When Plans Change:

Sometimes, life on the road doesn’t go exactly as planned. Flights get delayed, or worse, completely canceled—just like when I was in Luxembourg. Because of bad weather, my flight was canceled, and I suddenly had to find an alternative way forward.

Instead of letting it ruin my journey, I decided to embrace the detour. I ended up dropping my plans for Nice, France, and took a 25-hour bus ride all the way to Rome, Italy, instead.

Many of my friends later looked at me in shock and asked: ‘You took a bus for 25 hours?!’ Yes, I did. Not because I couldn’t afford a new flight ticket, but because I needed to slow down, be by myself, sleep, and just exist in the moment.

During those 25 hours, I fell into conversation with three wonderful people from Germany. We tried our best to communicate—one spoke English with me, while the other two spoke German. It gave me a wonderful chance to practice my German; after all, practice makes perfect! I thoroughly enjoyed their company, the slow conversations with new faces, and the breathtaking views of the mountains and nature rolling past the bus window. New friendships often enter your life when you least expect them.

My daughter Amanda once said to me when she grew older: ‘Mom, when I was little, I honestly thought you didn’t have any friends. But now that I am older, I realize that many of your friends simply live abroad.’

It made me smile, because she is right. Traveling the world hasn’t left me lonely; it has simply expanded my home and my circle of friends across borders, showing me that connections can be found anywhere if your heart is open to the detour.