Our Vacation Debacle!

It’s been a long time since I have looked forward to a vacation like I was looking forward to Spring Break 2021! I am always excited, but usually have the worries of leaving work behind, hoping the trip goes smoothly, butterflies about flying and the stress of packing and making sure everything is tended to while we are away.

Not this year!! After 15 months of not flying, we were going to venture on an airplane with Clorox wipes, mini Lysol cans, face shields and KN-95 masks in hand, we decided to ditch the 17-hour drive to our favorite destination and take to the skies. I was so excited that I didn’t care if we went with the clothes on our backs and did nothing but soak in the AZ sunshine. As long as we were together and didn’t have to make 10 pit stops on the side of the road (to avoid indoor bathrooms) to get there, life would be good. That was, if we all made it to our destination…which was never a concern until the afternoon before our flight.

I was sitting at the hair salon, when I received the email that it was time to check in. I checked myself in and then the kids. I texted my husband to tell him to check in, as he is my “companion” and is always on a separate reservation. He tried to check in, but couldn’t find his reservation. After a few more minutes, he wrote back and said there was no flight listed on his app. At this point, I started to panic just a little, but knew he had a flight. On my way to the shampoo bowl, I dialed the airline. After 20 minutes of waiting, the phone was answered and I told the agent my situation. She searched under all possible names, and my husband was NO WHERE TO BE FOUND! How could this be? There was no way this had happened!!

With spring break starting, all the flights were booked and, if his reservation was not found, he would not be able to catch a flight until 4 days after the rest of us arrived in AZ! At this point, I started envisioning me driving by myself so my husband could fly. The best the airline could offer, was a 6am flight out of an airport 2.5 hours away:(:( I had them hold a seat for him while I figured out my options.

I was sick to my stomach at this point. And my hair dresser pretending to whisper to my husband, “I know a good divorce lawyer” on repeat wasn’t helping!!

This is not really my hairdresser, but he was whispering like this, “I know a good divorce lawyer”…while I was talking to my husband and to the airline!!!

We had all be anticipating this trip! What was I going to do? Just then, I thought to check another airline to see if they had a direct flight. Our airport is not very big, and only a couple of airlines fly direct to AZ, so I knew my chances were slim! But, they had a flight leaving that night…in 1 hour and 45 minutes!! I called my husband and told him of this option and to pack his bags! I ran out of the salon, with a sopping wet head, to get home and get him to the airport. When. I arrived, he was still working! He had also called our oldest son to see if he wanted to join him. Luckily, my mom had picked my kids up from school and she was on her way to our house. They thew an overnight bag together and we were off. They made it to the airport with time to spare!

This really seemed to work out, as my husband and son had a nice little bonding time…eating their favorite sushi when they arrived, playing video games, tennis, baseball and going to the store for us all before we arrived the next afternoon.

Everything seemed set for smooth sailing when me and my other two boys picked my parents up on the way to the airport the next day. We were so excited they were joining us! We were on our way when I asked my parents if they had downloaded their boarding passes to their phones. They had not, so they did that’s when my dad says, “Mine says now boarding.” The flight time was 11:55 and it was 11:30!!! I thought there was no way this could be possible because he was my mom’s companion (you can only fly with your companion). My mom checked her boarding pass and it was the same time as ours…thankfully. So, she called the airline to confirm they were both on the 1pm flight. Nope, the airline had bumped my dad!! They said he would not be able to fly with my mom and there were no seats on the 11:55 flight for my mom to go standby on.

I put the pedal to the metal and we got to the airport. I told my dad to go straight to the gate, that we would bring his luggage (Oh, and my dad was on crutches from hip surgery!). My kids began unloading the luggage and my mom went inside to deal with this new situation. Just as we had the bags unloaded, my mom came running out saying, “I have to go with him, a seat just opened up!!!!!!!!” So she grabbed her dog, - yes, we had the dog too:) - and they took off running. She called once she had boarded and said they were just closing the doors when my dad got on! And, our face shields and KN-95 masks were in the kennel. OH WELL, they were on the plane and hopefully we would all be in AZ together soon.

At this point, I felt like I already needed a vacation from our vacation…and maybe the 17 hour drive wasn’t so bad.

My nerves got settled down and I had actually never been so calm for a flight. I watched a fabulous movie, and the ride was smooth.

My husband met us at the airport, and we had a wonderful week in the dessert.

We all got to fly home on the same flight! That was enough excitement for one vacation, and I have needed this week to rest up and write about it:):)

The Messy House Struggle

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