who steals a carry-on?!

I reached for my easy-to-carry blue Away suitcase in the back of our rental car’s truck to grab some extremely necessary sunblock for our daughter after landing on Maui.

I couldn’t help but admire the perfectly folded dresses and swimsuits.

How easily everything appeared to fit in the suitcase despite my inability to plan ahead or pack lightly.

That fold-out makeup bag was stunning and color-coded. Damn, what a great idea.

The only problem was… THE SUITCASE WASN’T MINE.

Let me rewind…

When we went to Maui earlier this year, my light blue Away carry-on was taken by another passenger on our plane.

We’d just gotten off the plane and were starving so we stopped to eat before going to our Airbnb in Kihei.

The sun was beating down on my husband, daughter, and me while we waited for our name to be called in the scorching heat of Maui.

I went to the car to get the sunscreen out of my suitcase and noticed that everything inside my suitcase was folded impeccably.

There was a fold-out makeup bag with white and yellow bottles of skincare. Outfits looked meticulously planned for one thing only: the pool and the beach.

I did a double-take.

To his horror, I yelled to my hubby eating his lunch leisurely outside of a small restaurant: THIS IS NOT MY SUITCASE!!!!

The clothes in my actual suitcase were shoved in without any sort of planning. The point was to just get them to fit, right? Fit as much as possible inside of it, sit on it and then zip.

This suitcase was missing my tarot cards, my giant red journal, my vitamins, my contacts.

Oh shit, my contacts.

I started to panic when I realized that I didn’t have extra contacts on me. I can’t see without my contacts or glasses.

How did this happen? It’s a carry-on. People lose their checked luggage, not their carry-ons.

I anxiously reached for the tag to call the owner.

In shock, I saw that there was no contact information. Like the tag was there, they just never filled it out.

There was no way I could get in contact with this person.

I went back into her suitcase to see if there was anything in it that might make her desperate to get her bag back.

Her contacts were such a low prescription that she wouldn’t need them necessarily to see.

My husband kept trying to remind me that I couldn't do anything about it.

I tried calling the airline, but it just felt ridiculous.

I imagined it going something like this: Ummm, I have someone’s carry-on. I don't know whose it is. Yes, I’ll hold. Click.

Then we got in the car and started driving to our Airbnb.

I started thinking about all of the things I’d need to buy including swimsuits, journals, and new contacts.

Worry after worry started consuming my thoughts.

Then I looked down at my phone.

I’d had a missed call ten minutes ago.

It was Stephanie; she had my carry-on.

All of that worrying actually made me miss the call I’d been hoping for.

I called her back.

She said she was so confused when she opened the bag because she doesn’t own any leopard print. (I complimented her on her impeccable packing organization).

Before her call, I felt helpless, hopeless, and lacked any control over my current situation.

And this reminded me of how we feel in a job search. When we’re not getting feedback, when the recruiter said they’d get back to us and it’s been a week, we are so confused if we are ever going to hear back from them.

And if we do, is it going to be good or bad news?

Before I got the call, the only thing I could really do was control how I was handling the situation. I had created worry when I could have cultivated trust and that historically I am a really good problem solver. I’ve been in worse situations and it’s always worked out.

And the only thing that I could do at that moment was just waiting and trust that they would get back to me when they could and that it would be the best time.

And that sometimes if it’s not a good fit or the timing isn’t right, that’s ok, too.

So remember, when you're waiting for someone to message you back about your job interview, (or luggage), just pause, take a deep breath, trust that you did the best you could at the time, find something to distract you, and put on your favorite leopard print shirt and/or shoes.

But seriously though, waiting for feedback or a call from an interviewer can feel like the worst thing in the world.

If you need support dealing with rejection or keeping momentum in your job search, let’s hop on a call to get you back in “control.” 😉

In joy + love,

Nic

PS(A). Please go make sure your carry-on tag has your email and phone number on it right now.