We drove to the Donegal Airport on Friday afternoon. Theoretically, it’s about 90 minutes from here along narrow, beautiful country roads. We went up and down and around the mountains with the Atlantic Ocean popping in and out of view. It’s a beautiful ride.

We were nearly there when we pulled up to a truck stopped right in the middle of the road.

An older gentleman approached our tiny little rental car (one of my friends refers to it as a “shit box”). Personally, I kind of like being able to reach every inch of the inside without having to climb around. Whatever.

The old guy said something. The Irish accent was HEAVY. He seemed to be saying the road was closed ahead. Dejectedly, we turned around.

After a minute of going back, we pulled off at an overlook to watch the other cars and see what was happening. Yep, he was turning everyone around, so we resigned ourselves to heading back to where we came from and drove back toward Glencolumbkille. There were no other roads to take. We had to backtrack for over an hour and then go further out of our way to get on a different road to the airport.

Finally, after hours on the road, we arrived at the airport. Thankfully, we had left early with a plan for having lunch on the road. We arrived in time to pick up one of our kids.

Sometimes there aren’t any alternate routes. Sometimes it’s time-consuming and lots of time is wasted. Sometimes you’ve got to abandon your progress so far, write it all off, and start over. Sometimes there’s nothing you can do and no way to turn it into a positive experience.

We made it to the airport. It took us more than twice as long as expected. But we took the detour in stride because we were committed to the outcome. Some “outcomes,” like picking the kid up from the airport, belong at the top of the priority list. Setbacks are just setbacks. They’re not a reason to abandon the plan.

The kid stuck around for four days. It was a good visit. The return trip to the airport was much smoother. Sometimes things go as planned.