So I took both kids on a red-eye flight to Grandma and Grandpa's in Florida. OH MY GOSH! Let's just say that the ONLY way I got through THAT was with butt-loads of help (what is a butt load?). So we're going to talk about the people that made our endless night possible. Person(s) #1: We'll call these people "The Jumpstart". Jake and Mandy let me hang at their house all weekend in SLC and then at 10pm Monday, Jake gave me a ride in 'his' Porsche to the airport. He then unloaded my bags and helped me wheel EVERYTHING in. Let me define 'everything'. 2 kids in PJ's, 1 double stroller, 2 50 lb suitcases, 1 loaded purse, 1 child's backpack, 1 enormous diaper bag, 2 carseats, and a dvd player. Obviously we will be labeling "the Jumpstart" folk: Good. On to "The Checker". So this lady sees me struggle bringing everything up to the desk and she cooly refers me to the auto-check machine. So I load the kids up and go there. It, of course, does not have my ticket listed since we changed the dates. She grudgingly walks over to help. I have to then load everything back to her counter. She finds my ticket (could have done that in the first place) and makes me lift the bags for weigh in. She watches impatiently while I switch the luggage lbs and chase very excited running children. Gives me my ticket with NO directions to speak of and sends me off. She's getting a Bad label. I had no idea where to go, but being a smart girl, I figure it out. Then we meet "Gate Checker." Not only does she pull me aside to help out, she offers to find us a row to ourselves even though Quincy was a lap infant with no assigned seat. Definitely Good. Then there's "Angel Attendant." As I struggle before the plane door to collapse the double stroller and placate my children, a gem of a lady comes to hold Quincy and help me carry my truckload. She brought me my carseat when Quincy fell asleep. She ignored the seatbelt rules when Avery was sleeping on my lap. She did not make me set on the outside despite regulation. She tried to get me a cart after the flight AND she carried half my stuff through the airport as far as she could. Very Very Good. As I left the plane with the AA, she asked if we could page a golf-carty thing for me. The "Dumb Gate Attendant" said not at this time in the morning. But not two minutes later I see a couple from my flight cruising by on one. She's Bad. As I struggled through the HUGE Atlanta airport, I of course got lost and an older black man, "Janitor Dave", helped my find my way AND helped me carry my stuff. Then as I sat waiting at my gate for the hour and a half before the next flight with my two sleeping children on my chest, he revisited me with blankets and said he likes to do one good deed a day. He's very Good too. I sat there paralyzed by my children, desperate to adjust when a sweet older "Lonely Lady" came by to chat. She had been stuck at the airport for 12 hours and had 12 to go! Poor thing missed her flight because she thought she had to recheck her bags during the layover. But she helped me put Quincy in her car seat so I could move and we chatted away some of her long wait. She's a "Good" lil' lady. But soon enough I had to pee. As I looked at Avery sleeping on the chair and Quincy in her seat next to the stroller, as well as the other car seat, stroller, and bags, I had no idea how to pull this off. So I went to the gate desk and met "Pompous B". I don't need to interpret. She didn't look up until it was obvious I wasn't going away. Then she said she couldn't help me for 5 minutes. Definitely Bad. So I waited and went back. Here's where we meet our first Undecided. I go back to the desk and "Big Black Bear" asks what I need. I ask him if I can leave my things (and kids) in someone's care to use the restroom. He says it's not allowed. I ask what I'm to do. He repeats that its not allowed. I repeat my side. He snaps, "Well don't tell ME anything." Later as I'm boarding he looks at my load and knowing I'd have to carry it down stairs and outside to the puddle jumper, he halfheartedly suggests getting me an elevator or something. See? "Undecided". Back to bathroom situation, I ask "Nice Old Couple" if they can keep an eye on the kids, and they agree. No big. They're Good. Then another Dave, "Hardhat Dave" helps me carry my stuff onto the plane, down some stairs, outside, and in the rain. He also helped me after the flight all the way to baggage claim. Another Good Dave. The hopper plane was so small that the seating was 2 by 2. Quincy was sleeping in her carseat, so I put her opposite of me. Avery was in my arms in and out of sleep. "Conflicted Attendant" comes along. "Face her carseat the other direction." "Is that seat approved?" "She can't sit by herself. You'll have to leave your son there buckled and sit by the baby." There would be no take off until I complied so I left a sobbing Avery buckled in a row all by himself while I sat next to an oblivious Quincy. In a moment of reconsideration, she asked the pilot for an exception and allowed Avery to sit on my lap next to Quincy. She later said, "if I could" put Avery in his seat for landing that would be good. I didn't. We have met our second "Undecided." Then comes the last life savers of the day. We'll call them "Mom and Dad." Dad picks me up and lets me promptly go to sleep while he skips work and watches the kids. He didn't bother me until I woke up. Then Mom came home and let me sleep some more! I couldn't have asked for anything better! Hallelujah for all those "Goods!" I think I dealt with more Goods than Bad or Un's. So that's a little boost for humanity. Like the Titanic (except not), my day became a test of characters and the Goods pulled through! Although the trip was LONG and ROUGH, it was doable only because of the little helpers. A fabulous reminder for me to be a "Good".
