Getting separated

It happens.

You turn around, your person is gone, you're alone and you don't know what to do.

This happened to us during London's rush hour - on the Tube, no less. I was a fraction of a second faster getting on the subway than my husband was. As the doors closed, I knew the words he was mouthing, "Oh, no."

We hadn't talked about this happening (that's Mistake No. 1).

I said, "Go to Bank!" which was the next station.

He thought I said, "Just stay!" so he did.

I exited at the next station, searched for him in a panic and found him nowhere. I tried calling him, but the reception underground is iffy, and my call kept getting dropped. So I doubled back to the station where we'd been separated, thinking that things couldn't get much worse.

To my humble relief, we found each other in the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds. He introduced me to the kind Tube employee who had been helping him look for me. He gestured to the public address system which had been paging me, even though I hadn't been able to understand our surname in the British accent.

We had a high-intensity cardiovascular workout in very few minutes, but I don't recommend you try it. And you don't need to, because you can easily avoid all that drama.

Set a meeting place in case you get lost.

It's that simple.

Don't rely on technology, an overworked employee reuniting you or a plan to find each other.

Just set a meeting place in case you get lost.

I recommend customer service or information desks because you're likely to find them at most places. But it doesn't really matter what you choose, as long as you choose something.

My husband agrees.