I'm Home

Well this is my first post since arriving here Wednesday evening. Air travel with me is always a dangerous thing as something is sure to go wrong. Two nights before leaving NC I checked my flights online to see if they were still as scheduled. I was a little shocked to see that the first leg of our journey was cancelled. I promptly called Northwest and instead of giving us a first class seat on the flight with open space, they routed us to USAIR for the start of our trip instead. Ok, no big deal right?

I was told to check in at the USAir desk upon arrival at the airport. Phil dropped us off and had to hurry back to work for a meeting. Unfortunately it was at the wrong check-in counter. I had FIVE bags, Dylan in the stroller plus each of us had backpacks. The woman who informed me of my wrong stop said, "I'm sorry but I won't be able to go with you." And then suggested that I just try and hang my suitcases on Dylan's stroller. I forcefully responded, "What do I look like to you? Superwoman?!!" Airport employees sometimes just ask for it. I was bugged.

We moved on down the concourse in stages - I'd leave the kids, go get bags. Move the bags, go get the kids. I love that when people walk by, no one offers to help. I'm a total help-offerer when I fly! What's wrong with these people!? I went to where the woman pointed me and found after waiting in line I was yet still at the wrong counter. We did the shuttle game down the concourse to the complete other end than we'd been dropped off.

I checked our bags and we were given boarding passes for the first leg of the trip. I was then informed that I needed a PAPER TICKET from NWA. And that meant walking all the way back to the other end of the concourse again and standing in line. It was a mess at NWA. There were crowds of people who had checked in and were waiting for their baggage tags. Those kiosk things are only effective at moving things along when there is staff enough to facilitate the people checking in!! It was a mess.

We finally got our paper tickets and I noticed on my boarding pass the dreaded SSSS - meaning that I am required for additional screening. ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME???? Why, why, why do they always have to do that to the mothers with children. It happens to me often when I fly and it irritates the crap out of me. We had to put our stuff in separate bins and stand in the glass corral waiting our turn to be 'searched' and padded down. I just stood there and watched all of my valuables sit there for anyone to take. We finally got through all of that and arrived with about 10 minutes to spare on our second flight. No time to charge the DVD, no time to potty...

Our bags were the first to come off the turnstile at the airport - I was filled with glee!! We wouldn't have to wait much longer to be reunited with the family. But my joy slowly leaked from me like a nail in a tire when I realized after everyone else from my flight had left customs that Dylan's bag had not arrived. I spent the first 24 hours on the phone with NWA and USAir leaving messages and trying to track my bag. They say to you, "Please use the online system..." and when ever I checked it I was told that I didn't have a valid claim number. Finally the following night, the bag was delivered. I even went back to their oh-so-efficient-online-system to see if they actually updated it. Of course, it was not and I still got the same error.

Whew! That officially ends my bitching (excuse the phrase) for this trip. I'm thankful to be home, thankful to see my mom and dad and thankful for Fugdee.O's. I'm thankful for The Real Canadian Superstore and the fact that Market Mall now has Sephora and many other lovely stores. I'm thankful to be out of the humidity. I'm thankful for my mom's need to buy nice pillows. I'm thankful that my kids are well behaved - though they are very loud. Go figure. I'm thankful to have a homeland I'm proud of and I'm proud to be a Canadian. If you'd sat beside me at church today you'd have heard that! :)

More posts to follow....