That Cigarette Stained Toilet Seat

I remember the cigarette stained toilet seat in the bathroom of the cheap hotel and the 5 foot mounds of dirty snow outside.

I recall my nostrils freezing the second we stepped outside to get dinner at a greasy bar that ended up having delicious burgers and strong drinks.

I don’t think I will ever forget the kind Lyft driver who brought me to my appointment in the morning; he was as friendly as can be, offering me a tale of hope with his own story of a passport disaster averted on short notice.

I remember the feeling of elation as I secured my brand new passport with an expiration date long in the future.

Minneapolis in February, where it was -7 degrees, is NOT where I was meant to be.

I was meant to be at home in Connecticut, packing for a tropical vacation in Antigua where my family and I were headed in 2 short days.

Four days before we were supposed to depart from New York, I realized with horror that my passport was going to expire the day after we arrived in Antigua.

After the requisite gnashing of teeth and cursing and probably some tears, I called my sister. She helped me troubleshoot and saw options that I couldn’t even consider because I was too busy freaking out that the vacation was ruined.

Hence the quick flight for an overnight stay in a cheap hotel in Minneapolis. In February.

Did I mention that it was -7 degrees?

That overnight stay enabled me to secure an updated passport at the expediting center located there, with enough time to get back to New York for the flight to Antigua.

All of us face challenges that seem insurmountable from time to time. When we are down in it, whatever it might be, we have a hard time seeing the forest for the trees because we are too busy worrying about all the sap or running headlong into the tree trunks.

It is incredibly helpful to have someone on the outside looking in, showing you options you thought were out of the question. In this case my sister was that person, not so close to the problem, looking in with a fresh perspective of what was possible, able to consider options I didn’t think about.

If you are down in it, and you need someone who can help you see new possibilities, a coach is on the outside of the fray and looking in. A coach will see new options and give you the encouragement to make it happen like your tropical vacation depends on it.

Even if it involves an overnight stay in a hotel with a cigarette stained toilet seat, we’ll get it done.