“Hello! Would you like to check in?” The computer console asks so cheerfully.

“Yes, I would like to check in computer, thank you,” she says.

“Okay, just set your ID down on the scanner and we’ll get started.”

She sets passport on scanner.

“I’m sorry, your flight to Chicago has been cancelled. Would you like to check on other flights?”

She begins to feel hopeful.

“Haha, too bad. All flights to Chicago are cancelled. No Christmas in Poland for you.”

She feels sad at the thought of going home to her ant-filled apartment for Christmas instead of spending it with family.

The she and husband meet a nice man at the United ticket counter who tells them he will send them to Seattle (for free!) where they can spend a few days with her family while they fight to find a way to get to his family.

They land in Seattle, rent a car, and drive to central Washington. Her dad hugs them both excitedly.

They turn off all the lights and wait in the living room in the dark for mom to come home. Mom walks in the door. Mom drops something on the floor. Mom puts the keys down and look into the living room. Mom continues setting things down. Mom stops and turns back. Mom screams. Mom cries. It’s a Christmas miracle!

She and husband realize that they have a flight scheduled for the morning after the biggest storm to hit Seattle in years. They push their flight back one day. They try not to think about how they will travel for 20 hours, stay for 3 days, and fly 20 hours back.

She and he see both sets of her grandparents. They drink whole milk straight form the dairy with the cream still on top. They open their Christmas presents. They go to church and sing Christmas songs. They revel in the love and happiness around them.

Now they will get up at 3:30 am and drive over the snowy pass to catch a flight to Germany, and then on to Poland.

What a lucky girl and boy they are. First Christmas as newlyweds, spent with both families, though they live a world apart.

May your Christmas be just as magical.