Travelling Horror Story
Since we're coming up to Hallowe'en I thought I'd share our Horror Story. No matter how well you prepare, something can go wrong. Thankfully it wasn't my child's behaviour.
I've only had one experience that truly upset me. I think it was coming home from Amsterdam, but I honestly can't remember, could have been Austin-Chicago or Chicago-Toronto. I do remember being very tired.
We went through security right at the gate, which means once you're in the waiting area, you don't want to go back out since it would mean going through security a second time. So once you're in, you're in.
These waiting areas are relatively tiny compared to the number of people they're expected to hold. If I could have sat on the end of a row, my stroller could have been in the aisle, blocking it partially, but not really a big deal. That wasn't possible. So I sat in the middle of a row with seats facing towards me. I piled up our carry-ons on a seat beside me, placed the stroller in front of it as best I could so I was wasting as little space as possible. I then asked Andrew to run Little E up and down the aisles of the waiting area. So taking up 2 seats and the stroller in front of the one I wasn't sitting in.
A couple minutes later an older couple (~70s) sits in the seats across from the stroller and one down. They chat for a few minutes to each other. I don't know if I was reading or just resting, but I did note that they were Canadian (passports, no accent that I could hear). And then the man says loudly to his wife, something to the effect of, "How rude, that girl's put her stroller here. It takes up so much room. The baby's not even it." And it was not a neutral tone of voice.
I was honestly pretty surprised. Some of the people who have been the most helpful towards me when I'm struggling with a stroller and/or toddler are older men.
And my kid wasn't even misbehaving or anything.
Since the man wasn't actually looking at me directly when he spoke I didn't know if I should respond.
So, after a brief pause, I said "I can't leave it unattended" with an implied "Ya know?" on the end. Puzzled tone of voice, somewhat tentative, a little bit defensive.
He then looked at me and reiterated that it was taking up so much space and I should have parked it somewhere else, kind of sneering.
So I just said, "The airport says I have to keep my belongings with me at all times, there is no where else for it to go. I'm trying to keep it out of the way as best I can."
Then his wife whispered something to him and he only gave me dirty looks for the rest of the wait.
I know it's not that exciting of a story and there are people who have been treated much worse. But I was already stressed and exhausted and it was frustrating. I definitely sat there trying not to cry.
Then I relished in the fact that he and his wife lined up early to go on the plane (I never know why people who aren't travelling with kids or lots of stuff do this) and then I got to walk past him with my toddler and stroller and go in before him. I'm a terrible person. I even smiled a know-it-all kind of smile.
Moral of the story: There will always be grumpy people, stand up for yourself but then try to brush it off.
I've only had one experience that truly upset me. I think it was coming home from Amsterdam, but I honestly can't remember, could have been Austin-Chicago or Chicago-Toronto. I do remember being very tired.
We went through security right at the gate, which means once you're in the waiting area, you don't want to go back out since it would mean going through security a second time. So once you're in, you're in.
These waiting areas are relatively tiny compared to the number of people they're expected to hold. If I could have sat on the end of a row, my stroller could have been in the aisle, blocking it partially, but not really a big deal. That wasn't possible. So I sat in the middle of a row with seats facing towards me. I piled up our carry-ons on a seat beside me, placed the stroller in front of it as best I could so I was wasting as little space as possible. I then asked Andrew to run Little E up and down the aisles of the waiting area. So taking up 2 seats and the stroller in front of the one I wasn't sitting in.
A couple minutes later an older couple (~70s) sits in the seats across from the stroller and one down. They chat for a few minutes to each other. I don't know if I was reading or just resting, but I did note that they were Canadian (passports, no accent that I could hear). And then the man says loudly to his wife, something to the effect of, "How rude, that girl's put her stroller here. It takes up so much room. The baby's not even it." And it was not a neutral tone of voice.I was honestly pretty surprised. Some of the people who have been the most helpful towards me when I'm struggling with a stroller and/or toddler are older men.
And my kid wasn't even misbehaving or anything.
Even though he is a monkey!
Since the man wasn't actually looking at me directly when he spoke I didn't know if I should respond.
So, after a brief pause, I said "I can't leave it unattended" with an implied "Ya know?" on the end. Puzzled tone of voice, somewhat tentative, a little bit defensive.
He then looked at me and reiterated that it was taking up so much space and I should have parked it somewhere else, kind of sneering.
So I just said, "The airport says I have to keep my belongings with me at all times, there is no where else for it to go. I'm trying to keep it out of the way as best I can."
Then his wife whispered something to him and he only gave me dirty looks for the rest of the wait.
Then I relished in the fact that he and his wife lined up early to go on the plane (I never know why people who aren't travelling with kids or lots of stuff do this) and then I got to walk past him with my toddler and stroller and go in before him. I'm a terrible person. I even smiled a know-it-all kind of smile.
Moral of the story: There will always be grumpy people, stand up for yourself but then try to brush it off.
_________________________________________________________________
Comments
Post a Comment