Karma Cleanser - Will karma affect flight?

Dear Karma Cleanser:

So I was trying to arrange a trip for my mother to fly to talk to her estranged sister. They haven't talked for 20 years, and now my aunt wants to extend the olive branch. But the people in airline reservations were being difficult about me paying for a third-party passenger. (I guess they think that a 60-year-old woman flying from Tampa to LAX obviously reeks of "sleeper cell terrorist," but I digress.)

So the jerk on the phone said I couldn't change the reservation and I'd have to have the passenger herself call and make adjustments. I finally lost my temper and screamed, "The passenger can't make the changes herself — she's deaf!"

This, of course, is not true. My mother has the full faculty of her hearing and then some. The jerk then agreed to change the reservation and all was good. Or so I thought.

When my mother heard about my fight with the airline, she was not happy. Now she says she doesn't want to go on the trip, because she thinks this was a bad omen. I don't want to just eat the $450 ticket. Is this bad karma for my little white lie or maybe God telling me to stop trying to be nice to my family members?

-- Fight or Flight

It's neither. Sounds to us like your mom wants a way out of an awkward reunion. Since you paid for the ticket out of your own pocket, give her two choices: Go on the trip as planned, or reimburse you for the fare. We're guessing she'll hear you loud and clear.

Been bad? karmacleanser@gmail.com.