Traveling By Southwest Airplanes

It felt great when my daughter ran to me, arms outstretched as I came down the stairs.

"Mommy!" she yelled. "Mommy, you're here!"

I hadn't seen in her a week. She and her brother were with my mother in Texas while I got to enjoy a break in Oklahoma.

I was ready to see them again.

While my daughter latched onto me, my son stood with a scowl. He's 11, I don't hold it against him.

"I'm missing my streetpasses," he grumbled.

"Is that a new rap song?" I joked.

Tommy's scowl deepened. "My streetpass. On my 3DS. I could have gotten more streetpasses at the airport."

Oh. Right.

"Nona didn't let me bring it," he sighed. "Now I won't get streetpasses."

With the Nintendo 3DS, you can connect with other players through the streetpass. The airport is a great place to get that. My Mom admitted she had no idea what he meant.

So my boy sort of slumped against me as I pulled him in for a hug. I had missed them, even my tween of a son who has started muttering, "Whatever," under his breath if he's not happy with my response.

Traveling to Texas went smoothly enough. I rode a Southwest plane from Oklahoma City to Dallas and then from Dallas to San Antonio. I like Southwest, because you can choose your own seats. It works out if you get in the early group. But then you have to decide if you want the window or aisle. This is what usually happens if I choose the window:

I get stuck.

Meaning, when the plane lands, the people beside me decide to wait for the crowd to pass before they get off. I do not like getting stuck. I try to squeeze past but it's generally difficult and I'd rather not place my butt nor my crotch right next to a total stranger's face as I slide into the aisle.

If I pick the aisle seat, I'm next to someone who has a bladder the size of a pea. Someone who will decide they need to use the bathroom as soon as I crack open my book and get invested, as soon as my drink has come and my tray is out in front of me. And what can you do but grab your drink, close your book, unclasp your seatbelt and move out of the way? You can't say, "No. Sorry. I'm comfortable." Even if the person needs to use the bathroom 3, 4, 5 times.

If I decide to nap I will be next to a person who needs to use the bathroom or someone who will decide to tell me their life story. They'll ramble on and I'll nod politely because I don't want to be rude. I'll give noncommittal responses, but the chatterbox won't catch on.

In the window or the aisle seat, you also have the problem of Claiming The Armrest. If the person is my elder, I give it to them. If the person is my age or younger, it is fair game. But sometimes even if your arm is there, the person will not accept this and suddenly their arm is draped across yours or uncomfortably close. I did not have to play Armrest Wrestle this time. I had an older person next to me on each flight, therefore it belonged to them.

Of course as I thought about this, it occurred to me that I don't have to worry when I'm traveling with my kids. We take up an entire row. I'm generally in the aisle seat and I get the armrest, because I can easily knock off a tiny arm. But I do still have to get up because of a person with a tiny bladder--my daughter, Natalie. And sometimes I don't think she really has to go, she's just amazed at the bathroom in the sky. I'll stand squeezed against the sink, begging her to GO so we can get out. It's confined and stinky in airplane bathrooms. I will not let her in alone, because she'll no doubt lock herself in and start panicking, banging on the door, alarming the entire cabin.

Yes. Airline travel is not always pleasant. Some people might be like, "Drive then!" And we will drive when Tom is here. But I don't handle traffic well, I sort of have this highway phobia thing. So we'll travel by air until he returns.

We'll be flying again next week. We're having a mini reunion here in Texas with my side of the family. We're going to the beach and I'm seriously thinking of getting one of those Modest Swimsuits that the Duggar girls wear.

And oh, I should probably shave too.

(Though if I get a Modest Swimsuit, my legs would be covered so hey, problem solved..)