the miracle of flight

whenever my dad returns from a flight, he can't help but say how amazing it is that just a few hours ago, he was on the other side of the country (or wherever he was). i feel the same way - it's crazy, really. on saturday morning at 4:30am, we woke up and made our way, bleary-eyed, to YVR for our early morning flight. a few hours later, we were in ontario having snacks with my dad's sisters and family. unreal.

but as for the flight...i was crying before the plane took off. oh - how did ben do? very very good. i was sure he wasn't going to be able to nap which would lead to excessive crying (which lead to my own crying) but instead he just cried a little each time he needed to sleep. which was three 20 - 30min naps in tim's arms.

yes, the stewardess offered to take this photo. i did not ask. we unfourtunately did not have a free seat in our row despite the 30 free seats on the plane. boo.

on the way home, we had an 8:50pm flight. so we ate our time horton's sandwiches around 6ish and then i washed ben's face and hands, put him in his sleeper, gave him a bottle and laid him in his stroller. he seemed to know it was bedtime so settled with no crying. unfortunately, many, many, very loud announcements get made in an airport about flights. at every announcement, the stroller would shake but not a cry was heard. unbelieveable. i was beginning to have high hopes for this flight home.

and then we got on the plane.

ben was awake and unhappy to be so. he let the entire plane know by wailing in way that you might think i was pinching him as you walked by my seat on the way to your seat. and you would have been thankful that you were in row 22 since we were in row 5. but again, despite a non-full plane, a guy comes along to sit in our row. "noooo!" i yell. (just kidding) actually, he was so nice and he's like, "i'll ask if there's another seat i can have so you guys can have a spare for the baby." (or maybe he was thinking, "i got to get out of here!" but either way, i was happy) and off he went. ben proceeded to scream but after 10 days of letting him cry when he went down for his naps, i was a little more up for it...and no tears for me. despite ben being awake for over half of the 4.5 hour flight, there was only that initial 20 minutes of wailing. the rest of the time was smooth though sleepless.

i actually had thought of a plethora of witty things to post about airports and such while we were waiting to board but now, they're forgotten. and all i can remember is this: with all the amazing technology that we have out there, why does the "live map" that tells you where you are on westjet flights, have SUCH a big airplane icon? it is no help. in this photo, depending on where you are seated in the plane, you could be over the ocean, vancouver, the okanagan, or almost even in alberta. thanks westjet - but why am i not home yet?