March Slice of Life Story Challenge: Day 15 of 31: Flight Part II

Yesterday, I wrote the story of how I hoped our travel day would go. Here is how it went. 

Yesterday, we went on a plane flight, just the two of us. 

We pulled up, went inside to check-in and a friendly, helpful attendant checked our bags. The attendant was so bowled over by my baby's dashing good looks, she overlooked the extra two and half pounds of baggage we were carrying. (How I managed to pack a 52.5 pound bag for a week away can only be understood by parents. The agent was a parent herself, which might have explained her leniency. I like to think it was the dashing good looks, but I digress.)

We headed to security, which was nearly empty, and others stood aside to let us through. All of the TSA workers were kind and patient. I broke down the stroller, took off my shoes, took out my computer, and sent our bags through, all while holding my baby effortlessly. 

We got to our gate in plenty of time. We strolled happily around the airport. Though I didn't have a chance to sip a latte and catch up on gossip headlines, I did have a chance to put on a fresh diaper, which felt nearly as wonderful. 

Upon boarding the plane, we happily discovered we'd been upgraded to an extra leg-room seat in the bulkhead by the friendly attendant at check-in. And, in a stroke of luck perhaps better than a first-class upgrade, the agents kept the seat next to us vacant. We settled in to our plush row, the baby had a great meal and, after a few short outbursts, a nap.  Though I did not luxuriate with a beverage and a romantic comedy, I did close my eyes during his nap, which felt nearly as indulgent. 

When we landed, our stroller was set up and waiting, and our bag was waiting for us the moment we appeared in baggage claim (full disclosure: we took so long to get to baggage claim between diaper changing and stroller adjustment that the attendant was about to haul our bag away). 

Outside was sunny and warm-ish (and very, very windy), and our family pulled up with almost perfect timing. We hugged and jump in the car, and, miraculously, there was minimal traffic in Chicago.