I missed Christmas. Here’s what I learned.
January 20, 2023 | Amqui, Bas-Saint-Laurent, Québec
For the first time in my 22 years, I missed Christmas. I was all alone on Christmas eve, Christmas day, and arrived home 4 days late. I was supposed to arrive in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan at around noon on December 23rd. I didn’t arrive in Regina, Saskatchewan until 8:30 pm on December 26th and arrived in Swift Current Saskatchewan at 10:30 pm. My destination changed, and I spent way too long in the Québec city airport.
My trip started out normal. Everything was going according to plan. I left Amqui, QC at around 2 pm. I said goodbye and Merry Christmas to my students and went home. Once home, I grabbed my bags, said goodbye to my rabbits and left. It’s a four-hour drive from Amqui to Québec City. I called my friends, listened to a podcast and finally arrived at the airport. I checked in, checked my bag and went through security. I’m privileged to have travelled before through airports alone so I wasn’t too worried. Unfortunately, my flight was not until 5 am on December 23rd, the next day. So, I was, in fact, 8 hours early for my flight, so I made myself a little bed and tried to sleep. I was excited to see my friends and to be home for a few weeks.
I was in and out of sleep till about 3:30 am, as my flight was at 5 am so I wanted some time to wake up and to get food before my flight. To my surprise, I woke up to a full airport and a blizzard outside. It was blowing winds up to 110 km/hr, which isn’t great for flying. So 4:30 am rolls around and I get a text from Air Canada. It reads something along the lines of, “your flight has been delayed until 6 am”. So there I sat, nervous, waiting for 6 am to come. 6 am comes, and I receive another message from Air Canada. This one read something along the lines of, “your flight has been delayed until 6:30 am”. So there I go, nervously waiting, again. This process continues a few more times. I get a text that I am delayed, so I wait nervously and anxiously some more. Soon it's 10 am, and all the other flights in the airport have been cancelled. At this point, I’m fairly stressed, I’m assuming I’m just going to be cancelled at this point; it’s just a matter of time. I called my best friend crying and I talked to my mom to update her. Eventually, I got the message I was dreading; “your flight has been cancelled, you will be rebooked. Details coming shortly”. I told my friends and family I was cancelled. We were instructed to leave the secure part of the airport to get our bags. So along with many other disappointed passengers we made our way to the baggage claim. At this point, I was so tired, and I had so many emotions that I just began to bawl uncontrollably, but I wasn’t the only one, there were several other passengers, who were also sobbing uncontrollably. So, after searching and searching for my baggage, I couldn’t find it. I asked a worker, and they said to look again. Eventually, I was able to get them to scan my barcode that would tell us where my bag is… somehow my bag made it to Saskatoon, but I did not. So, while this was happening I was on the phone with my parents, updating them, and trying to figure out when or how I could get home for Christmas. Then I received a text from Air Canada. I’ve been rebooked… for December 26th. I was devastated. I was going to miss Christmas.
Once accepting that I was going to miss Christmas, and after some minor deliberation with my parents, we decided that was my best option for arrival in Saskatoon. But now I had 1.5 days to kill. I called a co-worker and asked her if I could go to her place for Christmas while attempting to stifle my sobs. I made my way back to my car. I was going to drive back to Amqui, so I could at least be home with my rabbits on Christmas. I made the 4-hour drive back to Amqui, but I definitely should not have, I was probably not safe, but I was determined to not spend Christmas alone in a hotel. I made it home around 6 pm on the 23rd and proceeded to pass out for the next 16 hours.
“Christmas is just a day. It is simply just a day that we have chosen to have importance.”
The next 36 hours, I stayed home, watched some Netflix and did some knitting. I had plans to go to my coworkers for Christmas, but they had no power due to the storm, so I stayed home. So, on Christmas day, the 25th, I left around 2pm to Québec City. I arrived, checked in, went through security and found a place to sleep for the night as my flight was on the 26th at 5 am. So, I’m in the airport, getting some work done, feeling good about my flights. Then, I get a text from Air Canada, “your flight to Toronto has been cancelled due to aircraft availability”. What on earth?? What is my luck? So, I tried to talk to someone to rebook me. They couldn’t do anything. They even suggested I fly to Vancouver then back to Saskatoon. I said absolutely not. I thanked him for their time, and then left to get a hotel for the night. I got an Uber to the hotel, checked into my hotel, ordered some food, and called my parents. At that point I had cried so much and had basically given up. I was just going to take a vacation in Québec City myself. But at around 11:30 pm, I received a text from Air Canada saying I’d been rebooked. It was my flights, they were uncancelled! So, I booked an Uber for 3 am and went to sleep.
The charcuterie plate I was offered.
Photo Credit: Nadine Steinley
My alarm went off and I dragged myself out of bed and into the Uber at 3 am. While I was in the Uber I got a text from Air Canada. My flights had been cancelled again. But I was still on the way to the airport so I hoped they could help me. I waited in line to talk to someone. They couldn’t get me to Saskatoon that day, but they could get me to Regina! So, I had the last seat on the flight to Toronto then a flight from Toronto to Regina. The flight was at 10:30 am. I was so stressed and nervous that I couldn’t eat. It was 4 am and I had several hours to kill. So, I napped. I woke up to several delays. My flight kept getting delayed, and I kept crying and being anxious. But there were many older people in the airport, and I felt like I could make friends with some of them, for support. So, I surveyed the gate and found a seat next to a group of older ladies. Two ladies were playing a card game, Quidler. They finish their round and I ask, “can I play?”. They happily said yes, sure! So, I began to introduce myself, and I tried to tell them that I’d been trying to get home since the 23rd, but I started crying. They comforted me, and I attempted to stop crying. We played Quidler and chatted. They were very kind. They made the long wait bearable and they even got me to eat! I am so grateful to them. I helped one book a hotel and helped one figure out some technology. I’m not sure I could have continued without them. I was worried about my connecting flight in Toronto, but I looked, and it was actually the same plane! So, my connecting flight kept getting delayed too, and I was never going to miss it! Thank goodness! Eventually, I saw something through the window - our plane!
We had been delayed from 10:30 am to 2:00 pm. So, we finally boarded, and we took off! I was upgraded to first class and got served a small charcuterie plate! I was surprised; I’ve never flown first class before!
It was a short flight, only about 1.5 hours. I was glad I made it to Toronto safely. So, we landed, and I got off the plane, went to the washroom, turned around and got back on the plane. I asked if I could just stay on the plane, but unfortunately, I had to get off due to safety reasons, which is understandable. The flight from Toronto to Regina went just fine, we were delayed about 30 minutes due to baggage issues, but I was so nervous that we were going to get stuck in Toronto, but we successfully took off. I was in first class again and got served a chicken alfredo-like meal. I landed in Regina at about 8:30 pm. My siblings were there to pick me up, and we drove the two hours to Swift Current, so I made it back to Swift Current at 10:30 pm. We did our Christmas eve traditions then, and celebrated Christmas on December 27th.
The dinner I made for my friends.
Photo Credit: Nadine Steinley.
My travels back to Amqui were not long nor difficult. There were no issues, major or minor. And I was able to get my bag from the Saskatoon airport later that week. I’m definitely a little traumatised from my trip; I spent 2 separate nights in the airport, drove 8 extra hours, and did a lot of extra crying. But, throughout it all I learned that Christmas is just a day. It is simply just a day that we have chosen to have importance. If you miss it, who cares! Just celebrate when you can! Missing Christmas for the first time in my life was an unexpected experience, I knew it was going to happen someday, just not this year. I also learned that travelling alone sucks, especially when you have so many delays. I’m really lucky to have met those ladies.
I was happy to return back to Saskatchewan to see my friends, and to catch up; I missed them a lot! I was able to even cook for them a nice dinner!
While I am having fun in Amqui, I do wish I could see them more! I am incredibly grateful and privileged to be able to afford to return home for Christmas and that I was able to afford to return even with all the changes and last-minute expenses. Missing Christmas isn’t the end of the world; it just gives you stories to tell for the rest of your life. I met some amazing people along the way as well. The world might be okay after all. Take care folks.
Author
Nadine Steinley
Community Liaison (Amqui, Bas-Saint-Laurent)
for Y4Y Québec
