I barely made it

Wednesday my day started out kind of ominously. We got loaded in the van with 10 minutes to get to Logan Express. Fortunately, it was 5:50 am and we hit all the green lights. We got to the Logan Express only to see the bus start to pull out. I excitedly tell B. to drive over by Kohl's because the bus stops there before it heads to Boston. We pull in the parking lot by a guy with a suitcase. But the bus stop is across the lot. So, we run across the lot with all our luggage. It was great!

We get to Logan in plenty of time for our delayed flight. We fly to LaGuardia and get off the plane only to find out that our connecting flight to Dallas has been canceled. I try to work it out with two agents at the counter but they tell me I have to go out to ticketing to get it fixed. I stand in a huge line with my three kids thinking, "well, this sucks." After about 10 minutes I realize I'm in the wrong line. So, I dragged my three kids to another enormous line. After a few minutes in that line I ponder over my lack of status with this airline, that I'm flying on frequent flier miles and that there are about a bajillion people in line in front of me. I realize that there will be no flight for me today. So, I called my husband.

I had to call three times before he picked up because it was before 6:00am in California (sorry!). I told him my situation and asked him to call and fix this for me. He called me back five minutes later. I was confirmed on the 2:25 flight to Dallas and from there to SLC. I didn't have to wait in the enormous line anymore. And since I had already checked my luggage I didn't have to wait in the other enormous check in line either. I wanted to kiss my husband full on the lips!

We went through security for the second time and a security guy who was watching Will asked me, "Is he going to pose a problem." What kind of question is that? What an I suppose to say, "Yeah, he's a gun runner and is fully armed." Or "He just got back from a terrorist training summer camp!"

I don't like New York airports. They're big and dirty and have tons of people with New York attitudes. But I found a wonderful spot -- it had an outlet! I plugged in my portable DVD player and prepared to wait for four hours. Then I look over, the guy who asked me the question about Will is sitting close by! Is he stalking me?

I decided that rather than be a good mother I would try to make this wait as pleasant as I could for Will. I let him eat an entire bag of chips and then I sent Jake down the hallway in search of water. I stood in the hallway between both Jake and Will and tried to keep an eye on both because I could not lose that outlet. Who knows what kind of commotion would ensue if I couldn't drug Will with junk food and previews.

We finally get on the next plane and I hear the woman in front of me mention she was also on the canceled flight and she paid extra to get her seat. (Thank you, Honey!) I had Lizzy sit across the row from us. The two men sitting by might not have been thrilled about sitting next to a whiny, up since 5:30am, stuck in an airport for four hours six year old. But it could have been much, much worst for them!

We didn't have seats assigned for the next flight. I tried to fix that in New York, and again in Dallas when we landed but couldn't. I told them Jake could sit by himself, even Lizzy though I wasn't thrilled about that. But Will had to sit by me. They boarded the plane then begged people to give up their seats. Finally they called our names. Jake was across the aisle and one seat back. He sat by the nicest woman. He told her all about our family including Bri and her dad. I gave him a notebook and suggested he draw. He started going through the sky Mall catalogue and telling her about every idem that interested him. I look at her and mouth an apology. She looks back at me her eyes brimming with laugher and says, "It's alright." I suggested he ask her what she was interested in. He asked her if she liked a certain item in the catalogue. I'm not sure what he talked to her about or how her talked to her because after a certain point I just had to pretend it wasn't happening. We finally land and drag ourselves over to collect our luggage. I wait outside for a shuttle bus to take us to the car rentals before I realize the airport just isn't that big. So, we got to my sister's house a quarter after nine about four hours late.