Here we go! December 3rd

Oh please don’t tell me I have to get up…. I fell asleep sometime close to 1am, and at 2am my alarm went off… I felt my way to the kitchen, made myself an instant coffee (no time to brew a pot), and felt my way to the bathroom, and jumped in the shower… Okay I wasn’t actually jumping, it was more of a ‘thud’.  I could have stayed in the shower forever, the HOT spray of water pounding down on my back… I was so sore, but I knew I had little time to focus on that, because I had to go wake up my boys.

My honey slept in my little dudes room, and my little dude had slept with me.  That was the only way I could guarantee little dude would sleep… and after all he needed it more than we did, right?

My honey got up, and bleary-eyed he went to make sure everything was packed, and all the luggage locks were closed.

I went to wake up my little dude… It didn’t take much, the usual cajoling wasn’t needed.  He was WIDE awake in seconds and talking our ears off… “I can’t believe the day is here!!!…. We are going to the airport!!!… What kind of plane do you think we will be on?…. Oh my God I am so excited!!!!…. Hurry guys, we can’t be late!!!!”.  Oh to have the energy of a nine-year-old boy…

After checking our carry on bags at least 3 times to make sure we had everything, we headed gave Sophia, our fat feline one last rub, and headed out the door, down the elevator, and out to the car… If I have forgotten anything, it is too late now I though to myself.. here we go!!!

We decided to park our car at the Park n’ Jet for the week, as it was more cost efficient, and more comfortable to me.  We met up with Mom and Dad on the Shuttle that took us to the airport and just after 4am, and minutes later we joined up with my sister Yvette, and my Niece Hailey.

We checked in, went through security, and my honey was stopped… his jewelry and belt buckle set the alarms off… I was also stopped.. The security guard played hard ball with me.  “M’aaammm.. Do you have anything in your bag that I can stick myself with?” gheesh… well if you mean knitting needles, then YES, if you mean hypodermic needles, then the answer is no… He pulled everything out of my bag… including my large Ziploc baggie filled to the brim with meds.. I got looked at sideways, and I was expecting to be grilled, but he didn’t say a word.  Apparently a tube of Burts Bee’s Lip gloss was the most dangerous thing he could find.  He chastised me for having it out of a plastic baggie, and made me clean up the mess he created after he had pulled every last thing out of my bag… sigh…

We headed to the Gate, all bleary-eyed, and needing sustenance, we looked for something to eat to pass the time.  I settled for a coffee while everyone else grabbed a little but of food.  I am not a morning eater.

We all acknowledged that indeed it would be a long day, nobody got much sleep… Yvette being the smart one, went to bed at 9pm.. everyone else was running on less than an hour.

The time went by quickly, and we boarded our first flight… to Denver.

Now I must say that normally I am not a good traveler.  My body is REALLY sensitive to air pressure changes, and combined with sensitive ears flying is usually on the top of the list of things I dread.  Tim has issues with his ears as well, so we were both concerned about having to take off and land not once, but twice in one day.

A few months back we found a brand of ear plugs called “Ear Planes” especially for flying.  And I must say that they are one of the most incredible things I have ever purchased.  For a measly $6.29 a pair we both were completely comfortable for the first leg of our trip.  Taking off I noticed that I didn’t have ANY problems with my ears, and only a little bit of pressure coming down… a VAST improvement from the agonizing pain I normally experience!  I asked my little dude if he wanted to wear a pair as well.. he said No 😦  and I regret not making him.. but more to come on that later.

The flight to Denver went by quickly, I think I nodded off for about 20 mins or so, which is ODD for me as I normally cannot sleep in planes, trains, or automobiles… Hell, I can hardly sleep in my own bed!! The plane to Denver was nothing more than an old puddle jumper, with 2 seats, a VERY SMALL AISLE, and another 2 seats.  Somehow we were separated, and Aidan and I sat together, and poor Tim had the WINDOW seat across the aisle from us…  Now, that might not mean much to you, but my honey is nearing 6’4, and he has a very broad build.  I was hoping that the lady sitting beside him would be polite and kind enough to switch seats with him as he spent the flight with his knees up to his ears.. I even tried to very kindly draw attention to how big he is, and how SMALL the seat was.. but to no avail.  She ignored me.  My poor honey couldn’t even skootch his bum a fraction of an inch in his seat… It must have been a LONG flight for him.

We had a few hours to kill in Denver, so we walked around, looked in the shops, had a bite to eat (again, I didn’t but everyone else did I think), and just hung out at the gate and chatted.  The kids were SO excited, and it was fun to watch them chatter at each other.  It is such a blessing to me to be able to see things through my son’s eyes… and it was really special to me to be able to experience this with my honey as well… I spent a lot of time this holiday just sitting back and observing…

The second flight was MUCH more comfortable, and we all got to sit together.  The plane was taking what seemed forever to pull away from the gate, and we soon learned why.  The wind was insane and the airport had closed every runway except for one… So we watched out the window as one by one planes took off.. It soon was our turn, and by the time we were in the air I was wishing to be gently put down on earth again.  The turbulence was INCREDIBLE!  I have never experienced such rocking and rolling on a plane before.  My Dad, a very WELL seasoned traveler admitted that he hadn’t experienced anything quite like that before either.  My little dude was so brave… and I must admit, braver than I was.  We held hands (all of us, because I needed someone’s hand to hold as well 😉 ), and the first half hour of the trip was telling each other ‘this too shall pass’.  It is pretty humbling to be on an aircraft that weighs TONNES and be thrown around like a shiny ball in a pinball machine… oh the adventure!!!

Coming soon… Part TWO of this post, Here we go!  December 3rd.

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