Aeroplane

Little AC and I traveled home for 10 days to consolidate our 2 storage units into 1, and to see family. (We also wanted to take advantage of her flying free before she turns 2.) Our flight out was fine; the flight attendant kindly arranged for us to have a row to ourselves.

Our flight home was a different story. Murphy's Law was in full effect:

• Full flight. We checked our bag and learned that there was a ...
  
• 30-minute delay, preceded by...
• Security line so long that the ticket agent said it could take an hour to get through. (Luckily we were shepherded into a family line and got through in 15-20 minutes.)
• Our original flight was for 1:50, but we didn't board till about 2. We pre-boarded (which I'm guessing they did because there were a total of 4-5 kids on the flight), so we were on the plane as the rest of the passengers boarded. Then, for whatever reason (the pilot did not say), we were on the runway for a good 30-45 minutes...
  
• Little AC was already tired, which I'd planned on so that she could sleep, but since the plane was not moving, she couldn't understand why we were boxed in. She began to cry and thrash about, and nothing could calm her down--not a lollipop, not her activity cards, not ANYTHING. She was like this for a good 20-30 minutes. She was That Kid. Finally, at 3:05, the plane took off and like magic, she fell asleep.
  
• Little AC slept for an hour or two, and then woke up in a good mood. Great, I thought, the worst is over. WRONG. About an hour before landing, maybe 90 minutes, a foul smell started wafting around. Yep, nasty diaper, but there were lines for both bathrooms and I know she would run up and down the aisle, given the chance. So....
  
• She got fussy. She thrashed a little and banged her head on the tray table, which caused the girl in front of us to glare at me again, as if I had any control over little AC's behavior at this point. The only thing that calmed her down was a cup of ice.
  

FINALLY, we started to descend. I made the mistake of asking her if she should see papa out the window. She started to yell loudly, "PAPA! PAPA!" As soon as we got off the plane we headed to the bathroom, and when she saw big AC a huge smile broke on her face and she started running toward him. He ran toward her too. Despite the awful flight from hell, that moment made it all worth it.