NASA’s Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams went up for a week and ended up floating in space for more than nine months. Can you imagine? They probably packed for a brief adventure, maybe a few freeze-dried meals, some cool space jumps, and instead got stranded in the cosmos. Sure, they learned some great skills. They could probably write a book, sell the movie rights, and do the late-night talk show circuit. But still—a week turned into nine months? That’s next-level extended stay.

I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of recognition in their story. I haven’t been stranded in space (yet!), but I’ve definitely been trapped in situations that lasted far longer than expected. Like those dinner parties where I thought I’d politely dip in and dip out in an hour. But before I knew it, I’d been there for three or four hours, making small talk about someone’s cousin’s new hobby as my internal monologue screamed, “Beam me up!”

And don’t get me started on certain jobs. You know the ones where you tell yourself, “I’ll give it two years, maybe three, then I’ll move on to something else.” Only to find yourself five years deep, still sitting at the same desk, feeling more unmoored by the day. Like an astronaut with no clear route back to Earth.

There’s something about being stuck—whether it’s in space, at a party, or in a job—that leaves you restless. It’s that gnawing feeling that you need to move on but can’t quite break free. Sometimes, we learn a lot during these unplanned extensions. New skills, new perspectives, maybe even a little patience. But sometimes, we just feel like we’re floating, hoping for the ground to reappear beneath our feet.

So, here’s to the Butch Wilmores and Suni Williamses out there—and to all of us who’ve found ourselves in those situations that dragged on far longer than anticipated. We’ll write the book one day. Or at least blog about it.

Cheers to surviving the unexpected extensions of life.