CHRISTMAS IN AUSTIN
2015 is almost over. We are dizzy from recent events. “I know, let’s go to Texas and see the family and try and relax,” I suggested.
Our 4-year old was on-board. My wife was, too. My family in Texas thought it was a fantastic idea. And Jetblue thought so, too.
My family caught us like a safety net below a trapeze artist. It felt good to be scooped up just before our faces hit the proverbial floor.
My Mom fed us lunch. My sister fed us dinner. Our exhaustion began to dissipate. We were loved. And it felt good.
Conor hugged on his grandmom. My sister hugged on my wife. And I hugged anyone that would hug me. Whew.
We visited the old haunts. Sister Ko introduced us to the new haunts. And Conor was loud enough to scare all the haunts.
Santa was good with his presents to Conor. And my wife and I were just happy to lean on each other instead of trading presents.
After filling our coffers with enough love to sustain us a couple of weeks or months, it was time to say goodbye.
My mom and I had a few quiet moments to share our truest feelings. And made a pact to be closer. That’s what love is.
My sister has always believed in me and I guess at this point, she’ll never stop. What a tremendous gift from a sister to her brother.
And my wife? Well, she signed up for all this and she keeps coming back for more. That’s love.
Merry Christmas, ya’ll.
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FAMILY'S FIRST TRANSATLANTIC FLIGHT
36,000 feet above the Atlantic and Conor and I were on top of the world. The gate agent at Luftansa in Boston had taken good care of us and with only three empty seats on the plane, she worked enough magic that Valerie moved into a middle seat one row away while Conor got her seat for no additional cost. This meant we got to use our car infant seat to wedge into the cramped quarters of the economy class at seat 19A. The 25-year old sitting in the seat directly in front of Conor was the only loser in the equation. Not because Conor cried because he didn’t. He slept soundly from take-off until an hour before landing. But because the seats were so cramped, the guy couldn’t recline his seat even one inch. He eventually stopped looking back in frustration and fell asleep.
Cleverly, Valerie had booked a flight that didn’t leave Boston until 10;20pm. This was two hours after Conor’s bedtime and sure enough, he was fast asleep for takeoff. And as we landed, I gave him a bottle of milk to ease the pressure in his ears and he flew like a champ. Within no time, we had switched from plane to train and was on our way to Kassel, Germany. Flying with my son has always been a fear of mine but after today, I have to say that it was relaxing and even fun. The flight attendants and even fellow travelers are much nicer and gives us all something to talk about. - See more at: http://dadsdecoded.com/blog/index_files/archive-may-2012.html#sthash.6jL33UpS.dpuf