Mercury Retrograde and Hawaii

As soon I found out our plans for the holidays also included a Mercury Retrograde, I will admit to feeling a bit uneasy. Since I'm new to this phenomenon, let me bring you up to date: A Mercury Retrograde happens three to four times a year when the planet Mercury slows down and appears to stop and move backward. It's an illusion of course, as there is forward movement, but it appears to go backward. I'm told all sorts of things can go wrong - especially electronics, computers, emails get deleted, phone lines go down. 

It is also not a time to make financial decisions, big purchases, or travel. The current retrograde started on December 10th and will end on December 29th - the day after we get home from traveling with our whole family. 

So did I experience anything going wrong?

Where to begin? We were waiting for our luggage at the turnstile at the airport when I got a call that said our phone, internet and cable had been shut off for lack of payment. It appears they sent the bill to the actual unit where people do not live, thus the bill had not been paid. The person who pays the bills didn't notice it had not come in the mail. After considerable time on the phone with the phone company, I was assured it would be partially up and running immediately - the phone would have to wait a few days or a week. 

Next we were supposed to have our "ah ha" moment when we entered the unit as the partial remodel was supposed to be finished. Not. The contractor was still there with all of his equipment. He thought we were arriving the next day, despite being told for months it would be the 16th. His wife still needed to clean. Our partners were also pretty confused by this as they had told him at least a dozen times what day we would arrive. Okay, time for a drink....

My family all arrived and I gave a big thanks to the airplane Gods, but two days later I came down with a terrible chest cold and had to watch as everyone went to the beach and snorkeling. Remaining in bed in Hawaii is not what I had planned. I can do that at home. Luckily my husband took plenty of pictures.

I did have a beautiful view of the water, and was enjoying watching the blue waves - until a big storm came through and turned it a very deep shade of brown. It appears this phenomenon happens about every ten years or so. Runoff from the cane fields swamp the culverts and rush into the ocean. It's brown for about a half mile out - we canceled paddle board and surfing lessons because of murky water. It's not good to be in murky water with predators...

We all fly home tomorrow. I'm praying all goes well. We'll return to rain and snow, gone will be warm breezes. No one will even know I've been gone as I look the same as when I left.

Lest I leave you with the idea I had a terrible time - let me assure you I had a great time. It's how you frame things, after all. I don't have a tiny little voice ask from the side of my bed if I'm still sick first thing in the morning at home. My grandson and family are the best, and I'm so glad we had this time together. My older daughter and son-in-law cooked wonderful, imaginative, meals. My youngest keeps everyone on their toes, and 30th wedding anniversaries only come once in a lifetime.

So you tell me - is this Mercury Retrograde thing really something to consider - or was it all just bad luck? What about you - any lost emails, broken computers, or travel glitches? Any bad colds?