This is my second attempt at writing this blog entry and it’s a long one! I’ve been so busy with kids and my studies that I haven’t had the free time I’ve wanted to write my thoughts out here. I wanted to talk about my trip down to Florida. Shane has already covered the experience of the conference but I wanted to focus on my travel down with the kids.

We all traveled together from Vancouver to Toronto, however, we had to split up in Toronto with Shane taking Aydan (age 4) and going by car to Buffalo where they would fly out and we’d reconnect in Orlando. I stayed at the Toronto airport where I would depart with Dylan (age 7), Lyndan (age 5) and Dannan (6 months) and the bulk of our luggage since it was uncertain how much time Shane would have to check in once he got to Buffalo.

Visualize this if you will: 3 kids, 2 booster seats, 1 infant seat, 1 stroller, 1 backpack and 4 bags. Shane had to leave straight from the plane so I had to manage everything (except the carseats) from the plane doors in Toronto to baggage claim where I picked up the carseats. I can only get one luggage cart because there is no way I can manage two. Our 6 month old wasn’t sitting up on his own yet so he had to go in the stroller which meant Dylan was recruited to push his baby brother around while Lyndan had “sore” feet and declared he couldn’t walk so he road on the luggage as I pushed the cart. The kids were miserable as we had just come off a red eye from Vancouver. They were hungry, tired, and in a strange airport. I checked us in at the WestJet counter and was surprised when they didn’t take the car seats from me. I expected them to take them there but instead I had to take them with me to customs.

The stroller wheels weren’t working very well and kept getting stuck so Dylan made sure everyone could see how upsetting this was. Dylan is a little showman and he had an audience. He managed to get one group of ladies to push the stroller a few feet for him and then he made sure they were well aware that their mother (that would be me) wouldn’t let him have breakfast. Of course I quickly pointed out that we had to get through customs and security and then we’d eat on the other side, which they all understood but tell that to a hungry and tired 7 year old who has the support of his 5 year old brother and the vocalizations of his 6 month old brother in the background. Anyways, those ladies were kind enough to help us while several people darted under the ropes to jump the line and get ahead of us. Then the luggage started to fall. Yes, it was entertaining. Finally we reach the front of the main line and a couple offers to let us go ahead of them in the individual rows to see a customs agent which I was very grateful for.

On the other side of customs I had to take the car seats to be x-rayed and then put them on the belt to go under the plane. Of course I had put the booster seats at the bottom of the luggage so I had to unload the cart to get to them, but the infant seat was on the top which was nice. Then we reach the security check and I have to lose the cart. 3 kids, 1 stroller, 1 backpack, 4 pieces of luggage… no cart. Everything needs to be scanned. I had to pull a now sleeping baby out of his stroller, fold it up without assistance, stick it on the belt, take my shoes off, and then carry the baby through the metal detector. On the other side I had to do unfold the stroller and place the now awake baby in his stroller, get the kids to put their shoes back on and carry all the luggage to our gate since they don’t have carts on the other side. The boys were very glad that we were able to get food once we reached the gate… an hour before our flight and 30 minutes before our boarding time.

Our flight was pretty uneventful and I took the kids and our carry-on luggage from one terminal to the next on their little shuttle to get to baggage claim. When we got there everyone else had already come and got their luggage except for us. I found one booster seat and the infant seat next to the belt. Going ‘round and ‘round was one lonely looking crushed booster seat and I wondered why someone would pack a seat that was clearly not up to safety regulations. When it finally dawned on me that there was no one else there, that I was down by one booster seat and it seat looked like ours…. except in bad shape, I came to accept that the sad looking booster seat was actually ours.

We had one hour to wait before Shane would arrive with Aydan on their flight from Buffalo so I went to a tiny little room with my cart full of luggage and three kids to take care of paperwork for the damaged booster. In this room was a woman and her mother also making a claim for damaged luggage. I was pleased by how smoothly everything went. I had someone helping me the instant I walked into the room, my paperwork was filled out right away, and they gave me a booster seat to borrow free of charge to use in Florida. As I was leaving the room the mother of the woman making another luggage claim approached me and said “You know, I’ve been watching you since Toronto. You’re traveling with three kids, all boys, alone, all of this luggage and then they wreck your carseat and I’m surprised you’re still smiling. I would have cracked by now.”

I am thankful that I was given the patience to get through that. It wouldn’t have been much of a testimony had I been snapping at my kids every few feet or losing my temper with the airline for the wrecked booster seat. We aren’t perfect and we’re not always going to be at our best under stressful situations but we must remember that people are watching and will see how we conduct ourselves. I had to focus on the positives in the situation and I shared those positives with her. I explained how we are going to Florida for a conference with our church and that filling out paperwork killed time while I waited for my husband. I added that they were quick with getting the paperwork done and I got a temporary booster seat to use while we were down here so I was pleased with how little hassle it was. You could tell she was surprised and agreed that it was less hassle with being provided with a new seat and they were efficient with the paper work.

Being able to talk to this woman made me feel grateful for the experience of having the seat damaged and made the stress and exhaustion from managing the luggage and kids from Toronto to Orlando worth it.

And I did it all over again going home from Orlando to Toronto… but I checked most of the luggage this time.