half-tied ribbons

unforgettable

• Posted by Kristy on January 15th, 2008 filed in the fam

i’m hoping that my experience of travel for 23 hours with a five year old and a newly turned 2 year old are much like childbirth. unbearable at the moment but only a sweet memory later…… much later. i’m still waiting on that in both instances!

the girls and i went flew to the lower 48 for a couple of weeks. the trip down to knoxville was so pleasant and really uneventful. we left anchorage at around midnight, the girls slept like angels on the planes, and we had a nice gentleman beside us who was so understanding and who reminisced about his own child rearing days…he and his wife had raised 4 kids and he knew how grateful i would be that he was willing to go stand by the stinky bathrooms in the back so that lilly could sit in his seat while we ate our complimentary cheese pizzas at 2 am. i couldn’t stop bragging at how great the girls did flying.

we arrived in knoxville greeted by mike’s mom and aunt and the week was super. we got to spend time with our family in a new lake house where i awoke daily (at around noon) to bright sunny days and crisp air over beautiful green rolling hills. it was like being transported to a new world.

then we went to AR and spent about a week running around like chickens with our heads cut off but enjoying most every moment. me and the girls thought we were in a tropical paradise. the air was thick with humidity, the temps were short sleeve ones for us now and we sweated all week with the oldies, old friends and family… lilly had 2 mini birthday parties during our travels, the girls got 3 suitcases of gifts, and a jolly old time was had.

then we left to come home yesterday morning at 6 am. i grabbed the girls from their peaceful slumber in PJ’s and all and we headed to the airport in Little Rock. we stopped in a parking lot to change them and stuff the remaining clothes into suitcases that were already over the weight limit. all was well. we boarded on time… we are pros at this by now, afterall. i can’t even remember that first leg of the flight. you’ll understand in a moment. i don’t recall where we sat or who was beside us. oh yeah, yes i do. it was a small plane so we had two seats together. that’s all on each side. it went well. only an hour and a half to houston.

we arrived at houston to spend our almost 4 hour layover. lilly was fussy. this is an understatement. she didn’t want in the stroller. she didn’t want to hold hands and walk. she certainly didn’t enjoy the newly purchased kid leash and let me know with a full fledged fit in the middle of the terminal. the stares weren’t the bad part, just being me was the bad part. i was sort of shell shocked like everyone else that walked within 100 yards of us. finally, we managed to get some healthy popcorn and a coke. i even put the soda in her sippy cup, great mom that i am. abby wanted chicken tenders from popeyes so we bellied up at a table. more fit throwing. no stroller, no highchair, just a screaming 2 year old who is exhausted. she threw her paci and her fists at anyone who came close to arms reach. YIKES! i dispensed a much needed dose of tylenol to all 3 of us and went on my way, 2 kids and 3 coats and 2 backpacks in tow. i calmly and confidently pushed my screaming kid down the airport way like i was totally okay with life. i could say my mantra, “i can do this. i can do this. this will end. this will end. soon i will be HOME, soon i will be HOME “  but not soon enough.
we went to our next gate with 3 hours left and sat in a nice sunny spot. abby laid on the floor and colored. lilly played happily. then a little boy with a matching leash came up. she wanted her leash also. so they played like 2 trained monkeys on their leashes. then the drama really began. her leash wasn’t long enough and she came crashing down on a little table. “this ain’t my first rodeo” i thought to myself. i am momma, hear me roar. i grabbed her up and headed to the bathroom. she was bleeding all over me and her and would NOT stop screaming. when i got some water in her mouth and got a look i realized her tooth was knocked up further into her mouth than it should be and back out of place. YIKES! i wanted to faint….a lady who is a gate counter worker came out of a stall and i asked for help.

to be continued…