But it was so VERY difficult I just haven’t been able to bring myself to write anything about it yet. Check out "The Scream" on the left there. That gives you a little idea of how I felt during the trip.I’ll just show a few little snapshots to give you a picture of how the flight was.
Snapshot #1: Me weeping over the American Airlines website after reading the following error message, “Unable to complete on-line check-in; seats are unassigned and flight is closed. Check in at airline required.”
That’s right, after an hour on the phone Wednesday with Duh Man, the seats had STILL not been assigned. The seat numbers I’d made him read me? Those were for the flight coming BACK next month! Just one more reason that guy will never make Employee of the Month!
Snapshot #2: ET cleaning her face at her seat on the airplane, before the lights went off. She said she’d tried to go wash her face in the bathroom and the flight attendant gave her a hard time for going in there twice.
I said that’s the problem with being a teenager, adults just ASSUME you’re up to no good all the time. (Yeah, I remember what it was like. But I still might offer to switch places and let HER be the mother of five, and I’ll be the misunderstood adolescent!) She was still griping about it the next day, by the way…
Snapshot #3: Halfway through the long long flight from Honolulu to Dallas, in the darkened plane, across the masses of sleeping passengers, a scream rings out: One of my kids is pummeling another one in the head.
Their father started awake and separated them. That was the first of about four seat changes for ET.
Snapshot #4: All seven of us (including the babies) racing through the Dallas airport to make our connecting flight; we had less than twenty minutes and the other gate was as far away as it could be while still being in the same airport.
We were carrying about ten bags and two car seats, in addition to pushing two strollers. Boo kept getting behind and yelling, “Wait up!”
Snapshot #5: Me cleaning out Auntie Anne’s of all their cinnamon pretzel sticks so we could have something for breakfast, then hurrying back to the family with the food and five drinks in my arms. (Me: Do you have a drink carrier? Auntie Anne’s Guy: Uh…no… Me: Can I at least have a bag for the food?)
After we’d arrived at our connecting gate, huffing and puffing, we’d discovered the flight had not even boarded yet, so I’d dashed off to find something for everyone to eat. Of course when I came back they were all getting on the plane and I had to rush, pushing the stroller and balancing cups and bags. As we hurried past, the flight attendant asked, “Are those car seats airline-approved?” My husband said, “They were okay on the last flight!” and we kept going.
But in the end, we finally made it to Birmingham and were reunited with all of our extended family. So it was worth the stress.
But we may wait another two or three years until we try it again.
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