Headed Home For The Holidays (12/22/18)

I love the weeks leading up to Christmas. Everything is more magical. So I of course also love the day we head home for the holidays. This year that meant leaving early on a Saturday— two full days before Christmas Eve.

We planned to leave at 5a for our 7a flight, but ended up leaving at about 530a. We got to Midway in plenty of time and did curbside checkin. When traveling with a baby and dog, you can’t beat the service. I’m happy to kick the guy 10 bucks for the convenience (heck, I’d be happy to hand over double that).

The TSA pre check line wasn’t a walk through situation, but the line moved quickly. We didn’t have time for pre flight beverages, but we got to the gate in plenty of time. When we got there we ran into my friend Catie from high school. We were drum majors of the band together and ironically now both live in Chicago. Earlier, we had run into Jarmon’s colleague Jon, who was also on our flight and another woman Jarmon knew from the Steelers bar he regulars.

The flight was completely full. (When we checked in we got C59 and 60… yes, the numbers go that high). The poor guy who was last to board got stuck by us. He seemed hesitant about the baby— obviously not realizing he was also sharing his row with a dog. Both Arabella and Baxter were good on the flight until I noticed Arabella was holding the man’s arm while he slept— oops! I struggled to keep her contained to the confines of the center seat space while jarmon watched his iPad and enjoyed a Bloody Mary (yes, you read that right). Then I made him take Arabella to prevent anymore unwanted hand holding.

When we got to Pittsburgh we took our usual tree photos (we took them in Chicago too) before heading to baggage claim. My parents were overjoyed to see Baxter and Arabella. And I was excited to see Catie’s dad— band director Mr Collins— who was there to pick her up. I was catching up with him when Jarmon informed me that my bag was MIA. Always one to keep cool in public, I didn’t flip out. We filed a missing bag report, stopped at Starbucks for caffeine (and Baxter’s puppucino) and headed out.

Given that it was a busy travel day, it seemed feasible that the bag didn’t fit on the plane. However, given what I learned about Southwest baggage handling— that they don’t scan bags to keep track of their location— I didn’t have much hope of seeing it again.

Luckily Arabella’s stuff, including her christening gown, was in her bag that I decided at the last minute was necessary. My bag was all clothing, toiletries and my beloved (and carefully selected) holiday reading.

So, instead of spending Saturday doing holiday things, I spent it shopping for toiletries and an outfit for party we were attending that eve. Annoying, but DD and I had fun.

The party was a holiday open house at Greg and Alanna’s new place. I looked ridiculous in leggings and a long sleeve T-shirt but it was better than the gym clothes I had travelled in. The party was fun. Their house is beautiful and the company— including Alanna’s family and some of their CMU friends— was great.

About halfway through the party I got a call from Southwest that my luggage had been found! It would be delivered to Mt Pleasant sometime after the next pickup, which was at 8p. I decided not to celebrate until I actually had the bag in my possession, but my mood was significantly improved at the prospect of going to Nemacolin on Sunday rather than shopping. Merry Christmas weekend to me!

Oh, and because it’s neat… checkout the ornaments on the tree in the Southwest baggage office– lost zippers! Pretty cool, right?