Friday, May 27, 2011

The Great Plane Compromise

My brother, my only sibling, is getting married next weekend.


In FLORIDA.

We are all very happy and excited for this big event, however it has sparked a bit of fear into my heart because it means that we will have to take all four of my children on an airplane. Fortunately for me and my anxiety, there are a few factors that make this a more manageable situation for me. Number one: my parents are coming with us. Obviously my brother is also their son, so attending his wedding is not only a joyous occasion for them, but it's also a huge help for us. We will have a nice 1:1 ratio on the plane, and during a lot of our trip since we are staying together. Number two: he lives and is getting married in Orlando. This means that my kids will be four of about six hundred and ninety-two kids on our flight. This greatly increases the chance that there will be some other kid more obnoxious than one of mine. Even though that is a little evil, I take comfort in this.

However, one thing that continues to give me panic attacks is my husband. You see, SOB travels for work on a fairly regular basis, and has become something of an airport sportsman. He gets a rush from arriving at his gate mere moments from takeoff. He delights in being the last person to board. I learned this the hard way when we flew to Savannah last month.

I, on the other hand, am of the opinion that arriving at the gate about half an hour before boarding begins is ideal. It gives you enough time to use the restroom, grab a snack and a drink, browse the magazines and then use the restroom again. Plus, we're going to be hauling four kids, four car seats, two strollers, two computers, my camera equipment, and any other carry on items with us. And we're travelling on a holiday weekend.

So when we began discussing what time we would leave the house the morning of our flight, things got a little heated.

After several moments of pointed debate, and a call into my parents (my dad is my ally in this situation) we agreed that we would leave our house at 9:26am for our 12:15pm flight out of Pittsburgh. Neither one of us were willing to budge another minute, but I think that will be early enough to keep me from needing a xanax.

But I still might need a beer.

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3 comments:

Dan said...

I want it known for the record, We planned the Wedding the week you were going to be here anyway. However, I'm sorry about taking everyone on the plane. That being said. I'm your only brother damn it!!!

Amy Jo said...

I said we were happy and excited!

Arizaphale said...

9.26? hahahahahhahah
I was married to a man like you once. I am of your husband's ilk, as is my father. Once, in the UK we took a ferry to France and my then husband spent a sleepless night worrying whether we would make the ferry on time as my father had been very relaxed about our departure time :-D. I knew we'd make it. You only have to be there before it leaves, after all :-D hahahhahaha. Mind you, I am a bit more circumspect at the airport now as one Boxing Day the BA and I missed a plane. We were there in time for boarding, just not int time to get her luggage on :-( You only make that mistake once. Happy travels!!!!!