This was me. Literally.

So my sister Tonya flew me out to Anchorage so I could help with the grand re-opening of her new scrapbook store- {More than a Memory - Awesome little store- if you are ever up that way you should check it out.} I went out on Dec 16^th and planned to be home on the 21^st. On the morning of the 21^st we had heard that there were anticipated flight problems and tried to call 1-800-alaska-air for 2 hours straight before going clear to the airport, but it rang busy, and instead of reaching those annoying “your call is important to us- your wait time is less than 7 hours”, they had disconnected it all together- but we didn’t know that and kept trying to no avail. So finally at 8 am my sister went with me to “check in”. My flight was supposed to go from Anchorage to Seattle, Seattle to Vegas, and then I had a Jet Blue flight from Vegas to Salt Lake. My initial flight from Anchorage to Seattle was delayed 2 hours, so even if I made that flight, I wouldn’t make any of my other legs. The “customer service” line was ridiculous- we thought we would probably wait an hour or so from the looks of it- oh no- 2 and a half hours later, we reached the front of the line complete with a cranky “service representative” {there was only one person working the desk- wonderful huh!?} And she delivered the happy news that there was no physical way that I was going to get out of Anchorage. There had been 47 cancelled flights out of Anchorage the day before and over 100 flights were cancelled out of Seattle due to ice-storms, and other crazy weather- leaving people stranded at the airport for days and days- They told us that National Security forbade them from sending any more people to Seattle because the amounts of people had become a threat- There were no more hotels, no more de-icing fluid, and no more food throughout the airport because the freeways were shut down, and the vendors were unable to go in or out of there. We asked her to look at any and all possibilities- different airlines, random legs to and from, and there was absolutely nothing. Airlines were already overbooked before all the weather problems. The best she could do was book me on the next available flight- December 26. I was almost in shock. I was totally going to miss Christmas with Warren and the little boys. I was heartbroken. You keep thinking that as soon as you get to the front of the line, they will help you- give you some relief, - be able to solve your crisis. There is nothing more frustrating than looking into the eyes of a person who doesn’t care about what you are saying - So I went back to my sisters’, and was thankful to at least have a nice warm bed, food, and good company. The lady had told me NOT to try to stand-by- and to just be glad that I had somewhere to go.

I was not a priority, and that I was at the bottom of the totem pole- an impossibility to get out of Anchorage on stand-by. I was so pissed.

The next morning I got a burning determination that I was NOT going to miss Christmas with my little family.  I got up and out by 7:30. I would wait- wait with all the other hopeful stander-byers. Just be there because there was nothing I could do from my sisters’ house, and 1-800-alaska-air still gave an annoying busy signal going on 2 days. The first flight was delayed 2 hours. It was supposed to leave at 10:30, but was rescheduled for 12:45. Thus, I had been at the airport already 5 hours before I could find out ANYTHING about where I was on the stand-by list. 2 things to picture-1- I am carrying Sawyer in hand {17 pounds} a diaper bag, and another huge duffle bag {probably 30 pounds}, {so I don’t have to pay $20 each leg for an additional checked bag}- Sawyers’ car seat {30 + pounds} my coat and Sawyers’ blanket. My glasses and my cell phone charger are IN my checked bag. Checked. And 2- I am still nursing Sawyer- An impossible task when in the comforts of home, but in a dirty nasty, busy airport- was horrible. Okay- I finally found a Smarte-carte even though they were few and far between because of the massive amounts of people. So here I am- waiting and waiting by the gate- watching the Alaska Airlines ladies like a hawk for anything new- and most importantly for when they put out the standby list. I made a friend who had been there for 4 days- he was part of a group of fisherman, and he had graciously given up his standby seat 19 times to get out all his buddies- he was the last guy left. His first impression of me was bumping into a bench with my Smarte-carte, and Sawyer toppling out of his car seat onto his face on the dirty nasty airport carpet. He totally took me under his wing- kept me sane, and was one of the most generous people I have ever met. He bought me lunch, drinks, a toy for sawyer, gum, water, a contact case{my eyes were totally on fire}, and let me use his calling card because my phone was yes- dead. The 12:45 flight came and there was ONE- ONE standby seat available. I was 35^th out of 96 of us on standby list- for this one flight. This one leg of many of hundreds. I was hammered. There was a family of 4- and the dad took the ticket and left the mom and her 2 boys there. I wanted to scream, “ Let me go!!!! Don’t split up! What if your wife and kids don’t get out on the next one? Dumb!” But as the airplane took off, I was overwhelmed with tears, as I looked around at the remaining people- enough of us to fill an entire plane, with just us stand-byers. It was horrible. I decided to surrender and spend Christmas with my sister’s family. I decided to ask the ladies what to do about my bag that I had already checked, and was already on its way to Seattle. As I went up to the counter, there was a shift change, and I got a new lady. Before I could ask about my bag, she asked me how long I had been here. 2 days- I said. She got on the computer and looked for any way to help me out, but not to my surprise, there was absolutely nothing. I couldn’t have even bought my way out of this one. She got on the walkie, and said “I need a manager up here for a distrot customer.” The manager lady came out- {great with child}, and I felt the first wave of relief in 2 days. Maybe she would help me out. She pulled me away from the 90 staring people. She told me that she hadn’t done it yet and wasn’t supposed to, but she was going to change my “code” to bump me to the top of the standby list. That may or may not get me to Seattle on the next flight, and once I got there, she had no hope that I would be able to get out of Seattle. She left for a while and when she returned she had 2 boarding passes in her hand- one for the next flight out of Anchorage, and the next for a flight out of Seattle to Vegas the next morning. Miraculously there had become available ONE seat out of Seattle. I was completely emotional- I gave her a hug, and told my new friend the great news. He was so happy for me, and said that it was worth it for him to stay behind another flight, if he knew I got home- nice guy. I left a message on my sister’s phone to call Warren and tell him to get me a flight out of Vegas for the next morning after 10 am. Me and 4 other stander-byers got on the next flight to Seattle. 4 out of 96. It was horrible. Sawyer screamed and screamed as we were delayed on the runway for an entire hour- They had to de-ice the plane twice, and the stewardesses handed out earplugs to the people around me, but I didn’t care. And of course- as soon as we took off the ground Sawyer fell asleep and slept the entire way. So we finally reached Seattle, and I marched right up to the Alaskan Airlines service desk and told them that I was not staying in the airport with my baby overnight- after much deliberation, they granted me a hotel, and I went to recover my checked bag. My contacts were on fire, so I had taken the left one out and I could not see a thing. The baggage claim floor looked like a war zone. There was hardly enough space to navigate around the taped off zones of bags and bags of a weeks worth of luggage. It was horrible. I found a nice man who spent an hour trying to locate my bag- I was just about to file a claim for my missing luggage when a younger girl worker who had been cooing Sawyer finally realized that my bag was on the flight before the one that I came on, and remembered putting that specific flights’ luggage in the back in some random room- the man went back recovered it and sent me in the direction of the hotel shuttle. We were out of the airport chaos when the shuttle man got a call on his walkie that there were some people back waiting- we flipped a u-turn and waited and waited for these “people” that never showed up- seriously? whatever. I finally made it to my room, and even knowing that I was going to get 3 hours of sleep, I was so grateful that I was in a nice warm bed. The next morning I made it to the airport with 2 hours to check in, and go through security. It was absolutely terrifying how many people where there. It looked like a war zone. There were bodies everywhere- camped out- there were boxed labeled “borrowed blankets”. I knew that if I missed this flight, that I was screwed. I was going to spend Christmas in Seattle. I was ushered into a massive line just to check my bag. As the line hardly moved, I totally panicked. There was a worker who took a family up to the front of the line because they had 30 mins to make their plane. The nice man behind me encouraged my escape, and I followed behind them like I was part of their party. Then I got into the security line, and was herded through it with a million other people. The couple behind me had waited 4 hours last night to get a cab to their hotel. I knew I was being watched over. I made it to my gate, and looked at the sign- it did not say to Vegas. Sawyers’ ticket had a different gate on it, and so I went to the ticketing desk to make sure I was at the right place. “Oh honey- you just hang tight- your flight is the next one, I promise” I didn’t feel good about her answer, but after arguing a bit, I decided to go feed Sawyer before I got on the jet- After gagging for 15 mins trying to feed Sawyer in the family bathroom with literal poop smeared all over the walls, I went up to the desk again. There was the lady I had spoke with before and a new one. I apologized for being a busy-body, but I really couldn’t afford to miss this flight, and would they please check again that this was the right gate- the lady who helped me before rolled her eyes, and the new lady took my boarding pass and clinked on the computer for a min- “Oh yeah! You are right maam- you need to go to the other gate” {furthest away- so far away you have to ride a tram} I said “wow- so I would have just missed my flight- thanks” {directed to the IDIOT of a “service representative”} I tried to book-it to the gate- I got off on the wrong floor and my elevator was totally stuck- it wouldn’t close like there was something in the way. Unbelievable. After a few mins trying to mess with the elevator, I had to ditch my smarte carte and haul all my crap at lightning speed up the escalator. Made it- frazzled, but made it. SO I was in Vegas in 2 hours and that much closer to home. Warren had to book me an entirely new flight with Southwest because Jet Blue wouldn’t give me a new one or refund the flight that I had missed 2 days ago, but whatever- at least I had a seat out of Vegas- If I made my flight. I had an hour and a half to go get my bag from the baggage claim, circle around and go through security all over again. Southwest doesn’t participate in baggage-swap. They wouldn’t take my bag from Alaska Airlines and put it on their plane for me- oh no, I had to haul all my crap and Sawyer all over Guam. My back was on fire, but I made it to the gate. Someone please explain why Southwest does their seating the way the do. It’s retarded. They don’t give you a seat assignment. You get to the gate and get in lines in sections and board the plane that way- As all the other airlines and all the other times I have been and watched them board the plane, they always let people with disabilities and infants board the place first because it’s so much more work for us- so I got right in line only to be shot down by the lady- “you can’t board yet- you are going to have to wait” in front of 100 people was icing on the cake. I literally sat down on the floor right then and there, and watched as all the freaking “gold members” boarded first. I really wanted to feed Sawyer before we took off because an engorged left boob was not comfortable on top of everything else on my body that ached, but that didn’t happen. I got the very last seat in the freaking back row. I am literally dragging my duffle bag down the isle as I get to the back, I ask the flight attendant if she could help me lift my bag into the overhead bin. “oooo. I don’t know- How heavy is it? I don’t want to strain my back.” Seriously. That’s what she said. I stared her down like I would an accident. She offered to hold my baby, and I hoisted my freaking bag over my short little body. Whatever. I was going to be home for Christmas.

I totally cried as I descended down the escalator and saw Warren standing in the distance. After all the outrageous things I went through, I was home. I was home, and now Warren could help me carry my freaking bags. I can’t even help not crying right now as I retype it- This was probably one of the worst things that I have ever gone through. Frustrating, exhausting, and physically taxing. I’ve actually woke the last 2 nights with airport nightmares. Seeing people-so many people, feeling guilty that I made it home, and all the others didn’t- rushing to my gate, and bouncing Sawyer in my 1 feet radius of a plane seat.  I am forever changed because of this experience. But I know that my begging prayers were heard.  I am still so thankful that I made it home. It was so worth it to be able to be with Warren and see the boys open their presents on Christmas morning. I can’t even begin to explain the range of emotions that I went through. Home is such a special place to have. I’ve never longed for it so hard. 

More pictures from the story here.