This year for Thanksgiving we packed up our bags to visit Grandma and Grandpa in STL. We were all excited to spend some more quality time with the entire family. Day 1 of our trip was filled with plenty to write home about. Or in my case, write on my blog about. We had a long day of traveling with a layover in Chicago before landing in STL nearly 7 hours later. Unfortunately, our travels were not as smooth as we might have expected.
First off, traveling during peak cold and flu season is enough to bring out the relentless germ-a-phob in every parent. Throw in a baby that puts fingers and every other inanimate object into her mouth, and you’re likely to have a full meltdown. In fact, I think I spent every moment on the plane worrying about what germs she would pick up by merely breathing the same microbe-infested air as the other passengers. At one point, Bella seemingly defied me on purpose by licking the side of the armrest. As if that weren’t enough, she then stood up against the back of the seat and planted her wet lips and tongue on top of the headrest. AAAERCHT!! There really is no proper word short of profanity that spells out my reaction to all of this. After the headrest incident, I finally sighed a sense of defeat and resigned to the fact that Bella would probably get sick.
Then there was Bella’s fussiness on the plane. After all the hype over the acclaimed EarPlanes (see previous post), we thought all our work would be done by merely slipping two earplugs into Bella’s ears. Well, Bella proved us to be fools. On previous trips, the miracle plugs served the dual purpose of drowning out the loud buzz of the plane motor and by reducing discomfort from sudden changes in air pressure. Bella snoozed like a fat cat basting in the sun. But on this trip, she refused to let us place the plugs into her ears. She cried non-stop for the first 1 hour or so from the thunder of the motor and from the pain in her ears. It was also past her nap time so she was increasingly cranky. Jin and I sweated profusely the entire time trying to accommodate to her, passing her back and forth between the both of us. We tried every trick in the book to calm her – giving her toys, offering snacks, even playing her favorite Baby Einstein DVD until she finally wore herself out from crying and fell into a deep slumber.
After nearly 6 hours of sitting in an enclosed tank of stale recirculated air, we finally arrived in STL. And just in the nick of time because Bella was turning on her fussy face. When we arrived home, my mother had surprised us by preparing a full Thanksgiving Dinner. We had agreed ahead of time that because we would arrive late on Thanksgiving Day that the formal turkey and all the trimmings would be prepared on Friday night. But one step into the house, the fragrant aroma of basted turkey and the noise of bubbling pots told us that Thanksgiving Feast was going to be tonight!
As we all sat down to dinner together with Grandpa and Grandma, and Uncle Henry to share Bella’s first Thanksgiving Dinner in STL, I realized that this was the first time in several years that I had been home for this holiday. It was good to be home. We all bowed our heads before dinner giving thanks to all the blessings we’ve enjoyed over the past year. Bella patiently sat in her highchair waiting for the festivities to begin and we all silently smiled to ourselves as we realized that for the next few days, our lives would revolve around one pint-sized 25 pound rugrat named Bella…
Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!
0 comments:
Post a Comment