My wife and I had the privilege of being the host and hostess at a wedding in Omaha a week ago. The wedding was absolutely beautiful, the couple is a perfect match and the reception was full of fun. While in Omaha, our youngest (Eden) left for a school sponsored trip to Costa Rica. Due to our commitment at the Omaha wedding we were not home to see her off. However, we had everything ready for her prior to us leaving…..so we thought.
Most of you know that we have had a hectic few months in our household. Our youngest graduated high school, our oldest (Hope) graduated college, we had to move Hope out of her college apartment, we have also been planning Hope’s wedding which is taking place at the end of the month. Along with the wedding came wedding showers, bachelorette/bachelor parties and much planning. To say the least we are busy taking care of “business.” I believe this may have caused a slight problem though when it came to Eden’s Costa Rica trip.
Tricia had done an awesome job making sure Eden’s suitcase was ready, we had called the cell phone company to make sure international was set up, we had gotten her medications ready with an original prescription that was required, passport was in hand, we got a little cash for her as well as a prepaid Visa card that we thought would be safer than her taking her debit card. We took care of all of it.
The day of her trip, after Eden had already flown from Des Moines to Atlanta, before heading on to Costa Rica, Eden called us. She starts reading her Visa card that says “this card cannot be used outside of the United States.” Both Tricia and I were surprised. We pulled the literature from the card that we still had at home and sure enough, this could not be used in other countries (we got a Gift Card instead of a Travel Card). So basically, we sent our 18 year old daughter to a foreign country with $50 in cash. We both knew better than this since our oldest had taken a trip in previous years and we did things correctly. However, I believe with all of the excitement of the graduations, wedding in Omaha, wedding plans, etc. we simply got in a hurry and did not slow down to make sure things were correct. Thankfully, she is able to use a friend’s debit card on the trip (thanks Paula Kruger)!
I am sure this happens to everyone as I know life is busy for most. This is a huge lesson for all of us, take the time, slow down, enjoy things, and for goodness sake make sure you have friends that can bail you out of trouble when life is going too fast and you make a mistake.
Until next time……
