The Big Trip

Preface: Well, as you all know or should know I went on a long trip to CA with my daughter Amie. I had wanted to write on my blog while I was there, but...as with most vacations I got a bit lazy and decided not too. So now I will do my best to fill you all in.

Amie had gotten very excited about the big trip, I tried to explain it to her the best that I could in toddler terms (or what I call caveman language) and she seemed to understand that she was going some where and had gotten very excited to see Grandma and Grandpa. But, i don't think the reality of it all sunk in until we boarded the little pane to Chicago. The first plane flight was nothing short of torture! Before we had even boarded the plane she had started kicking, screaming and fighting me all of the way down the terminal. I turned back to look at all of the people lining up behind me and saw the tortured and spiteful looks on the faces. "Oh, God! please help me!" I begged silently as I looked down at my daughters tear stained bright red face. Getting her on the plane literally was like tyring to force a dead horse to drink water. She wanted nothing to do with it. The line of people with impatiently tapping feet behind me began to slowly get larger. With my heart beginning to race, my face turning red, and my eyes welling up with tears I carried her into the plane kicking and screaming all of the way to the back.

The wait for the plane to take off was dreadful, though we were very lucky to have our own row (she was supposed to be a lap child). She refused to stay in her seat, and tried climbing over me to run around the plane or maybe escape. She wanted to put the tray in front of us down when we were told to keep them up. She wanted to stand in her seat when we were told to sit. So I buckled her in on top of my lap and I received a very nasty look from the Steward, and reprimanded for having her buckled on my lap. I felt my self slowly vanishing to crazy town and this was only an hour flight!

Once we got in the air Amie thought that the plane was great. She loved looking out the window and instantly stopped fussing. "well," I thought to my self, "the worst is over," and I smiled. Little did I know the worst was yet to come!

Our second flight from Chicago to San Diego seemed promising. Amie had made a new friend Caleb that only a month younger than her and we only had a two hour lay over till our next flight. The kids were playing nicely, and not to mention I now had a couple of adults to talk to, things were going well for everybody. Shortly there after though, things quickly turned. We got an announcement that our flight had "Engine Problems" and we would be delayed and extra 30-40 min. Okay, no problem we all thought to ourselves. But after the 30 min, we were delayed again another hour, the problem still wasn't fixed and time kept of piling on. Soon we had waited over three hours for a total of a five hour lay over with a couple of toddlers. Yet still things seemed to be going well. After being transferred to a different flight we began to board the large and over booked plane. I was equipped with a DVD player and Amie's movies that she isn't allowed to watch at home (I was prepared for our four hour flight!).

The first two hours went rather well, Amie was watching her movies and loving it. However she began to doze off and there was no room for her to get comfy with the tray down. So I turned off the DVD player and put the tray up so Amie could relax better and that is when the Shit literally hit the fan and exploded all over the plane. Amie let out the loudest blood curdling scream I have ever heard. It echoed in the plane, ringing in my ears. She then began to scream and cry, kick and fight me. I tried to hurry put the DVD player back on but it was too late, she was too tired, and nothing i mean NOTHING made her happy! The last two hours of the flight she screamed and cried. Every now and again she would fall asleep shortly but then would try to move to get comfy, wake up and started screaming and crying all over again. My patience had warn very thin and I began silently crying to myself. I was stuck, nothing I did could or would ever make it better. I was so tired, my head felt like it had been hit with a baseball bat and my arms and legs were asleep.

Soon the flight landed and the couple with the little boy Caleb greeted us as we walked out of the terminal. They asked it that was Amie crying, I shook my head and reluctantly said yes. I was never happier to see my parents. I was so tiered, I needed relief! But since the plane had come in so late the airport had only a skeleton crew and no one to take our bags off the plane, so we waited another 45 min for my luggage! At this point I thought to myself, I would surely welcome Hell over this!