I am on my way! After a late night last night – a nice dinner with Jim on the way home from picking him up at the airport, I did my as usual incredibly diligent won’t forget a thing job of packing. That means I waited until around 11:30, and threw whatever I could find in a bag. This is the way to pack, people! You are much less likely to over pack or spend too much time picking and choosing through outfits. You’re so tired, you just want to get the job done, and frankly, you don’t care much if you end up wearing your red plaid pajama pants with your lime green silk blouse, one Homer J. Simpson bedroom slipper and the 4-inch pump with the heel that broke at your sister’s wedding 5 years ago.
The alarm was set, and I wanted to be out the door about 7. That would allow Jim to get me to the airport in plenty of time to get Eilis to school. I jumped out of bed when the alarm went off – way too tired from all that late night packing – and proceeded to shower and get dressed. My wonderful husband, who is going to look after our incredibly remarkable children (please note how they are being rewarded for allowing me to go on this trip without worry!!), stayed up all night gaming, came to bed at 5:45, and is still soundly sleeping when I get out of the shower at 6:30. No lunches are packed and no breakfast is made, and I start to wonder if left over chili is good on toast, since I forgot to leave the butter out of the freezer, then I realize the chili is frozen, too. Looks like granola for breakfast this morning!
So, in keeping with my plan to be out the door at 7, we are all finally in the car at 7:15. I feel terrible now, because Eilis is going to be late for school. I can go later to the airport, but we can’t drop her off at school until 7:50, which would make me late for the airport. We are heading to Philly.
Check in is really easy. We hand my bag over to the lady on the sidewalk, realize she does not work for the airline, retrieve my bags and hand them over to the US Airways bag attendant. Just kidding – we got it right the first time 😉 After paying my $15 fee for the privilege of flying the friendly skies, I am kissing Jim and the girls goodbye and heading in to wait for my flight to take off. There is no Starbucks here, but I grab a latte and a scone from the coffee shop here. The scone is inedible, but the coffee is good, so I am 100 % satisfied with my breakfast (good coffee, and a reason not to fill my face with food I shouldn’t be eating is a good combination in my book!). In what seems like the blink of an eye, we are boarding! I am in Zone 5, and of course they board families with small children first. Okay, not bitching here, but seriously – this is a flight to Orlando, Florida. Home of all things small children love and dream about. Kiddie capital of the world. Mecca of the Munchkin set. You get the picture. Practically EVERYONE going to Orlando has a small child, so 92% of the plane lines up to pre-board. They have already asked for volunteers to give up seats on this way too overbooked flight, and I am hoping by the time my zone is called, I don’t have to spend the flight sitting on the lap of the pilot. After all the people with children board; and then all of the people needing special assistance board (okay, is a hang nail good enough reason to need special assistance? I don’t think I’m getting on this plane….), and then when there is just me, an elderly man who fell asleep and probably missed his flight from 2 hours ago, and the maintenance guy emptying a trash can, they call Zone 5. I race to the attendant as if she is the finish line at the Boston Marathon (like I would know what that even looks like), hand her my boarding pass, and head down to my seat. Whew – thank goodness I underpacked! There is no overhead storage, so I stow my canvas bag under my seat and settle in for the flight.
Let the Adventure Begin!
Funny how no matter the number of hurdle there are on the way to Orlando… it means nothing knowing the destination.