Deep breaths required…

Yesterday, for the first time in my life, I missed a flight. There’s a long backstory, but the bottom line is that I found myself stuck in Dublin rush-hour traffic, going nowhere. With only ten minutes before check-in closed, I was still 30 minutes away.

This was the last thing I needed. I’m not feeling particularly resilient and was pretty desperate to get home to my own bed after three days working in Dublin.

After a few moments of panic, I texted @TheFrankFlyer, who quickly sorted me out an alternative flight with Aer Lingus. He even managed to save me money! Panic averted.

However, this later flight was then delayed and, even when we boarded, we got stuck on the tarmac after the push-back vehicle caused some minor damage to the nose of the plane. This required the pilot to call out an engineer for an inspection and we obviously missed our slot.

Did I mention that this later flight was to Heathrow, not London City? The latter is about 15 minutes from my front door. The former requires a train and two tube journeys to get home.

I missed a Heathrow Express train by seconds – I could see it leave the platform as I got out of the lift! – and then had to wait on tubes from Paddington onwards. I had to stay standing, as I was afraid I’d fall asleep and miss my stop.

Waking up in Stratford after midnight is seldom a good idea.

Between the jigs and the reels, I finally got home shortly after midnight. I’d been up since six am, run an all-day workshop and then navigated a prolonged journey back from Dublin. As I say, far from ideal.

If I’d been able, I would have postponed the Dublin trip but it just wasn’t possible. I planned to make it as painless as possible, getting lots of sleep and also exercises where possible. I ate well, steered clear of beers and was generally very well behaved. All the same, it took a lot out of me.

So I’m working from home today, taking it much easier. I have one large task left – a client call at 4pm – after which I’m going to head out for a run. I’ve remembered just how helpful running is for clearing my mind and helping me sleep.

This weekend will be all about self-care. I’m planning some time in the gym, a good long soak in the jacuzzi and some sauna time. I’ll do absolutely no work but will spend some time with @TheFrankFlyer planning our next trip to Japan: in just 20 days time! I would really like to feel a lot better by then.