A wild ride
What a wild ride!
By Mommy
Whoever thought a 5-hour flight from
Seattle to Atlanta and then another 7-hour flight from Atlanta to Lima with an
18-month old was a good idea… oh wait, that was me! For the record, the
intentions were great but the execution was left something to be desired; it
was rough.
It all started last week when I checked our
flight status and discovered we didn’t have any seats assigned. I called Delta
to discover that ALL of our flights were completely booked but I was assured we
would have a seat once we arrived at the airport. It was not looking good for
my secret hopes and dreams of getting an extra seat for Theo and I start
regretting the decision not to purchase and extra seat for him (even though
kids under two are free) and dreading the trip altogether.
SEA-ATL
We woke up at 4am to embark on our nearly
24-hour journey to the southern hemisphere. We made it out of the house only 15
minutes late and shortly thereafter we had to turn back because I forgot Theo’s
sippy cups, snack cups and snacks. All very important items that I left sitting
on the kitchen table and I overlooked as I grabbed my purse and wandered out in
my half daze state from my chronic sleep deprivation this month switching back
and forth from days to night while working 70+ hours each week.
At the airport, we checked in and were
given a seat, 44D (phew), but it was an aisle and Theo prefers the window and
none were available. Fine, whatever, at least we had a seat. Then things
started to go downhill when the agent told us that Delta no longer allows two
checked bags for free on international flights. Since when?! So now we had to
pay $75 for the second bag AND an extra $75 oversize fee for each of our two bags
that weighed a few pounds over. I could feel the tears starting but I held them
back. We had to remove a few non-essential items to get to exactly 50 lbs. and we
paid the extra bag fee and moved on. This was not how I wanted to start my day.
Seth walked us to the security checkpoint and
we had to say goodbye; that’s when I lost it. If you know me, you know I’m
pretty hearty but goodbyes always get me, especially this one. I wanted to have
my partner in crime come with us and especially come to help me stay sane on
the flights. (Seth had to stay to work
but will be coming for two weeks in February.) But alas, we said goodbye and we
were off and there was no turning back.
I’m sure I wasn’t the first person the
security guy has seen with blood shot eyes and so he let us pass and before we
knew it we were on the plane. Theo immediately climbed over to the window seat
and started ooh-ing and watching intently all the hustle and bustle outside. I
was showing him the other planes, luggage carts and baggage handlers when a
gentleman with a southern accent asked to sit down in Theo’s seat. We moved but
Theo was not happy and fussed a little to which the gentleman replied, “Is he
going to cry like that the whole flight?” The nerve!
He said, “I’ll just have to get a Bloody
Mary and make it a triple.” I bit my tongue, holding back to tears and
squeezing Theo so he wouldn’t dash onto his lap to look out the window.
He continued, “Where are you headed?”
“Peru” I replied.
“Why would you want to go there?” He said.
I was trying to hold it together and not
think about how horrible this flight was going to be and hoping for some kind
strangers to sit next to and this was not it. I lost it. I called Seth to say
goodbye and that we were on the plane and I started crying, again.
The seat next to us remained empty until
just before take off when one of the last passengers to get sat down next to us
and crushed my hopes and dreams of having an extra seat. The doors on the plane
closed and I turned around to discover the last row had an empty middle seat
and I pleaded with the man in the aisle seat to switch seats. He hesitantly
agreed. I unloaded my seat pocket full of toys, books, iPad and the $100 worth
of Theo entertainment I purchased for this trip and we were off! We had two
seats! Thank goodness! None of my toys were needed as we both slept over four
of the five hours and landed in Atlanta refreshed. One down, one to go.
ATL-LIM
The second flight was a horse of a
different color. Again it was booked and the gate area was packed! As they were
pre-boarding and we were waiting to get on, Theo decided to run away behind the
ticket counter and ran right onto the jet way. I ran after him with his car seat,
my backpack and purse in tow and three ticket agents started yelling at me that
I couldn’t go in there. I captured my little runaway and promptly tied a leash
to his backpack and in an instant became one of those horrible parents who put
their kid on a leash, like a dog. I didn’t care. We boarded early and I accidentally sat in 22F
rather than 24F. The plane filled up – every last seat – and we had to move all
of our things, again. Theo fell asleep right away once we were settled except
there was a problem with one of the passenger’s documents and we had to sit on
the tarmac for over an hour while security came on to resolve the issue. He
woke up shortly after we reached cruising altitude and wanted to play. I think
we made eight trips up and down to aisle from front to back of the Boeing 767 before
we hit significant turbulence and Theo almost fell over. For the next two hours we were confined to
our solitary seat. We watched “Despicable Me” and attempted to eat the chicken
dinner but half of it ended up on the floor, as well as half of my water, which
he spilled on both of us. He had to go shirtless until it dried since this was
already our back-up. When it was time to sleep, Theo was not comfortable and he
cried. Again, we hit turbulence and we couldn’t get up and so at this point he
was exhausted and overtired and did not want to be on this flight any more (unfortunately
the Flight Tracker said we still had 3.5 hours to go) and there was nothing I
could do. Eventually, we could get up and walk around and I tried to rock him
but he was too wide awake. We sat back down and he cried again so I put on the
movie “Cars” and he calmed down (so much for kids under two having zero “screen
time” as we are now pushing four hours). He fell asleep after the movie with
less than an hour to go, just in time for when I needed to be cleaning up and
filling out our visa and customs forms. Somehow I managed and we landed in one
piece; Theo was shirtless and I was in my finest condition: my shirt was
covered Theo’s snot (did I mention he was coming down with a cold when we left),
spilled milk, water, dried string cheese and raisins, and I smelled like a
dozen roses…not.
On the plus side, our luggage arrived and
our taxi driver, Omar, was there to greet us (even though we were over an hour
late). We arrived at my friend Romina’s brand new apartment in Miraflores just
before 2am (on the plus side there wasn’t any traffic) and we fell right asleep.
Phew, what a day! Glad we don’t have to do that again… until March. Until then
we will enjoy the sunny and warm summer weather while I hope to write three
research publications on cardiovascular disease in Peru and finish one of my
projects on adult congenital heart disease epidemiology in the United States.
Thanks for reading!
In case you have an 18-month old and need
some packing tips, I recommend this site: http://www.deliciousbaby.com/
Theo’s Backpack:
2 board books
Travel Etch-a-Sketch with a magnetic pen
1 box with mardi gras beads inside
A new playmobile toy
A new little people car
2 Thomas and Friends trains
Playdoh with a rolling pin and cut outs
Finger puppets
Animal flash cards
Crayons
Blue painters tape
New stacking cups
Bunny blanket (Theo’s essential sleeping
buddy)
Pacifiers
Hand sanitizer
Kleenex
My backpack:
iPad loaded with a Thomas and Friends movie
and apps for toddlers
Snacks: Puree pouches for Theo, 2 apples,
goldfish, dried fruit, large water bottle, sippy cup, licorice, raisins
Sticker books, 2 board books
Passports and immunization cards
Wallet
Phone
laptop
camera and accessories
extra outfit for Theo and extra shirt for
me
small notebook with contact info for when
we arrive
diapers and wipes
crochet blanket and swaddle blanket
Oh Katie, I think Theo would do well with a bit a Benadryl to help you and him on the return flight. Enjoy Peru and your work.
ReplyDeleteLove,Madre