I’m writing today on a United flight. It’s the busiest travel day of the year, yet there are five empty seats in the two exit rows around us. For some reason, we were not assigned seats, told we would not be sitting together, and there was no room for our carry-ons. Instead, we’re in the exit row, have our bags under the seat, and the only reason we’re not side-by-side is because there was an unoccupied extra seat available. It’s wasted space as far as I’m concerned, since I was prepared to be cramped and miserable. I now feel like I’m going someplace where nobody else wants to go.

Expecting a day full of hassles and discomfort, there was little traffic on the expressway, immediate help finding a parking spot, no trouble checking luggage, and TSA-Pre designation. As a result we had plenty of time for a sit-down breakfast at the Country Cat, just one gate away from our boarding area. We had both just commented on how the busiest day somehow turned out to be the easiest of all our airport experiences this year. Seconds later, I noticed on the boarding pass that we had no seat assignments and there were carry-on restrictions. PLEASE SEE AGENT – that can’t be good! We soon learned that it was all in the fine print due to the special fare we received. What special fare?- I thought we were flying United – not a no-frills like Spirit, where you’re seemingly charged by the square for toilet paper!

Obviously, it all worked out in our favor, but it also added to the mounting holiday stress levels. Not to mention there were people in our seats when we first got on board, and we had to convince them that they were sitting in the wrong row. Finally, we’re comfortably settled in and ready for the three and a half hour flight into Chicago. Oh, and I have to pay to watch a movie. At least the Diet Coke (I got the whole can) is still free, and I have an aisle seat to get to the inevitable bathroom as a result of its diuretic effects. I guess I’ll find out later about the toilet paper.

It seems that we’re always among those traveling, while the rest of our family gets to stay home. We don’t even put up a tree anymore because we’re never there to enjoy it or put anything under it. My wife is also disappointed that her two daughters won’t be with us this year, but her oldest is at least staying at the house with our pups. At least, our home is not empty, wasted space. Besides, the girls were just with us all last week, but Thanksgiving and Christmas are sacred family days for my wife. After all, she’s spent every single Christmas with her mother since birth, with the exception of a major snow storm that delayed the get-together by a day. Of late, distance apart has become our biggest holiday challenge, with family members spread between Florida, Indiana, Washington D.C., and Portland. To me, getting together regardless of the day is what is important. There are a lot more efficient times of the year to travel than when everyone else does.

We are on our way in comfort, but other challenges lie ahead. A rental car, hotel rooms, and travel on potentially snowy roads could add to the holiday overload. At least with Face Time, you can get there quickly and hang up when you’re ready to leave. Hopefully, someday there will be “Time Travel,” and we’ll all have machines for instant transport. We then won’t have to spend half of our vacation time getting to the destination or waste any retirement time on redundant routes. The future will be here soon!

Happy Holidays everyone. I will get the chance to see all my cousins this year, a result of a Portland visit by the youngest whom I hadn’t seen for at least 30 years. He’s getting his remaining family together for an open house while I’m in Indianapolis. It will be great to reconnect with all these long lost relatives, as it’s been a year filled with similar reunions. (See Posts #232, #212, #175, and #61). I just hope I don’t get too many gifts this year, because there’s not much wasted space left in the house to store them