24 Hour Travel Day

3:30 a.m. Friday, April 13

Justin stirs in his crib and I slowly open my eyes. Being a light sleeper I easily hear every sound he makes. I glance at the alarm clock on the floor and check the time. 3:30 a.m. Perfect timing. I have exactly half an hour to cuddle and feed him before it’s time to get up.

Hearing him fuss now, I carefully ease out of bed and reach down in his crib for him. Sure enough he’s hungry. I’ve become accustomed to his little grunts and squeaks and these ones leave no doubt in my mind what he wants.

Getting comfortable I cuddle my sweet baby till he’s done feeding. Although it’s not quite 4:00 a.m. yet, there’s not enough time to go back to sleep now, so instead I decide to get a head start on the day.

Opening the diaper bag, I quickly change Justin and then lay him on the bed. In the bathroom I wince as my contact lenses come in contact with my bleary eyes. Adding a few extra drops of solution to ease the discomfort I remind myself that my eyes aren’t used to wearing contacts at this time of night.

In the kitchen I turn on the kettle for a quick cup of tea and then head downstairs to change Jayden. He’s already awake and rambling about Haiti and whether Grandpa can come with us or not. As I help him get dressed I gently remind him that we aren’t going to Haiti, but Ontario and that we hope to see Grandpa when we come back in a month, God willing. Not sure where or what Ontario is, he simply shakes his head. I guess he will find out soon enough.

4:33 a.m.
The streets are quiet as we make our way to the Abbotsford Airport. With 3 suitcases, 5 carry-on, a stroller, and a car seat we are packed to the max. With two kids in tow, packing light is a now an impossible, fond memory. As we drive Jayden’s mouth goes a mile a minute and we do our best to remind him that every other kid is still sound asleep.

Although it’s going to be a long day, I’m more relaxed today then I’ve been in a long time. There’s something about the traveling life I love. Must be my ancestral gypsy blood.

My thoughts wander to the 6 weeks that have flown by since Justin’s birth. While the weeks preceding his birth seemed to drag on, the weeks following flew by so fast I hardly had time to blink, much less write. Visits with family and friends, Doctor appointments, an MAF presentation, Jayden’s first dentist appointment, meetings with supporters, moving out of our temporary home in Agassiz, moving back to Jason’s parents, my parent’s 40th anniversary celebration, and finally preparing and packing for our one month deputation trip to eastern Canada and the US. So many things done in such a short time period.

Coming back to the present I reach through the inky darkness for Jayden’s hand. Still talking, he now directs his conversation to the waning moon.

“I’m going to miss you moon,” He says. “You and Grandpa.”

“Actually, you won’t have to miss the moon Jayden.” I tell him smiling. It will be the same moon in Ontario, the United States and Haiti.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Oh.” He pauses to ponder this for a moment. I really wonder what goes through his little head sometimes.

I turn my attention to the window and watch the scenery fly by. The short drive to Abbotsford airport is over before we know it and we soon pull up to the curb. Unloading our bags we say goodbye to Dad and proceed to check in. Although it’s a little more tricky juggling a baby, car seat and stroller everything goes smoothly.

As we wait at our gate, Jason snaps our picture to document Justin’s first traveling day. So far so good.
6:15 a.m.

Seated and strapped in we are ready for takeoff.

Or not? The pilot’s voice comes over the loudspeakers to say an oil pump pressure light turned on and must be checked. 15 minutes later the pilot’s voice can be heard again, this time he tells us the problem has been fixed but we need to refuel. A half an hour later we pull out for takeoff, only to idle on the edge of the runway. If we leave right now we might still make our connection in Calgary, but it’s not meant to be.

A now very apologetic pilot’s voice can be heard once again, this time to let us know they hadn’t calculated the correct amount of fuel needed, and we would need to refuel again. By the time the extra fuel is added, it’s 2 hours since the original departure time.

Too late to catch our connection now, we are told West Jet will reschedule our flight to Hamilton when we arrive in Calgary.

9:00 a.m.
Leaning over Jayden, I peer out the window. The beautiful snow capped Rockies loom beneath us. In awe of God's creation I snap one picture after another.

Looking beside me I watch Jason cradle Justin in his arms. Studying his relaxed features I'm certain he's going to be a great traveler.

10:05 a.m.
A West Jet employee approaches us with new tickets to Hamilton as we wait in line inside the Calgary airport. Glancing at the tickets I notice departure time is now 6:15 p.m. More than 8 hours from now.

With arrival into Hamilton being midnight, it means we won’t reach our Aunt and Uncle's home till 2:00 a.m.

Nothing like a 24 hour time span for Justin’s inaugural travel day.

With some $10 West Jet vouchers in hand and directions to the nearest lounge we head up the elevator. Thankfully the lounge is spacious, has comfortable chairs and free soup, sandwiches and snacks. Justin quickly falls asleep in his car seat.

Meanwhile Jason and Jayden play games on the ipad.


With 8 hours to burn, I finally have time to write the article due Monday and update our blog. Not remembering the last time I could just sit and work on the computer I savour this time.