BECAUSE I ASKED...

Asking is something that I was brought up NOT to do! In fact, if we asked, we were certain to be asking for trouble! 

But as I've gotten older, wiser and braver, I ASK. It's not always easy as many times it is perceived by others (even myself) as bold or selfish. "Who does she think she is?" kind of attitude.

But… because I asked, two years ago on a trip home from visiting my cousin in Kansas, "Do you need any volunteers to get off the plane?" (On Southwest Airlines, if you volunteer your seat you are compensated quite nicely.) The following spring I went on my free ticket with my two daughters to  Puerto Rico.

And because I asked again last year, I'm on my way to Tulum, Mexico with one of my daughters!  Ole' (Glad I had my babies… they're fun to play with at any age!)

But even better, at the airport yesterday, I just happened to ask, "Do you have any seats that have no one sitting next to them?" The sweet agent said, "Hum, let me move someone for you." Wow! I wasn't expecting that! Then she looked at me and asked, "Are you traveling alone?" "Yes!" I replied. "How would you feel about a first class seat?" "Super! I'd feel SUPER!" So, first class, first seat next to the window and I thought, "What a wonderful start to my little retreat/getaway!" And so I ordered a rum and coke in celebration and thought this was all possible simply because I had found the courage to ASK!

GOOD LUCK BAD LUCK… WHO KNOWS? Part 1

My priest/professor friend used to tell me a story of Good Luck, Bad Luck. It was of a farmer whose horse had run away. The town cried…"Oh what bad luck you have!" He simply replied… "Good Luck, Bad Luck… Who knows?"

That's the theme around this series of posts. Good Luck, Bad Luck… its all a matter of perspective.

I recently traveled back from a trip to the midwest and there were more people than seats on my flight home.

One of the common things for airlines to do today… well at least Southwest Airlines… is to overbook seats in assurance all seats are filled at take off.

I remember being very irritated with this practice when they first began to implement it. I remember taking my mother to the airport for a flight and as we stood in this really long line, it was clear they had more people than seats! "Oh,What Bad Luck!"

Since then, they seem to have perfected their technique and I have learned to use it to my advantage… "Oh What Good Luck!" Last year I volunteered my seat and had enough flight credit to take a trip to Puerto Rico with my daughters, where we met Evolve to Live's first official recipient, we were able to support, as he made necessary changes in his life so that he could support his family in Columbia.

So this time, when I found myself in So Cal, (San Diego), and it was clear there were more people than seats, I took a proactive approach and asked if they needed volunteers…."Yes! But there are no more seats to Tucson the rest of the weekend!" "Let me think about it!"

So I decided to turn what could have been perceived Bad Luck… into Good Luck! I used my own philosophy of Why Not? And said Yes to the opportunity that presented itself. "Oh… What Good Luck!"…… or was it?