Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Vindication

Last night when Torsten and I left for the airport to pick up his parents, it was with no small amount of trepidation. Both of us had visions of his parents getting off the plane and immediately launching into a litany of complaints about the trip, involving turbulence, crying children, rude customs agents, and all the rest--and of course telling us that if we had just left them on their (nonexistent) original flight, none of it would have happened.

Of course, we should have known better. Torsten's parents never, ever react the way we think they will, about anything. Truly.

Imagine our shock when they came off the plane falling all over themselves to THANK US for rebooking their trip. We weren't quite as stunned as we were when they got angry about the rebooking in the first place, but still. Definitely quite surprised.

Turns out that they went to the airport yesterday morning at 9, as originally planned, and discovered that almost all of the nearly 200 passengers who had been booked on their canceled flight were at the airport trying desperately to get a flight, ANY flight, out of there. Most of them didn't have any rebooking whatsoever, not even a crappy one later in the week like the in-laws had. There was no communication from Delta to anyone on their plans, and most people were facing days or more stuck in Frankfurt with no way to get to their destination.

And from all this, it was VERY CLEAR that there was no 9 a.m. flight that was going to take them all to Detroit. And apparently at this point Torsten's parents decided to believe us about the horrifying itinerary that they'd been given, and start feeling GLAD that we had spent the time to get them on this much better, and earlier, itinerary.

And not only that, but they actually SAID SOMETHING about how grateful they were when they arrived. Of course, they did not acknowledge or apologize for their initial reaction, but truly, that would have been awkward more than anything else and totally unnecessary.

Seriously, I'm not sure I've ever been so glad to be thanked for something. It was just so unexpected! And I was SO GLAD that they had received external proof that we aren't incompetent, clueless, interfering children. Seriously, I just feel incredibly vindicated.

Now the next question is, will this little lesson of theirs that sometimes we DO know what we're doing carry over into other areas of our lives? Or would that just be expecting too much?

20 comments:

  1. Don't push it missy! You interfering good for nothing child you!!

    (Isn't victory sweet?)

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  2. Oh the saga! I'm gonna go with keep your expectations low and maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised?

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  3. STUPID BLOGGER JUST ATE MY COMMENT.

    What I basically said is I think it's amazing Torsten's parents acknowledge their appreciation for your efforts. When it comes to them, celebrate the little things as they come and don't worry about what's next.

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  4. Don't push your luck, sweetheart. I hope this means the rest of your trip will be wonderful.

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  5. Oh I am sooo glad that they didn't come off the plane in an awful mood. Now enjoy the rest of their trip and put the "incident" behind you! :-)

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  6. Oh, I'm so glad! It would have been a hard trip with that weighing everybody down.

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  7. Well, that is just about the best way to start off this visit... can't think of a better reaction when you went to pick them up. Hurray! You know, travel is stressful, and some people are simply not able to deal with it... Anyway... hope the rest of their visit goes smoothly and that you can enjoy each other!

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  8. HAHAHAHAAAA OH YES SWEET VINDICATION! that's awesome. and amazing. and surprising. i guess going to the airport was the absolute best thing they could have done - nothing else would have convinced them you guys were helpful. ha. well, i'm glad they did!

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  9. Hooray for vindication!

    I'm relieved they expressed gratitude and saw the error in their ways. That means you can hopefully have a good trip with them. Fingers crossed!

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  10. That's awesome. LOVE IT. Being right and doing well in front of the in-laws? SO PRICELESS. I hope it carries over for you. :)

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  11. My inlaws never remember a thing. Of course, this might work to my advantage some times. ;)

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  12. I would have a hard time not gloating just a teeeensy little bit.

    You SAVED them. And they noticed. You deserve a treat.

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  13. Baby steps...

    This is so great. I hope this is a sign of good things to come while they're here!

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  14. YAY!!!! I tell ya, it's hard to let kids grown up and let them be adults. I know how that is.

    I'm glad they made it ok and that they acknowledged how wonderful you guys were to help them!

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  15. Well, I'm glad that had a positive ending.. hehe. In fact, I'm glad that they actually went to the airport anyway (doubters! ;)) and saw for themselves.. but all's well that ends well. Cheesy, but true.

    Hope you have a good visit - how long are they with you?

    And sad, you'll have to tell Montana to put her fangs away!

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  16. Mark this day on your calendar. Seriously. There will come a day when you will wonder if they ever did/said/thought anything nice and appreciative and you will want to remember this moment. TRUST ME.

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  17. Clearly you more gracious than me, because I would have felt a small apology would be warranted, awkward or not.

    Glad it worked out for everyone!

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  18. OMG!! This is like a MOVIE or something! I thought there as NO WAY they would EVER believe what had happened, so I am GLAD they went to the airport at 9:00 because that was the ONLY WAY!

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