Dec 2004:
I neglected to mention this incident from ten years ago. The kids and I flew to Ottowa, via Detroit, and when we arrived at the Detroit airport, we discovered our flight was delayed by several hours. I bought the kids some games, and tried to calculate when K and I would have to take our decongestants, since our ears always gave us trouble on the take off and landings. W was content to crawl around the waiting area, and took several 'walks' with his siblings as they explored our deserted area.
It's a good thing I paid attention to the loud speaker, for they announced our flight would be departing earlier from another gate. I gathered the kids and we hurried toward our designated area, to discover our flight was to depart in twenty minutes. K and I gulped our Sudaphed, then be boarded. Twenty minutes went by; they took us all off the plane, and thirty minutes later, reboarded us. We landed in Ottowa several hours later than expected, and baby W exploded his diaper. There were no bathrooms in the luggage area, and I discovered our luggage was missing.
While I filled out the forms and waited to clear Customs, all I could do was hope and pray my father was on the other side of the opaque glass, and there would be a bathroom.
When the kids and I were cleared, we were overjoyed to see my father! I hurried into the washroom and changed W's diaper. It had leaked through his clothing, and fortunately I'd packed an extra set. I threw his soiled onezie away, not wanting to haul it around, since I didn't know if we would have access to a washing machine. Dad loaded us into the van, and took us to the Holiday Inn.
Since we had no luggage, and all our Christmas gifts were packed in my suitcase, we went ahead and exchanged gifts. The kids and I were thrilled to receive new shirts, and even more thrilled when there were laundry facilities near our room.
Every day, I called the airline to check on our luggage, to no avail. We did go to the Mall one day and purchased some necessities, and my BIL even went to the drugstore for some personal hygiene items.
My sister had given me a gift certificate to a spa, and I spent a relaxing day getting my 1st massage, facial, manicure, and hair and makeup. Too bad I had no where to go for New Year's Eve!
My nephew D 'tormented' little W. D was walking. W would creep around the room, holding onto furniture or crawling, to reach a certain toy. Just when he was about to reach it, D would grab it and run to the other side of the room. W would get a frustrated expression on his face, then start the journey around the room again, even as the adults protested D;s actions.
The day we were to depart, the kids and I were dropped off at the airport. We checked in, waited two hours, only to be told our pilot had not shown up for work. Our flight was cancelled, and rescheduled for the next day. We were given hotel vouchers for another night.
I called the hotel and arranged for transportation back. While we were waiting, a clerk who had spoken to me two days before recognized me and asked if our luggage had ever been found. When I said no, he told me to sit tight a minute.
My sister arrived; I told her the situation. The clerk returned, dragging our luggage behind him! I was so happy, I kissed him:) We returned to the hotel and could finally pass out our gifts.
The following day, our flight was cancelled again. This time, we waited in line for two hours before arriving at the desk. The clerk first wanted to send us to La Guardia, then take a taxi to Kennedy, but looked at me with the three kids. "I'm guessing you won't want to do that." He rechecked, then put us on a Delta flight to Atlanta, with a 6 hour layover.
The kids and I arrived in Atlanta, and our flight kept changing concourses. I wasn't relying on the loud speaker; I fell into the habit of checking the departure board every hour. We finally arrived back in Indiana:)
Jan 1975:
I arrived back at school and discovered we had a new classmate. KB soon proved to be another 'smart' kid, and later that day, I discovered he rode my bus. He had two siblings, a brother who was two years behind us, and sister who was in kindergarten.
I mentioned I had a sister who would be going to kindergarten the following year, and suggested she come down to my house to meet her. I don't remember when it happened, but the two girls did meet, and became life-long friends. Since Kristin spent so much time at my house, everyone soon thought my mom had 3 girls:) To this day, I still consider her my 'other' sis:) Unfortunately, I regarded her older brother as a total jerk, and I think the feeling was mutual.
**********
Present Day:
I'm spending a few days with my mom, and am helping out around the house, baking cookies, doing laundry, and continuing the 'Great Declutter Project'. My sister is in the process of moving to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, for she's been offered a supervisory position. MDQ and ME are currently at my house, which is why I chose to 'run away' for a few days, lol!
I've also committed myself to a new project, slated to arrive next October. This now makes 3 projects for me; pray I can get everything accomplished!
I THINK karaoke is up here tomorrow. I'd like to sing the following songs:
ET -Katy Perry
Edge of 17-Stevie Nicks
Wanted Dead or Alive-Bon Jovi
Wishing everyone a Happy and Blessed New Year!
No comments:
Post a Comment