My parents dropped me off in Eugene on their way south to Utah (for round 2 of the road trip). I had secretly hoped Chris would be able to come, but my backup plan if he couldn't was to fly home after the weekend at the coast. I am too in love with this guy. I couldn't do 2 wks apart. (I think this was the longest we had been apart in 8yrs of marriage).
I waited to buy my tickets last minute (again, hoping that Chris would be able to come) which resulted in a really terribly itinerary. A red-eye with 2 stops.
My parents dropped us off in Eugene late afternoon. We ate dinner and watched planes take off until our plan loaded around 7pm. Things were going fine. I had prepped Nate that this plan was small and only had 2 seats per row, so he would have to sit with a stranger. Then minutes before they called us to board, Andy looked at me with teary eyes and said, " I'm going to cry on the plane, Mom". "No! It's going to be fun! Mommy will be right there. We will be able to look out the window and see the clouds." Now, with tears streaming down his face and lips quivering he sobbed, "I'm going to cry on the plane, Mom!" he just kept saying it over and over again. People were taking notice and mumbling things like, "hope I don't get a seat next to that kid" Ahh! Andy loves planes! I had brought a handful of our picture books from home about planes that we had been reading all afternoon so they felt like they knew what would happen (we haven't flown since Caden's baptism when Andy was just a baby). I calmed him down, but could tell he was still anxious. Our turn to board. I pick Andy up and he starts to whimper, "i'm going to cry on the plane, mom! I'm going to cry on the,plane!" over and over again. I shift him to my hip so I can hand them our tickets and he just loses it. He starts screaming and thrashing, "NOOOO! NOO!!! I DON"T WANT TO GO ON THE PLANE! I'M GOING TO CRY ON THE PLANE! I'M GOING TO CRY ON THE PLANE." I have to slide him down and pin him between my thighs so I can get give the gate check my i.d., etc. and our tickets back. Done. I pick up Andy who is thrashing like... like I have never seen him before- like someone riding a bull. And screaming, of course. As he thrashed my carry-ons start to slip (one tote on my shoulder, backpack on back). I just drop them as we go, not being able to manage both, planning to come back later. Thank goodness for a kind hearted flight attendant who picked them up as she followed cautiously behind. Still thrashing and kicking, Andy is grabbing on to anything that we pass- flight attendants, the edge of the plane (that one was hard, he had a death grip that I had to pry his fingers off), the pilot.....this entire time I was shushing him and trying to sooth him. After he tried to grab on to a first class passenger's shoulder as we passed by, I gave that up. Trapped his arms between my chest and his chest with one of my arms tightly against his back and one of my arms tightly holding his legs. Still screaming, and gagging from all of the screaming. We get to our seats. I set him down and say, "Andy, I have to put our bags up in this cabinet. I have to get Nate buckled in his seat. I need to you sit here for just a minute. sniff, sniff. "okay". And that was it. I got Nate settled with a very kind woman who read his Lego books to him. Andy looked out the window the entire time. "Look, mom! Those clouds look like cotton candy! Look, mom! Those clouds look like ice cream" and so on. Bless his heart. He didn't cry once on that flight. He was a pure delight and it was wonderful watching him experience flying for the first time (that he could actually remember and understand what is going on). San Francisco was beautifully lit up as we landed about 9pm local time. Uncle Jon lives here and the boys desperately wanted to see him, but all we had time to do was grab some dinner and get on the next plane. This air port was great and right by our gate there were a few things for the kids to play with. We only had a few minutes, then on to the next plane. In my tote I had brought pillows and blankets. Andy insisted on sitting by the window again. Not a single tear or whimper as we boarded this flight. BTW, on the first flight Nate just walked right on the plane right in front of me as I wrestled with Little Bear. Thank goodness he was not having an anxious moment too. After take off I tucked the boys in and we slept the entire 4+ hr flight. This was the part I had been dreading the entire trip. The boys slept through everyone getting off the plane. I packed up our blankets and pillows. Still asleep. i woke Nate up and told him he needed to walk, but he was just too tired. Andy was zonked. Those big cries really take it out of little guys. I ended up carry both boys and my huge tote off the plane. I know I looked ridiculous and people kept asking, "Are you alone?! " in a scandalized tone. We made it off the gate. I sat down with two tired, crying boys. The gate attendant called a shuttle for us. Thank goodness. But we only went down the hall and then had to get off to go down the escalator. Really? We waited 10 minutes for this guy to show up. Why did they offer a shuttle?! sigh. nothing to be done about it. I pick up my tired kids and carried them to Antarctica (because I am pretty sure I just walked across the world) to get to our gate. And yes, we looked absurd. Many people pointed and even exclaimed, "look at that lady!" or ""oh my". I've got a backpack on, A boy on eat hip. And a HUGE tote somewhere in the midst. I get it. We load. We fly. We eat gummy bears for breakfast (which, if you are wondering, when you already feel sick from lack of sleep, only makes you feel worse). We get off. Everyone is energized by the idea of seeing Dad and both boys can walk this time. Thank goodness! And another thank goodness to Chris who came all the way up to security where you have to give them your tickets (instead of meeting us down at baggage claim). He took the bags and the boys and somehow I was able to drag my body to the car.
It was an exhausting day. But all in all, the kids and I had a great time. Yes, Andy cried a little bit on that first flight. And we flew all night. But the kids were so well behaved. We had a great time looking out the window as we flew, eating pizza in the middle of the night, and yes, even having gummy bears for breakfast. I love those boys. And even in unfavorable circumstances, we make memories worth keeping. So those flying with young kids. Do it. Even if you have to fly alone. It's always worth it.
first flight. the "i'm gunna cry" flight.
