Vacation anecdotes

To everyone who took pity on a poor, struggling mother trying to get 2 children, one in a stroller, five bags (2 “carry-ons”, 3 “personal items”) and a freaking heavy and huge carseat… THANK YOU. Special thanks to Ron (who flew with us from Denver to Springfield) who helped me on and off the plane, Liz (from St. Louis to Denver) who walked me to my gate, passing hers up, to carry Tad’s carseat for me, and other kind people whose names I didn’t get… may someone do you a great kindness someday in return for what you did for me.

*****

I don’t know what was up with Tad, but he kept falling asleep on LANDING on our plane flights on the way to Missouri. He didn’t nap well that day. And when we left St. Louis, we were taxi-ing away from the gate and the boy crashed. The flight attendant was taking a final walk-through and actually stopped and took a long look at Tad, who was clutching his bunny and sound asleep. “Wow! How did you do that?” he asked me. Tad slept almost all the way to Denver. Ane wasn’t far behind him. THAT was the best flight EVER.

*****

For having never flown before, the kids were total champs. I was well-armed with treats (including the promised “poppylocks”), so we avoided the ear-pressure problems pretty well. However, we were all so parched when we were leaving Seattle on the big day, and of course I’d had no time to stop at a water fountain and fill up a sports bottle, that I knew we were going to have to wait for the beverage cart. And I told Ane that.

Then my three-and-a-half-year-old daughter took matters into her own hands and flagged down a flight attendant. “Excuse me,” she asked in her usual sweet tone that she has when addressing strangers (if you know her, you know exactly how she said it), “can I have some water, please?”

The flight attendant (an older lady) took a double-take, and then promised her that she would be right back. And she was, with a cup of cold water. Ane thanked her politely, and so did I.

Did I mention that we hadn’t rolled away from the gate yet?

A flight attendant on our return flight to Seattle was so impressed with Ane’s manners (she was bringing the beverage cart down the aisle and Ane asked for apple juice) that she made a point of thanking me for teaching her manners and that “your daughter is more polite than most adults we run into.”

*****

Note to guy on first flight who decided to sit in the empty seat in front of Tad: Dude, that wasn’t your assigned seat. You KNEW there was a toddler with over-active legs back there. Don’t you DARE turn around and give me the evil eye when he kicks you. And then you had the nerve to recline, leaving him even LESS leg room. I’m only sorry Tad didn’t kick harder, you insensitive jerk.

*****

Q-Bee attends an aerobics class during the week at their church, which has a gym/multipurpose room. Fridays are typically family days, where the kids (who are usually in the nursery) are brought in to play games with their moms and get active. So, we went to aerobics class the day after we arrived, ready to work out and play. Unfortunately, the aerobics instructor wasn’t able to be there (she was trying to close on her house), and she’d left a note on the door that people were still welcome to use the gym and how many laps around the gym approximated a mile. There were basketballs out and the hoops were down for the kids to play with. Q-Bee ran laps while I played ball with the kids. Tad was in heaven – he is dying to be tall enough to play basketball. Ane walked in, saw the gym and the basketballs and the hoops, turned to me and said, “This is a GREAT church!” Yeah, she was impressed.

*****

On our last flight from Denver to Seattle, we were plagued by a big flight delay. Tad, Ane and I befriended another mom and her two kids who were flying to Seattle. Jay, the boy, was almost 6, but that didn’t faze Ane, who has no problem talking to any child, even older ones. She even befriended his little sister, Kara, who was only 10 days older than Tad.

We had to change gates because our flight was so late, and as Jamie (their mom) and I packed Kara and Tad into their strollers and gathered up our bags and carseats, Jay and Ane walked ahead of us, Jay pulling his Spider-Man rolling backpack and Ane wearing her new denim butterfly-embroidered backpack, holding hands. It was adorable.

When we reached our new gate, and we were putting our things down, Ane turned to Jay. “Jay, let’s hug,” she said.

He thought about this for a second. “Are we going to get married?” he asked.

Ane gave him a strange look. “No,” she said.

Jay shrugged. “Okay,” he replied, and they hugged.

I told Jamie and we hooted in laughter. But at least Ane knows that a hug is not a commitment!

*****

Have a great weekend, everyone – may all your travels be merry and bright!

This entry was posted on Friday, July 20th, 2007 at 10:20 am and is filed under Vacation Tales.
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