A Storm Blew Up My Birthday Plans, But It Turned Out To Be A Perfect Day

On July 4th, I wanted to make a day trip with my wife and some friends to Helgoland's island in the North Sea. The trip had been planned for months. We had booked the crossing and already reserved seats in a restaurant on the island.

We wanted to shop duty-free, explore the island, and enjoy nature.

But when we arrived in the early morning by car at the harbor in the small village Büsum, we learned that the ship would not go because of the intense storm.

At first, we were frustrated. We had got up extra early and then drove for two hours by car, only to hear now that our plans had fallen through.

It was half-past eight in the morning. The hotel room that we had booked in the village we could move into at three o'clock in the afternoon. Actually, this would have been ideal, as we would have returned from the island in the evening only to go straight to the hotel.

Now we stood there, at the cold harbor and it was raining. Most of the restaurants and shops in the village would only open between ten o'clock and midday.

To cancel the hotel room and go back home was not possible. It was much too late for free cancellation.

So we had to make the best of the situation. We were eight adults and one child. We would think of something to make the day a good one.

On the one hand, it was impractical that we were on the road so early, because there were no shops open yet. On the other hand, this later became our most significant advantage.

So we drove with our cars from the harbor to the city and strolled around a little. We went to the beach, took pictures, and finally found a small restaurant where we could have breakfast.

Most of the tourists were still in their hotels at this time so that we could choose the places in the restaurant.

This advantage continued throughout the day. We were everywhere earlier than most of the others. When the place got crowded with people after lunchtime, we had already found a place in another restaurant.

Altogether we sat in three restaurants that day and everywhere we got a table for eight people.

The weather got worse and worse during the day. While we sat under an awning and enjoyed our lunch, the other tourists with umbrellas passed by on the street and were desperately looking for a place in one of the restaurants. We were sitting in the dry and were suddenly very happy that we had arrived so early.

The mood was cheerful and exuberant, and none of us were sad about the fact that the boat trip was canceled. The main thing was that we were all together.

In the evening we went to the hotel and occupied the hotel bar. We sat together, drank, laughed, and talked until midnight.

When we finally went to bed, everyone agreed that it was a great day.

The whole day had gone completely different than we had planned. We hadn't even considered a plan B before. But when it became necessary, we adapted and made the best of the situation.

We didn't waste any time mourning our broken plans, but we accepted the situation.

This day once again made me realize how important it is to stay open and flexible, even if you have a detailed plan in your head.

These days, many of us have to throw big and small plans overboard. This will probably continue for quite some time. That makes it all the more important to remain adaptable.

If things turn out differently than we had hoped, it doesn't have to be a disaster. Often new possibilities arise that we have not even considered before.

What plans have you had to throw over lately? What have you done to deal with it?

I appreciate your comments.