Mother Nature provides room with a view when reservation didn’t

In January, while searching for a relatively safe adventure my family could have over spring break, a trip to Suncadia Resort in Cle Elum seemed like a wise choice because of their stringent COVID-19 safety precautions. We had never visited Suncadia before, and I was able to use World of Hyatt points to book two nights at the inn with a golf course view.

Unfortunately, on April 2 I was diagnosed with transient global amnesia and spent time in the hospital. It was a lousy way to begin spring break, especially since the TGA episode was followed by a migraine that lasted for five days. In my woozy state, I insisted I was still up for our family vacation. Lounging in bed, watching TV and enjoying the view sounded like the perfect way to recuperate from amnesia.

When we arrived at Suncadia my migraine was like a claw on the back of my neck trying to squeeze the life out of me. I downed a couple of Advils and followed my family up to our room. At first glance, the room looked great. But when I walked out onto the balcony, I saw a parking lot. They had put us on the wrong side of the building. My brain was too messed up to deal with the error, so I collapsed on my bed while everyone else had fun at the resort.

The next morning when my husband and kids went to town, I was “with it” enough to look up our reservation and confirm that our points had paid for a golf course view. I went to the front desk and showed them our reservation. They told me that Suncadia was fully booked and there was nothing they could do but give us a $100 resort credit.

Normally I would have been fine with this consolation, but I was a recovering amnesiac in a tremendous amount of pain. I walked back to our room, crashed onto the bed, stared at the parking lot and burst into tears. It all seemed so unfair — the amnesia, the scary hospital experience, the migraine and the broken promise of a view.

When my husband and kids came back, they took turns massaging my neck to ease the migraine. I couldn’t spend much time on my phone because it made my headache worse, but I knew that friends and family all across the country were praying for me and sending me wishes for a speedy recovery. My memories were becoming clearer now, but I still perseverated on the horrible view. There was no way it could be fixed — or so I thought.

That night, while I slept, the parking lot was transformed by snow. When I woke up and drew open the blinds, I saw a glittering winter wonderland. Giant flakes fluttered down, piling up on the balcony 6 inches high. I pulled a chair up to the window and gazed at the scenery in awe. My husband brought me coffee and we sat there by the window for the next two hours as our kids slept in. It was exactly the peaceful experience my brain needed to heal.

The reservation portal may have failed me, but Mother Nature did not. She made sure I had the promised view after all.

Jennifer Bardsley publishes books under her own name and the pseudonym Louise Cypress. Find her online on Instagram @jenniferbardsleyauthor, on Twitter @jennbardsley or on Facebook as Jennifer Bardsley Author. Email her at teachingmybabytoread@gmail.com.