When It Rains, It Tsunamis

As my last post indicated, I embarked Wednesday on my first cross country flight with both girls and no-hubby. Despite feeling a bit nervous, I actually was actually pretty confident that all my thoughtful preparations would lead to a fairly easy/uneventful experience. Boy was a wrong! The last 48 hours of my life would certainly rank in the top 10, no 5, most stressful of my entire life. Here goes the tale in bulleted form as my first draft, paragraph style, was becoming a novel...

• We left home at 8 AM Wednesday for our 10:25 flight to Greensboro with a connection in Charlotte. Our sitter, Tessa, rode along so that I wouldn't have to leave a car at the airport. I went inside to get our boarding passes and check our bags while Tessa stayed in the car with the girls.
• I loaded Carter into the stroller and Murphy into the Bjorn, stored Pookie's carry-on suitcase in the stroller basket, and attached my carry-on bag to the stroller hook. I was hands free, and we were ready to roll!
• Our first (tiny) glitch occurred when we got to security. Unlike when Carter was a baby, they now require passengers to remove babies from wearable carriers (Bjorn) before walking through the x-ray. Poor Murphy had to lay in one of the shoe/laptop containers for me to take off and put on the Bjorn.
• When we got to our gate, Carter immediately noticed another 'Baby Murphy' and wanted to go say hi. When the little fella didn't say 'hello' in return, Carter informed me that he was being 'shy at her.' I let her know that at 9 months old, he hadn't quite developed the language skills to verbally greet her. I learned that the blue-eyed boy's name was Henry, and his mommy, Alison, would be my airport angel for the next two days.
• When our plane arrived a few minutes late, we were informed that some type of tests had to be done on it before we could board. The flight that should have taken off at 10:25 kept getting pushed back... 10:45, 11:20, 12:30...
• During our wait in the airport, we found an out-of-the-way spot to settle in with Alison and Baby Henry. Murphy was happy as a clam, but Pookie began getting a bit antsy. Despite intending to save it for the plane, I gave her an IPAD that hubby and I had picked up last weekend. I had it all loaded up with lots of games and shows for her. She was thrilled with her surprise, and the IPAD became my second airport angel for the next two days.
• At around 12:30, we were finally able to board the plane. Despite knowing that I would be missing my connecting flight to Greensboro, I was glad to be in the air and just hours away from North Carolina. Murphy was calm and settled in to nurse, and Carter was keeping herself entertained with her IPAD.
• About 20 minutes after taking off, the flight got quite bumpy. The pilot announced that we would have to return to Denver and land the plane. These are not the words one wants to here while flying through the clouds with two small children. I snuggled my Murphy close and reached over and put hand on Pookie's leg. Clearly not realizing the unusual, scary situation we were in, she immediately asked me to remove my hand. I said a silent prayer for our safety and felt so relieved when the plane touched back-down in Denver.
• Alison and I reconnected on the jetway and waited nearly 30 minutes for our strollers to be given to us from beneath the plane. Back at the gate we discovered the line to arrange for alternate flight plans was quite lengthy. An agent took pity on us mommies and had us sit down and wait for her to help us.
• At nearly this exactly moment, my cell phone completely died, and my charger was packed in our checked luggage. Alison was sweet to sit with Carter while I sprinted in knee high boots through the airport with Murphy strapped in the Bjorn to buy a charger.
• By the time I back to the gate (with raging shin splints), Alison had arranged for a flight the following day by calling a toll free number. I called the same number and was booked on the same flight.
• We were told that we could pick up our checked bags in baggage claim. Alison and Henry went on to baggage claim while the girls and I stopped a few minutes to charge my phone and take a potty break.
• We got to baggage claim and rejoined Alison and Henry whose luggage came off the conveyor a few minutes later. Her ride arrived to pick them up, and they went on their way. We waited another half an hour for our luggage only to be informed that it had been sent on to Greensboro without us. Hubby arrived at about 4:30 to pick us up.
• We grabbed a quick dinner, ran by Target for an IPAD charger, and tucked the girls in bed by 7:00. The evening was actually pretty relaxing, and hubby and I enjoyed several 'grown up shows' from our DVR list before heading to bed early ourselves. The calm before storm #2...
• At 10:00 Thursday morning Tessa once again arrived to drive us to the airport. We got checked in even more quickly since we had no bags to check. I was prepared for the changes to the security process, and we arrived at our gate in plenty of time to make our 12:00 flight. Alison and Henry found us, and, once again, we settled in to wait for the flight to begin boarding.
• At 11:45 they announced pre-boarding for those with small children, and the girls and I were first in line. No sooner than the agent had scanned our ticket did another employee walk down the jetway from the plane and close the door. The plane had a rough landing due to the wind and would have to be inspected before we could take off.
• An hour later we learned that the earliest the flight would depart would be 9 PM. As all the passengers formed a line to make alternate travel plans, Alison and I called the same toll free number from the day before. She opted to cancel her trip and have her ticket refunded. We said our goodbyes, and she and Henry went on their way.
• I spent next 45 minutes on the phone trying to get on another flight. A rude, and not very helpful customer service representative booked us on a Delta flight that would connect in Atlanta and get us into Greensboro at around 11:45 PM.
• It was around this point, with Alison and Henry gone, that the stress of the situation began to hit me. As I sat in the airport floor, attempting to feed/soothe a distraught Murphy and holding back my own tears, a group of men took notice of me and asked a supervisor to come and help me: enter my third airport savior, Lorrie.
• I told Lorrie about my 45 minute phone call and my new flight plans. She told me this 'resolution' was unacceptable, worked a little magic to get us onto a flight that was about to depart for Philadelphia, ran with the girls and me to the new gate, escorted us onto the plane (front row seats), stowed our carry-ons, and made sure we were settled before she left us. I saw a ray of light... the clouds immediately rolled in...
• I had been on the plane about five minutes when I noticed that my fellow passengers did not look like folks who were prepared for immediate departure. They were on cell phones, walking up and down the aisle, and working on laptops. I questioned the lady sitting behind me only to learn that this plane had already been sitting on the runway, waiting to depart, for over two hours. The girls and I spent one hour on the plane, only to have the pilot announce that this flight was cancelled because it could not pass some sort of safely inspection.
• Upon exiting the plane, I made a bee-line for Lorrie. She expressed her embarrassment and said, "Tell me what I need to do for you." I told her that I wanted to be on the 4:00 flight to Charlotte. Once again she escorted the girls and me to the new gate.
• The flight was not just sold out, and there were over 15 people on the stand-by list. Lorrie whispered in my ear an announcement would be made that passengers would receive a credit if they would give up their seats and take an alternate flight. This request was being made to get the girls and me on the plane.

At 3:45 PM Thursday we boarded the flight that would eventually touch down in Charlotte. The IPAD continued to keep Carter happy for the 3 hour flight, though she did become hyper towards the end of the flight as that is how she reacts to exhaustion. Many, many folks gave me positive comments about how well-behaved she was during the whole ordeal.

Having slept less than two hours total all day, poor Baby Murphy was completely exhausted. Unfortunately for me and my fellow passengers, she cried (more like wailed) for much of the flight. I did my best to help her get to sleep, but she just couldn't seem to find rest. I felt so fortunate to be sitting beside a Grandmother who was not just tolerant of my girls but extremely kind and helpful.

After making a pit-stop at the Greensboro airport to pick up our luggage, Nanny and Pa greeted us at the Charlotte airport with welcoming arms! Once in the car, Murphy fell into a peaceful sleep, and Pookie was, well, she was Pookie.

We are now looking forward to a great visit, and I can't wait for friends and family to meet my Murphy girl! And, as for our return to Denver which is now scheduled for March 1, I am thinking our first family cross country road trip may not be a bad idea...