Travel Rookie Sister Makes Progress

Sister is the ultimate Travel Rookie. She color coordinates the neck roll to the travel sweat pant to the curled ribbons on her carry-on. Sister thinks that a two hour flight from LGA to ORD is a big adventure. Sister thinks a concierge lounge is fun (ok, so do I, but it’s more of a convenient necessity). Sister forgets her jacket on the DFW TSA security belt (true story). Sister only wears longs & longs & closed toe shoes on airplanes.

So, in a ironic and shocking twist, Sister now has a Life With Two Carry-Ons while Jammahs is leading a Life Without Two Carry-Ons. All the little things that became everyday life in MLWTCO, Sister is now learning about. She texted me, “flight delayed 3 hours”…”plane not cleaned”…”bad turbulence”…”car service not at airport”… I text back…”At least you are earning The Points!” She needs to learn the mantra. And recite it. Repeatedly. Using inside voice. Or outside voice.

And so this morning, as I was tucked in my own clean sheet bed, preparing for the third snooze cycle between 730 and 740am, my BlackBerry went off with an urgent message from Sister. It read:

MARRIOTT EMERGENCY. CALL ME.

Thoughts raced through my sleepy mind…Were we in trouble for sharing my Platinum number? Was I busted for using a Marriott SVP to get Platinum status? Is the hotel on fire? Are The Hills girls in the concierge lounge? I quickly call Sister to find out what’s up...

Sister, in a state of nauseous panic, reports that there are 3 black hairs on the shower wall and a stain on the wash cloth. So???, I say, as I wonder how many minutes are left on this snooze. I try to explain that on every hotel shower wall there are black hairs. That is why you inspect and remove the hairs with a tissue prior to entering the shower (preferably when drunk off of concierge lounge beverages). And, the wash cloth? Approximately 90% of all wash cloths are stained. I think I stopped using it in the eight month of MLWTCO. I tell her how she needs a travel loofah, but she’s not listening as Sister is already formulating her argument with the Front Desk.

Here’s the thing…Sister may not understand and cope with things like flight delays, dirty planes, turbulence and long, black hairs on shower walls, but she certainly understands the importance of The Points. Sister earned an extra 3,000 Marriott Reward points due to lack of room cleanliness. I may be able to mock Sister’s Travel Rookie ways, but she certainly is the ultimate Road Warrior when it comes to fighting for points.