An Unexpected Surprise

Last weekend was supposed to have been my annual girlfriend getaway in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It is something we all look forward to every year. Our lives are all very different, and we don’t always do a great job of staying in touch throughout the year, so it is always nice to get together over a long weekend and catch up. The fun shopping we usually do is just a bonus.

I actually made my hotel reservation months ago, using Booking.com. It’s one of the travel apps I use regularly to book travel. They offer discounted room rates for many hotels. The cheaper the rate, the more-restrictive the cancellation policy. The best rates are always non-refundable. It’s a bit of a gamble, but I knew I would never voluntarily cancel such a trip.

I booked before we knew K was sick. And, of course, we had no idea exactly when her time would come. The afternoon we said goodbye to K was supposed to have been my first day in Pennsylvania. I did call the hotel on Thursday morning to let them know I would not be there that night, but I did not say why. I also did not cancel my reservations for Friday and Saturday. There was a very small chance that I would still be able to go. It would have been a distraction, but, long story short, I couldn’t go. K’s passing was very hard on all of us. I did not want or need a distraction. In my mind, that would have just prolonged the really difficult phase of the grieving process. You know, the part where you have to deal with constant reminders that your loved one is gone as you all face your “normal” day without them.

I was going to give you some examples, but decided not to go down that sad path. Just suffice it to say it was really hard. I knew I had to face that gut-wrenching grief in order to  get past the really hard part. To be able to function again. K is gone. I really loved that dog. She will never be forgotten, but I cannot let myself wallow in misery. That is not me. I actually think some people like reliving those sad feelings. I do not know why. Maybe they feel like it justifies their love? Or that the ongoing grief proves they really did love a person or a pet. I have no idea. What I DO know is that I am not one of those people. I hate it. Grief drains me. I would much rather make a conscious effort, daily, NOT to be sad, than to let myself relive those sad feelings on a daily basis. But people are different. I do not miss K any less, I just choose not to dwell on missing her. I refuse to think of her in such a was that makes me cry every day. It doesn’t mean that I loved her any less, or that I don’t cry daily, it just means I refuse to torture myself. Life is too short to wallow in unhappiness. NOT thinking of her in a way that causes tears requires effort. And some days are definitely harder than others. But I will not be a wallower.

I tried to be strong for K in the days leading up to her death. I was partially successful. I didn’t want her final days to be full of sadness and tears. AFTER was another story. I won’t get into just how awful it all was, just trust me when I say it was bad. I really miss my girl. Going to Pennsylvania would not have helped anyone.

Yes, it sucked that I’d lose the money I’d spent on the hotel, but I figured those funds were gone regardless of whether I actually went or not.  I have used Booking.com for a long time, and am well aware of its policies, so I didn’t even bother asking for a refund. I responded to an e-mail from Booking.com asking me to rate my stay by saying I had not stayed at the property (I checked a box). When a follow-up e-mail arrived asking why I hadn’t stayed, I replied with, “My dog died. Really.” That was the end of my communication about that trip.

Imagine my surprise the other day when I noticed an e-mail in my in-box from my credit card provider mentioning a  credit to my account. When I actually opened that e-mail, I saw that it said “We want to let you know that a credit of $76.90 from CLARION INN STRASBURG INN posted to your account on 02/26/18. The funds are now available. You don’t need to do anything, but if you’d like to review this transaction in more detail, please sign in to your account.”

I thought to myself, “Aw, that was nice. They credited me for one of the nights.”

It was so unexpected that I really thought a mistake had been made. So a day later I decided to sign in to check and see if the credit had been reversed. Not only had the credit NOT been reversed, there were actually credits in my account for each of the three nights I had reserved.

How cool is that? I have no idea how it happened, or who is responsible. It would not have been up to the folks at Booking.com, it had to be the people at The Historic Strasburg Inn (a Clarion property). I did not ask for a refund. I did not even bother to call and actually cancel any of the nights. I just assumed it was my loss. I guess they showed me!

I’m not sure if the decision came from Clarion or the folks at The Historic Strasburg Inn. I suspect it was the Inn’s management. Either way, my faith in humanity has certainly gotten a bit of a boost. They did not have to issue any refund. A refund of one day would have been appreciated. But they refunded ALL THREE DAYS.  They will certainly get my business in the future.