Fly the Friendly (or not so friendly) Skies

I used to work for an airline and have traveled A LOT. I was always a one carry-on bag woman. When David and I got married, we would often share a bag. This was the extent of our baggage.

This is how we travel now.

Yes, we are the Clampets. Count 'em - three suitcases, three boxes, a car seat, backpack, shoulder bag, stroller, two blankets, four coats and two kids. Flying is no longer an easy feat. It is stressful and complicated, especially since we fly standby.

We started trying to leave Utah on Tuesday, but weren't able to get on a flight until Thursday. On Thursday we got lucky. David had a seat, but the kids and I were going to get bumped. Fortunately for us, two people showed up too late to make the flight and we got their seats (they were still downstairs and couldn't make it through security). So at the last minute, we boarded the flight with the kids and all our paraphernalia. David was in an exit row and couldn't have either child with him, so I got both of them. Baylie was in a window seat with her car seat and I was next to her with Jalen on my lap. I asked the man seated in the aisle if he wanted to trade for David's exit row seat, but he didn't. Bummer.

Baylie and Jalen are usually great fliers - they've flown a lot. But this time they were tired, hungry and cranky. They were crying quite a bit. Once we were in the air, I hauled up the backpack and diaper bag from under my feet to the tray tables, which made things even more crowded, but I was able to calm the kids down. At that moment, the woman in front of me reclined her seat, which meant Jalen couldn't sit on my lap. I had to hold him up. Being the sweet-natured, patient person I am, I made some remark like "Are you serious?" She kept her seat back the entire flight and every time I moved Jalen from one side to the other, he would bump her seat and she would do a half turn in disgust. I admit I let him pull her hair once and I aimed my air vent right at her head (she didn't like it, but I figured she could always put her seat back up).

Baylie started to cry because the battery on her video player died, so I was trying to comfort her, when the woman in front of her tried to lean her seat back. It wasn't going back because the tray table was down with the video on it and was pushing into Baylie's car seat. So, she shoved it back, making Baylie cry harder. At that point, I said in my sweet voice (not) "You have got to be kidding me!! Okay, kids, cry your hearts out. If we're not getting any more help than this, I'm not going to try and be polite." At which point both kids started screaming at the top of their lungs. Several passengers turned to see who was causing the commotion. Lovely.

After about 30 minutes of misery, the woman on the aisle across from us stood up to ask if there was anything she could do for me. I had a bottle with formula that just needed water added. I had rung for the flight attendants twice, but no one had come. This kind soul took the bottle and got water in it for me. After having dealt with all the other inconsiderates in my vicinity, her kindness made me teary eyed. I thanked her profusely and I think some of the other people felt badly for not offering to help earlier instead of just scowling in my direction.

Jalen didn't even finish the bottle before he fell asleep. I put Baylie's blanket over her head and told her not to come out until she could stop crying, so she fell asleep that way too. They both slept the rest of the flight. At the end of the flight, the two women in front of me avoided eye contact. I am not a forgiving person and I hope they missed their connection or had their flights cancelled. I hope they fly in middle seats for the rest of their lives and I hope the person in front of them always leans their seat back.

Our next flight went much better as David was able to sit by us (he slept through the entire first flight, the bum). We finally made it home around 1 a.m. and were so happy to be back in our own beds.

I miss Utah, I miss my family, but for now, this is home and it's a great place to be.