Travel Day

Sunday started off to be the most relaxing travel day I have ever experienced. We got up in good time to have a leisurely breakfast, a shower, then pack up the remaining items and still tidy up and read stories to the kids.

Judy came to pick us up and took us to the airport. I realized that this would be the very first time that we had all traveled on an airplane together. Carl went last year to L.A., but I'm usually flying with at least one kid, at least once a year somewhere in the country. I was excited about not having to be responsible for everything.

Asha was extremely busy in the airport. All she wanted to do was to crawl off, super-sonic speed, towards the stairs. So Carl and I took turns chasing her. Joel needed to be reminded that he was just 5 and no, he wasn't old enough to fend for himself all over the airport. We spent $21 on lunch (ouch) before our flight to Chicago.

The flight was okay. Asha had to sit on my lap because on Carl's side there were only 3 oxygen masks instead of 4. So we switched seats. I was hoping that we could pass her back and forth. Joel and Kezia busied themselves with the drinks, pretzels and looking out the window. We only pulled out a few toys for the 2 hour segment. Asha was fussy and angry about being restrained. So I held Miss Grouchy Pants and tried to get her to sleep. No such luck after 90 minutes. I was feeling a bit bad for the two men in front of me who were trying to have a conversation. The only way Asha would stop hollering is if I let her reach and caress the hair of the man sitting in front of us. I don't think he appreciated that, but then the yelling probably wasn't much better. Finally, 6 minutes before we landed, Asha fell asleep....

She managed to sleep about 30 minutes while we sat in the airport. After that she was in better spirits. Joel, Kezia, and some grandma we met hunkered around the computer to watch Shrek the Third. It was pretty cute. The time went by pretty quickly and soon it was time to board onto our plane to Harrisburg. I was looking forward to getting out of the airport for two reasons 1) the floor was FILTHY and Asha's hands and feet were disgustingly dirty and 2) the A.C. was way too cold (Carl I know that you are just chuckling at my numbering reasons quirk, but hey, at least I'm predictable!)

We got onto the plane and unfortunately I was sitting with Asha separate from Carl and the other kids. Nuts! Now I get another shift with Miss Don't-You-Restrain-Me. And then to make things more awkward, the couple sitting next to me was the MCC couple that we are going to Bolivia with, Liz and Ramont. Hmmmm....this could be for a great first impression - Crazy mom tries to calm hysterical baby.

Well, Asha was pretty good because I put her between my feet and let her totally destroy all the contents of the diaper bag. And then when she needed to have her diaper changed, I got out, changed it and then handed her to Carl for the last 30 minutes. And she was happy and agreeable as a lark for her Dad. Little Toad!

We arrived in Harrisburg and were picked up by a lady named Tina. She was very nice and we managed to get all 7 of us in the van. It was such a thoughtful touch that there were bottles of water and coke in the van for us. She even offered to take us to Wendy's for supper in case we were hungry. Already I was feeling very taken care of.

We got to Akron about 8:30 and were welcomed by Kathy, whom we have had extensive email contact with. She showed us where we will be staying, Asia House, and helped us settle in. There were even welcome signs on our door. I was noticing how extremely hot and humid it was and wondered how we would sleep without A.C. But with the windows open and the fans blowing (oh Carl was in his glory, but I hate fans) the rooms cooled off considerably. None of the kids fell asleep before 10:00 and I knew that 7:00 would come very early. I wasn't looking forward to THREE grumpy pants in the morning.