I missed my flight home this morning.

It’s a new experience to be sure. As I get acclimated to an unfamiliar airport terminal for the next five hours or so, I couldn’t help but to somehow try to turn it into a positive experience.

The travel itinerary started innocently enough; a quick trip to meet with a colleague over the dinner-hour followed by an aquarium visit with a close friend who lived nearby. It took me a while to plan and commit to this trip. This wasn’t just any colleague, in fact it was the point of the excursion. I was to meet the editor who believed in my writings enough to feature it in a national magazine over a year before and she deserved a personal thank you. I bit the bullet, took a chance to meet her and I’m so glad I did.

During the course of a wonderful brunch filled with Benedicts and omelettes, we chatted about media and content planning, provincial success stories from pharmacy entrepreneurs, and initiatives taking shape below our Canadian border (all of which I found fascinating and hope to highlight in a future post).

As pleasant as yesterday was, today is off to a rocky start. My alarm went off as scheduled with over an hour’s grace to reach the airport. Unfortunately, this was the first time I had used this particular airport, which is an important point to mention for reasons that will become apparent.

Thinking I was a mere 6-7 km jaunt to my destination, the cab picked me up with 20 minutes to spare before the specified arrival time on my boarding pass. Well, that 6-7 km cab ride came along with with what felt like 50 intersections and intermittent traffic snarls. Still, we managed to arrive about 10 minutes late; not the end of the world, but a bit rushed. I hurry inside, print my boarding pass and realize the queue in front of me is waiting to board the ferry across the canal to the actual terminal. My agitation is welling up inside with 18 minutes to departure. The ferry docks…except it doesn’t. Watching the mast outside the window bob and weave, forward and reverse for the next 12 minutes (yes, I was counting) was very disconcerting. The fellow in front of me is now furiously on his cell trying to delay take-off. I can only imagine what it was like for the passengers waiting to disembark.

The boat empties and we climb aboard. It turns out the ferry pilot was having difficulty lining up the ramp and needed numerous attempts. At this time the plane is gone and I’m rehearsing how I will explain myself at the registration desk. I saunter stoically to the lady and present my worthless paper that five minutes before had masqueraded as a plane ticket. Since my cell battery was low, they allowed me one phone call befitting my punishment. Now my drive won’t be waiting for me at the the other end and my kids won’t be stranded at school.

So here I am. Thinking about pharmacy and subsisting on a $11 ham sandwich from the lounge. The whole experience reminds me of when I began offering a new clinical service at my dispensary and you’re probably wondering where that ridiculous segue came from. We had a pilot (see what I did there?) to promote minor ailments and I had someone asking about herpes simplex. Let’s see:

– I started out nervous. I wondered if I was able to commit in the first place without having an idea how it would turn out or how it would impact workflow.

– Once invested, I was able to consult with colleagues who were aware of success stories and had strategies to overcome my misgivings. Through conversation and research, I felt pumped up and ready to go.

–  When the time came, I was met with some barriers: my own planning was flawed due to an unfamiliarity with the process (paperwork, time commitment) and perhaps a little overconfidence. In addition, there were factors out of my control that ultimately led to a setback (staff illness, appointment cancellation that ended up not being re-booked).

The end result? I was forced to reflect and figure out the current situation. I certainly learned a few things that helped for the next time.

The next chance will come along very soon, and likewise, I won’t be missing that next flight.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any agency, employer or affiliation.