What would you do?

I have a story that has been passed down to me. It is meant to show how most of us think about “what is going to happen” vs. what is reality in front of us. And yes, I am talking about aging, aging in place, aging with health vs. ill health and unpreparedness to make heavy decisions. Here’s the story.

A man and his wife were going on the greatest trip of all time. They had planned it for years. The wife had created a separate account and whenever they had funds left over or a small windfall, she would shuffle money over and let it grow. After 30 years, they were so excited to go on this trip. They planned, they organized, they made a few phone calls. Someone was going to watch the house, the pets and even pick up their paper every morning. They had it made!

The morning of the big trip, they got up, got dressed, checked their lists, checked again, had some breakfast and headed out to the airport where they would be whisked away into their dream vacation. An exotic destination with light balmy breezes, a secluded beach and ongoing impeccable service at their feet. Oh, it just was going to be so wonderful! They could smell the fresh breezes already. In fact, they were planning their first day doing nothing but enjoying each other and what beverages they would experience.

They called an Uber, and made sure there was confirmation. The driver confirmed a 10am pick up at their home and a non stop drive to the airport. Their plane left at about 3pm that day. The driver cancelled at the last minute. No worries, they asked for another driver. But the driver that responded didn’t have the large vehicle, but no matter, they could make everything fit. Thirty days of luggage, medications and what nots isn’t that big right?

Somehow, they managed to get into the Prius with all the luggage and enthusiasm in tact. Now they are leaving around 11:30am from home and they still have plenty of time before the flight! Did they have their passports? One last frantic check in the desk at home to make sure. Oh, the wife had them in her purse in the “secure” pocket. It was a safe place for them to be. Whew! another 15 minutes lost, oh well. They had confirmed seats in first class. This was going to happen! And away they go!

Traffic was ok. It wasn’t as smooth as they had thought it would be mid week. The closer it got to lunchtime, the traffic became heavier and heavier the closer they got to the airport. Their driver was a little unsure of the way to the airport and got off on the wrong exit ramp. Well, it was only one exit short, not that big of a deal. Except, there was road work. An extra 20 minutes on the surface streets and they were at the airport. It was 1:20pm. A little short on time, but they could make it. A little hustle never hurt anyone when it was a short sprint to paradise. A little help from the porter who could tell the husband was a little anxious and nervous. He was excited for them when he found out it was the “big” vacation of their life.

They got through the ticket lines, through the safety check and sat down half winded at the gate. They had 15 minutes before they boarded the flight. It was here! They have come all this way, all this time, all the saving, scrimping, borrowing and paying back the account. It was just the biggest and most wonderful trip anyone could imagine…and they were just steps from the door.

Husband and wife sat next to each other holding hands. Quietly smiling to themselves about their whole life waiting for this moment. Waiting to enjoy being together, exploring a new place, eating exotic foods, meeting a whole new culture. She sighed and looked at him quickly. His eyes were shut, and he looked absolutely content. Probably the first time in fifteen years.

The doors to the ramp opened and two attendants came out. They smiled at everyone waiting to get in line. As the attendants organized the desk for the onslaught of excited people, the phone at the desk rang. The attendant on the left picked up the phone, listened for about a minute or two. Her smile turned to a look of concern. She said, “yes sir, I understand sir”, and hung up the phone. She quickly turned to her partner and touched her hand, they walked into the ramp area and spoke for a few minutes. It looked like they came to an agreement and walked back up to the desk. The first attendant picked up the microphone. What they thought she would say is “welcome aboard to flight XXXX”. What she said was, ” Ladies and Gentlemen, it seems we have a slight problem with the weight of the plane. Usually, we offer our guests an opportunity to fly a different flight, but today, this is the only flight going to this destination. We won’t have another flight for 3 days due to heavy weather conditions. With that said, the pilot wishes me to let you know that if half the flight goes to this destination, we will have enough fuel to land safely. If the whole flight wishes to go, and we won’t stop you, we have a 70% chance to land safely. We wish to remind you that this flight is over water 80% of the flight. Please think this over and we will start boarding in about 15 minutes. Once the doors close, the decisions have been made. We will not come back to open the doors for either exiting or entering the plane. Thank you for flying with XXXXXXX airlines.”

The husband and wife looked at each other. After all this time, planning, organizing and making it work just right….

What did they do?

I look forward to comments. 🙂