Disappointment

 

Last Monday wasn’t my best day.

It started out fine.

I enjoyed sleeping in and then

Eating a nice leisurely breakfast.

But then I checked my e-mail:

 

Dear Ms. Deaton,

Thank you for your interest in volunteering for Antiques Roadshow.

We currently have all the volunteers we need,

So we will not need your assistance in Baltimore.

 

And that was it.

 

I had planned an entire Baltimore vacation under the assumption that I had been accepted as a volunteer for Antiques Roadshow.

 

I filled out the volunteer form.

I received a confirmation e-mail.

The e-mail listed what volunteers would need to do and the things with which they’d be provided, and

It said at the bottom that more information would come.

 

But here’s the thing:

Evidently, the e-mail confirmation wasn’t a confirmation of acceptance.

It was a confirmation of INTEREST.

They accepted applications on a first come, first serve basis.

And my application was apparently received after the 140-person cut off but before they closed the form.

 

I had planned to go to Fort McHenry—which is a bucket list teaching item—

To go to a fancy restaurant—

To go on a sunset sailboat ride—

To go to the zoo and aquarium—

And to stay in the safe part of downtown Baltimore.

 

When my Roadshow hopes were dashed, though,

So were my plans for the rest of the trip.

The friend going with me was only going because she knew how excited I was.

Without that excitement, she was worried about money…

I didn’t want to make the trip alone.

And so…one by one…I cancelled all my reservations.

 

And I was very sad.

 

I moped around the house all day.

I took a nap.

I mourned the dashed excitement and loss of plans.

I felt my feelings.

And then later in the week,

I planned a different trip with a different friend to a different location.

I will spend less time in the car

And more time with someone I don’t get to see often enough.

 

Oh God: When things don’t work out as planned—when we are left feeling disappointed and sad—help us to feel our feelings for a healthy time and then to work with you to create something good from the broken pieces. A failed vacation is a first world problem. I know that. I know that I am fortunate to have experienced the disappointment at all. Help me never to take that for granted. And God? Be with those who cannot travel away from home for whatever reason. Grant them joy and light and happiness in the everyday moments of life and bring to them the good news from a big, beautiful world. Amen.