There's No Place Like

November 03, 2004 | Category:

What a trip.

Bear, as usual, was an excellent companion.

I was emotionally overwhelmed, and that confused him. Otherwise, he was curious and affectionate and bright like a new penny. A freckled balm to a painful situation.

There were some good moments. Another trip for Bear to gather even more memories in the same earth that generations of family before him have walked, and explored, and laughed, and lived.

But it was a long, long 3 days.

Then yesterday morning we returned the rental car, raced Bear to the potty, and schlepped to our gate. To discover the flight was slightly delayed.

They boarded us 30 minutes later - front of the plane first and working their way back. Stunningly, this did not prove to be the quickest way to get everyone seated.

Meanwhile, the flight attendants announced no fewer than a dozen times - "We are trying for an on-time departure. Please get out of the aisles and find your seats." Because we were actually having a cocktail party in the aisle. Oh yeah, we were all about dawdling our asses and mingling over Bloody Marys.

Bear, bless him, sunnily said "Good morning" to every row we passed.

Last year, Bear and I were trapped in a 737 on a taxiway for 6 hours. When we finally landed (some 9 hours after boarding) and made our way off the plane, the flight crew and some of the passengers turned and broke out in applause for Bear as we were exiting. I get misty remembering it.

The captain kneeled down and pinned wings on Bear. He said "You are, in the 20 years I have been flying, the best behaved kid I have ever had the pleasure to have on my plane."

Bear had turned 3 years old a few weeks before.

In the 25 or so flights he's been on since he was born, Bear has always made us proud with his calm attitude. So I wasn't worried this time when were stuck awhile waiting our turn for the runway that he would get flustered or whiny.

But then Bear's laptop battery died in the middle of his Scooby Doo movie. And there was not so much a package of peanuts served in Coach despite our 3 hours on the plane and we exhausted the bags of snacks we'd brought. The flight attendants read the paper and chatted, ignoring my ring to please bring some napkins when his juice spilled. And with me trapped in a middle seat (children's safety seats must be placed in a window seat), I was stuck letting the juice soak into my clothes.

We're used to the extra legroom in American, and when the seat in front of Bear reclined - it actually crushed Bear's legs bewteen the laptop on his tray and his hard plastic safety seat. He cried out and I physically pushed the lady's head back up. She turned and gave me a uncomprehending nasty look and tried to recline again.

Yeah, I fixed that.

(Just as an aside, I may need a lawyer.)

We both hung on by a thread. A really really thin thread. When we finally landed and exited, Bear thanked the crew nicely and asked if there was a badge for this flight (on American, they always give him a sticker shaped like pilot's wings). They said no and asked us to move along.

By that point, I'd sworn off United Airlines for life. The $40 we saved? So not worth it.

From our arrival gate in O'Hare's hinterlands, it was a mile-long walk to where CD was waiting.

We held hands and resolutely navigated 3 escalators, 4 people movers, a freaky neon light show, and construction detours. Both of us in our backpacks (Bear's is a preschooler-sized Spiderman one, mine is a behemoth but it's our only luggage). Bear's safety seat tucked under my free arm.

Finally we spotted CD on the other side of security and started running.

The security lady snapped over and over again "He can't come in here! He can't come in here!" referring to CD - who is, I admit, kind of scary looking when he's anxious. But it was crazy, because he was standing carefully on his side of the line in the empty exit area and making NO move to come to us.

(The better not to be shot by rabid undertrained security personnel.)

"DADDY!" Bear screamed, and shook free of me to leap into CD's arms.

I crashed into the hug a millisecond later.

"Home," CD murmured into my lips.

"Home!" Bear exclaimed, clinging to CD.

"Home," I agreed.

We're Home.

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