Traveling with Tots

Ok, I really don't have "tots", but it seemed to go well with my title.

Forgive the long absence. I'm not sure why, but it seems around the holiday time, the days speed by a little faster and I'm just a little more tired. But it is the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

About a week ago we embarked on a journey that could make most grown men tremble. Yes, we traveled with children. Now, I need to qualify that one of my faithful readers traveled to Greece and England this summer with three children. But she is amazing...you should see her blog!! However, for us regular people , traveling with children, even just to Dallas is a feat worth bragging about. (Maybe warning others would be a better description). The kids actually did a tremendous job. Considering how tired and hungry I was....the kids were especially impressive.

The flight was delayed leaving Ontario which meant we landed in Las Vegas at the exact time our other flight was to take off. Luckily the gate was only four gates away. Running to the back ground music of "Flight of the Bumblebee" the Merrick clan made it onto the plane with no time to spare. They had one row of three which we sat the girls (this was the long leg of the trip so it was necessary for all three girls to be able to view the portable DVD player), Steve sat next to a pilot who happened to be interested in music, and I sat between a Large Liberal Texan and a gentle Texan Rancher/woodworker/real estate agent. Because of the earliness of our first flight we missed breakfast, because of the late arrival to our second flight we missed lunch. And because we fly Southwest, we had no hopes of anything but peanuts and a bag of 8-10 wheat thins. And we were not disappointed; we had peanuts a plenty!! Bags and bags of these sweet/salty morsels. My girls loved it. They loved that the flight attendant kept asking them if they wanted anything else...because of course...more peanuts. They also loved that mom was not sitting with them because when drink options were presented...what did they order? Coke. Of course. Thankfully, the amount of beverage the flight sees fit to give us does not directly correspond to the amount of peanuts they are willing to give. Otherwise my kids would have gotten up to go potty 50 times instead of a mere 25 times. (each that is) JRG, this is an exaggeration...not a lie...please forgive. Potty....yes some flight attendants must not have children or have ever been around them. When we took off out of Las Vegas, after our small sprint to the gate, Courtney announced she had to go potty. For those of you with kids, you know that the first announcement can usually be given a wait, however any subsequent requests to go potty are always followed with..."I gotta go real bad..." One small personality flaw I possess is I think it is very important to obey. Especially on planes.

FLASHBACK

In my life I can point to one very pathetic example of this. When I flew from Rhode Island to Burbank I was stuck by the window and told at each stop to remain in my seat until the flight attendants had gotten an accurate count. After being on the plane for an entire day, obeying the flight attendants, obeying the seat belt sign, and enduring sleeping passengers next to me, when I landed in Burbank my bladder almost exploded. True story. JRG was there...does she remember?

Anyways, because of this inborn need to obey, when Courtney exclaimed for the 11th time that she really needed to go potty my palms began to sweat. The fasten seat belt sign was still on. We were not yet free to "move about the cabin." So I made a quick decision and decided a wet Courtney would be worse than getting in trouble by the FAA. It actually seemed like an even trade. When I finally made my move I was met with a flight attendant saying, "Um you know the fasten seat belt sign is still on." "Yes I know...." I then helplessly pointed to my tiny child. Did the flight attendant really think I didn't know the seat belt sign was still on? Did she really think I was personally that excited to spend some quality time in that upright box called a restroom? I was obviously out of my seat because it was an emergency. She let me pass, but I got an annoyed look from her, which I didn't appreciate. But I also didn't really care. I paid my dues in the obeying-on-a-long-flight realm. I had earned the right to bend the rules just this once.

That was just bathroom trip number 1. I became bolder and bolder with each request and with each shot glass full of liquid in conjunction with 1,325,451 peanuts I ate.

Something else I learned...if you have a portable DVD player you are supposed to have headphones. Umm....have you ever seen a jack for three headphones? How were the girls supposed to hear their video? Without the video, the trip would have been a lot worse, not necessarily for my kids, but for everyone around them. Besides, what traveler does not enjoy the sounds of Barbie singing as the Island Princess?

On the return leg home, we were lucky enough to have my sister and her two kids (husband too) with us. What a sight to see we were in the airport! Because not only was there four adults trying to herd 5 children, but each child now had a cumbersome Build-a-Bear box, and large cowboy hats to manipulate while also carrying the necessary carry-on complete with snacks, things to do, videos, wipes, and other must -haves for traveling with small children. I know that the flight crew was so excited to see us all board with our space-robbing boxes and potty-bound children.

I don't know what it is about traveling with kids, but there is such an urgency at every turn. Trying to settle the kids in their seats takes time, but I am always very aware of the people waiting to get by me to find their seats. I'm trying to manipulate boxes, carry-ons and kids in the most efficient manner. The sweat is trickling down my back, my shoulders are so tense I could balance a small automobile on my back, the kids are demanding a movie now, and of course one of them needs to go to the bathroom.

But, here we sit. A week from this adventure and able to laugh about it. And mostly so thankful for the time we had all together.

Two good things that happened:

1. I cannot remember the last time I had so much fun. Really...I'd forgotten my capacity to really laugh. It had been a long time since I had seen Steve laugh and really have fun. (If you see him around though you may want to ask him about his tailbone).

2. As I looked around at the wedding I was so overcome with pride at my family. We all know each other; we all get along; and there are really no other people we'd rather be with.