For years I have blamed my ever increasing number of kids for all of the chaos in my life. The last 12 hours have made me re-evaluate that position and realize that it may not be them, it’s me.
Pre-story: I have spent the last 6 days in Utah. I arrived for my Grandpa’s funeral and was able to stay a couple of extra days to spend time with my Grandma as she adjusts to her new life. Al came for the funeral but went back to Texas for work and the kids.
3:20 Arrive at my Mother In Law’s house 10 minutes early, she was going to drive me to the airport
3:21 Realized I never checked in for my southwest flight
3:23 Check in for my flight, and then realize my flight takes off at 4:35 instead of 6:07 and it is a 75 minute drive to the airport
3:25 Talk to ticket agent that tells me there is a 6:00 flight that I may be able to make it to, find out my 4:35 flight has been delayed 10 minutes
3:30 Head to SLC as fast as we can go in hopes that my 4:35 flight is delayed even more and I can still make it
4:49 Sky Cap tells me that my flight has just taken off
5:00 Reach the southwest desk where I learn that the 6:00 flight is packed and I am #2 on standby. Also find out that tomorrow all flights to San Antonio are booked and my chances of making it all the way would be slim
5:15 Get to gate, attendant tells me I have to wait until 5:50 to find out if I am on or not
5:45 Attendance announces that flight is oversold and asks for volunteers to change flights, realize that I won’t be getting on flight
6:05 Hear last call for 3 passengers on oversold 6:00 flight, get my hopes up at #1 standby gets real ticket. Find out that the plane is full with her.
6:07 Gate attendants work like crazy to find me a way home. Do a roundabout route through Phoenix to Houston and San Antonio (to land at 10 am Thursday).
6:10 Find out Phoenix flight has been delayed 60 minutes and won’t take off until
8:15 Plane at gate, delayed another 10 minutes because” someone’s stomach on the previous flight was not a fan of the turbulence. “
8:40 Finally get in air and leave SLC airport. Worse take-off ever. Feels like the plane is giving it all it can just to make it in the air.
10:00 Land in Phoenix, feel lucky that same plane goes to Houston and I don’t have to move
10:20 Stewardess announces that plane has mechanically problems (I could have told them that after the takeoff) and we are switching to another plane that is landing shortly.
10:50 Finally take off to Houston
11:00 Figure out I am seated next to the 90 year old black woman that is traveling unaccompanied. She yells at me every 20 minutes or so, things I can’t understand and when she is done with her crackers, she just pushes them off the tray table
2:00 Land in Houston. After 10 long minutes and lots of bells ringing, stewardess announces that gate is broken and have to taxi to new gate
2:30 Find a hotspot in deserted terminal and make myself comfortable
2:40 Get approached by security that I can’t stay there and have to go back out of security
2:50 Find my people, the people that for one reason or another are hanging out at the airport overnight. There is an old couple that is snoring really loud. The lady has a towel with smiley face on the hood covering her face. There is a mother daughter team that keep giggling because everything is funny at 3 AM. There are the two business travelers that are working away on their ipad a professional distance of 7 chairs away from each other. There is the hum of the escalator for background music and the occasional employee that passes, no idea what their job function would be at this time in the morning.
3:30 Begin to feel really sleepy but wonder which one of these people would steal my stuff if I feel asleep? Hope that the rest of the trip is uneventful but realized I am not exactly sure where my car is parked so it may just be the beginning.
4:00 Get the okay to head back into the secured terminal. Wander in and hope to find a place to lay down. I am going to post this now in hopes that everything else runs smoothly!
Had the line “It’s not you, It’s me” go through my mind several times. Yep, I am the culprit to the chaos in our life.
6 comments:
Oh Lisa, I am so sorry. Hanging out in an airport is no fun (although I'm sure if anyone could have a good time with it, that it would probably be you). When does your flight leave for San Antonio? My place is only 10 minutes from the airport, so if you have awhile I can come get you and you can sleep somewhere without fear of your stuff being stolen. 713-58(four)-514(five)
Lisa - sorry I kind of got a laugh at your plight in the airports - but I just kept thinking THANK GOODNESS SHE IS BY HERSELF and NOT WITH SEVEN KIDS! Hope you are home soon!
I am still not convinced that it's not the kids. Think of all the brain power it takes to handle 7 kids and all the other things that comes with that. You don't have any left to remember to check into a flight. It's still the kids. I hope you get home and you can rest. And I am very sorry to hear about your Grandpa.
I love the comments and have to agree with a lot of them. I wondered if I saw you in Logan but thought I was seeing a double. did you go to Who Shot Juanito Bandito while you were here? I hope you made it home safely and that you had time to recuperate. You are an awesome mom!!
Oh Lisa! How did you get away? I do things like that all the time! It's probably the airports fault. I bet they changed your flight without telling you. :). I can't imagine how you do anything! Three feels impossible most of the time, but seven? I can't wait to see the documentary!
Wow, sounds like quite the adventure! We all have days like that, unfortunately. I once left my boarding pass on the back of a toilet in a bathroom stall. I realized later and frantically ran back hoping no one had swiped it. Fortunately, no one had taken it and I made my flight.
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