Let me preface this post by just saying that we've been loving our time home, and things are wonderful. However, when we had some hiccups with our flights this past Saturday, I was writing a blog post in my head, which I will now share with whoever happens to be reading.
Hubby and I got up very very early on Saturday to make the drive to the airport. On our end, we were fine, except for the fact that I wasted $25 paying for a checked bag when it's apparently free for military (oops). But we were there in plenty of time and got through security with no problems. Then we boarded our first plane, it seemed like we were set to go... and then they had to fix some maintenance thing on the plane. We ended up sitting there for almost an hour, which made me nervous about catching our connection, but due to the way they schedule the flights, we were only 15 minutes late when we got to our connecting city. We even had some time to grab sandwiches before heading to our other gate and boarding the plane for home. We got on that plane... and found out that due to the flurries that had just been happening, there was a long line for the de-icing truck. We were at a southern airport that apparently is not incredibly well set up for cold weather conditions, so I guess it just caught them by surprise. All told, we sat at the gate and on the tarmac for about 2 hours combined, before taking off. We arrived back at home about 1.5 hours late, but the fact is we made it safely and the troubles could have been much worse. The second delay also stressed me out much less because there was no longer a connection to make.
Also, here's a PSA concerning a lesson I thought I had already learned, but apparently hadn't. It wasn't so amusing at the time, and I'm not proud, but it's funny, and it's worth sharing.
So, the lesson is: Any opportunity you have to use the facilities while traveling, DO IT. I was so busy thinking about when we would board that I neglected to use the restroom, even though I'd consumed part of a soda and a decent amount of water earlier in the morning. I told myself I could go on the plane and I'd be fine... silly silly me.
As I already stated, we were sitting on the plane waiting for a while. You'd think I could go then, but by the time I thought of it, the guy sitting on the aisle was fast asleep, and hubby's efforts to wake him were to no avail. So there I was as we took off, realizing my situation was worsening. I remained hopeful that the seatbelt sign would go off during the short flight - no luck there either. We then started our descent, and I realized I had to wait til we landed, even as I increasingly thought I'd just have to ignore the seatbelt sign and just go. At the end of the day, I made it, but had to go when we landed, before getting off the plane, because I was just in dire straits. Not pleasant. And hubby was laughing at me - I don't blame him. The crazy thing is, this has happened to me before, and apparently that wasn't enough to teach me. So there you have it - use any opportunity you can, especially when traveling!
Despite these slight issues, we made it just fine, and we've been enjoying our time here since we arrived. We have spent some time with both families, picked out and trimmed a tree with my parents, celebrated my father's birthday yesterday, saw my brother-in-law's apartment, finished up some shopping, and other fun things. Today we're seeing some of our hometown friends and having lunch at a favorite hometown pizza place. This trip back has really had me reflecting on the power of nostalgia - trimming the tree at my parents' house while listening to the Nutcracker, drinking eggnog, it all got me feeling very much in the holiday spirit. And as a bonus, hubby and I get to stay together the entire time, when not so long ago we ultimately had to privilege our other nuclear families because we weren't married yet.
Not sure when I'll get to update next, but I hope everyone is having a wonderful break! Christmas is almost here!
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