.
Because I had a time to think, I checked my email.
Because I had a time to check my email, I found out that I might be going to lose
my ticket to Vancouver.
I was able to find out that it was a perfect thing to miss the flight.
I was given an important role to support my ill sister during her stressful 2 days.
I couldn't have never imagined all the dots would be connected
at the time when I just found out that I missed the flight.
But when everything has done, I can see the dots are connected.
I think, if applies to the life, just in a bigger scale.
There is always reasons when there is the moment I think
"I made a big mistake!", "This is the end!"
I don't have to know the reason right away. Do my best, but not struggle, and
just leave it up to the Universe. Then things will go however it supposed to go.
 |
Relax, Relax. |
If I panic and think,
"I got do to something! I should do this and that and everything!"
and stress myself out to do unnecessary thing, things might not go how its
supposed to go.
Anyways, I think "the life lesson" was in that 3 hour in the airport.
For sure, my mom and dad from the other side were a bit panicky
and they made the dots for their girl's "follow the dots" game.
That's all for today...
No comments:
Post a Comment