The flight

Hey, we made it!

William and I successfully navigated the friendly skies on Thursday, arriving safely in Baton Rouge, where my parents happily greeted us. And we only had one major blowout along the way. I completely lucked out and got to bring along the car seat on both legs of the flight, so William had a seat of his own in which to sit. That was a godsend. Almost everyone we encountered was really nice. Interestingly enough, the most common type of person to ask me if I could use some help was the little old lady contingent. I guess they've been there themselves and remember what it was like.

As for the major blowout, well...you knew there would have to be one. I'm sure the people in the first class cabin weren't too thrilled to see me parade down the aisle, holding a poopy and wailing William at arms length in front of me, though. He was gross. I will not horrify y'all with the details except to say that he completely ruined his darling little plaid outfit that I had specifically selected for him to wear to meet Grandaddy Johnny and Mama Judi. The flight attendant (Roxanne on American Airlines-- should you ever encounter her, please be nice to her) was so helpful to me during that little episode. I am really grateful for people like that who helped make the trip better for me. I was so nervous and harried about flying with a little baby, and really, so many people were so nice. Sure, I got a few nervous looks from people who were surely thinking "Oh, no, is he going to cry like that the whole time?" but on the whole, most people complimented me on how beautiful William is or commiserated with me on the travails of traveling cross country with a baby. One lady watched William for me while I ran to the airplane bathroom, and her four-year-old son solemnly offered to share his candy with William. Another flight attendant cooed over William, and a college student asked if he could put my bags in the overhead bin for me. Seriously, this sort of thing restores your faith in humanity. I am really lucky. Please, God, let the return flight be half as smooth.

I don't know if William really appreciated the fact that he got a window seat twice, but I sure did appreciate the fact that I got an extra seat for him on both flights. And I'm grateful that we arrived safely. We both miss David, though. William has been looking a little, er, concerned about my singing skills during his nightly bath. I don't think he's too impressed; I can practically hear him thinking, "I love her, but thank goodness that Daddy is the one who gives me my regular bath."