We just wanted to get home

 

Many years ago in December, we were on our way home after Christmas visiting my husband’s mother and relatives in North Dakota. Winter weather there is always rough, but that day it felt extra messy — snow, rain, wind, all mixed together.

I don’t remember much about our first flight from Bismarck. Maybe it was delayed, maybe it wasn’t. My brain only woke up at the next airport: Minneapolis. I don’t even remember the time of day. All I remember is that we were exhausted and just wanted to get home.

The real story started when our flight delay ruined our next connection. The flight from Bismarck was late, so we missed our original booking. And of course, the direct flight to Philadelphia wasn’t available anymore. We didn’t want to sleep at the airport, so we asked the staff if there was any other airport we could fly to that same day. She gave us a few options, and we picked the one that seemed most convenient — Pittsburgh. Not close, but at least it was something.

Then came the car rental adventure. We called the rental company from the airport, and they told us, “You will get a car for sure, but we don’t know what will be available because of the weather.” Great. Love that kind of mystery.

When we finally landed in Pittsburgh, our luggage arrived with us too. After we walked to the rental parking area, the surprise hit us: they had assigned us a SMART car. A tiny, two‑door little thing. I laughed inside, but my husband did not. He’s a big tall man, and the weather was harsh. He looked like a giant trying to drive a toy car.

We had no choice, so we took it and started our eight‑hour drive back to Philadelphia to pick up our own car. When we finally reached the rental parking lot, we stared at the SMART car and our big luggage like, “How is this going to work?” Then we couldn’t even figure out how to open the back door. One of us accidentally hit a button and — magic — it opened. The space was actually huge enough for both suitcases.

During the drive, my husband kept saying he felt embarrassed passing other cars because he looked too big for that tiny thing. At the rental return, the worker looked at us and said, “Unbelievable you drove this car in this weather for eight hours.” We just told him, “We had only one choice.” He shook his head and said, “Good that you’re safe.”

And that’s how we survived winter travel with a SMART car in a not‑so‑smart situation.

Note: I had fun with this experience, even though my husband definitely did not. I understand him well — his personality, his thoughts, everything — but I still don’t get why he felt embarrassed driving that tiny SMART car. It’s a cute car! haha. And in my cartoon version, the AI even added some random man into the scene. Who was he? No clue! But it made the whole thing even funnier to me.