Travel Planning: Advice from My 8 Year Old Daughter.
Though I love to travel and enjoy the adventure, I must admit that I am not fond of the challenges that can pop up when making the arrangements. It was my 8-year-old daughter, Allie, who had the answer that I needed to solve my dilemma. I was preparing for my pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago. I would be walking over 500 miles beginning in the Pyrenees of France and continuing through Spain; but first things first: I had to book my trip.
It was one of those days where the different legs of travel that I needed to coordinate would not fit together. I had spent several hours trying different options and as I let out a sigh of frustration, my daughter Allie walked in and asked, “Mom, what’s wrong?” I shared that I was frustrated because I could not complete my travel plans for my trip on the Camino. Allie looked at me and said, “Mom, try flying to Lourdes, you know, where the young girl lived who saw Mother Mary.” I told Allie that I didn’t think I could fly there in my timeframe.
Although Lourdes was a place I had always longed to visit someday, I had not considered it for this trip. Jumping up and down with a big smile on her face, Allie said, “Mom just try and see what happens.” I hesitated a moment and then I couldn’t resist, “ Ok, why not.”
I checked the travel requirements to Lourdes and my whole trip came together easily, thanks to my daughter’s advice. What a surprise blessing for my trip. (Lourdes, France became a famous pilgrimage site when a young servant girl, Bernadette Soubirous, claimed to see a radiant vision of a women in white 18 different times.)
I am so grateful for the people who pop into my life with the answers that I need. What about you? Have you had someone show up out of the blue with just the answer you where looking for in that moment?
Maybe you could try listening to the opinions of others with an open heart and mind, because you never know when the solution to a problem might present itself unexpectedly. As my daughter encouraged me to “just try,” I am encouraging you to “just try and see what happens.”
Have you every received the help you where looking for from the advice that your child has offered you from out of the blue?