Last year when Kevin and I got married, we had to cancel our original honeymoon plans of going overseas for a visit to Germany and Paris. Just two weeks before we tied the knot, Paris had been attacked. Travel warnings went flying everywhere along with red flags which we ultimately decided not to ignore.
So now, as our trip to Prague approaches (three days to be exact!), we had been faced yet again with the possibility of backing out. A few days ago, my husband read an article off of CNN announcing for everybody to be safe during this holiday season, to keep an eye out during Christmas events, and overall issued an alert for travelers going to Europe.
You can imagine my face when Kevin showed me the article. I was immediately filled with an abundance of confused emotions. Does this keep happening because we’re not supposed to go? What if we die? (Tragic mind I have, right?) I couldn’t imagine my life without Kevin. Maybe it’s just better if we cancel? Or maybe spend our second honeymoon on a cruise away from people. Maybe the mountains? Yeah, the mountains are pretty. Oooo snow!
Kevin and I spent days thinking, praying, and wondering what to do. When we asked our friends and family, the response was split straight down the middle. It’s either, “You’re gonna regret it, you better go! You’ll die someday anyways” or it’s, “Ummm, I’d play it safe. It’s too dangerous” After much thought, hours of listing our pros and cons, and fearful tears coming from myself we have made a decision.
Honestly, our pro and con list was definitely leaning more towards staying in the states, but what if we never get the chance to do this again? I mean it was an alert that was issued not a warning, so that placed a significant amount of weight on our decision making. Yeah, there’s Christmas markets in the US but they definitely aren’t like the ones in Europe. Plus, going overseas was something I really wanted to do before we have kids. Also, the Czech Republic is, in fact, listed safer than the United States.
Prague has an allure of history we didn’t want to miss out on. Yeah, we’d have jet lag and spend two days practically traveling, but we just don’t want to miss out on a chance to visit new places, experience different cultures, and we figured we shouldn’t give into our fear of the unknown which is literally a 1 in a million risk.
So I bet you can guess what our decision was. We will be boarding a plane headed to Czech Republic this coming Wednesday and oh my goodness, Lord help keep my anxiety in check. I’m going to face my fears, enjoy the cold air, let myself be fully mesmerized by the lights, embrace my fear of flying, and JUST GO.
I’m one of those people who can’t genuinely decide if traveling overseas is considered safe right now or not. I don’t have an honest opinion of whether or not I would “risk it” or deny the opportunity. The decision my husband and I made was entirely concluded on a leap of faith.
Maybe you have your heart set on going and refuse to let that go, or maybe you’re completely against going overseas. Either way, if you’re going I urge everyone to be safe and to just be aware of your surroundings. If you’re not going, I would encourage those who are afraid to take a look at the statistics, pray about it, and make a pro and con list just like Kevin and I did. Plus, consider all the possibilities that you’ll miss out on.
Do you guys have any ideas on how to calm the flying nerves? If so, please comment down below! 🙂
xo
Ashlyn
