the journey

My full title didn't fit in the title box, so I will put it here:

The Journey: An exhausting and comprehensive memoir with observations and lessons learned from a four thousand mile father-son trek in search of an abode.

That pretty much sums it up.

On Tuesday evening, we put in an offer on a house in Princeville contingent on me seeing the place by the end of the week... and Wednesday night they accepted it! This required last minute planning and plane ticket buying. We decided that Titus would come along, since he could fly as a lap infant... even though he's not an infant anymore and he never stays on anybody's lap.

"Let's do this, Dad."

Thursday afternoon at 4:30, Titus and I loaded up in the pickup truck and headed for the airport. We had an appointment to see the house at 9:00 the next morning.

Titus began our just-man-time trip by immediately falling asleep, but he woke up shortly after and downed five Ritz crackers in five minutes... a personal record of his... so that got the man juices pumping again. Airport check-in was awful, but Titus survived it with flying colors, and we eventually made it to the boarding gate with even enough time to get some supper.

I learned a lot while flying with Titus... not about being a dad, but about being a mom. I learned a lot about having a child that you are fully responsible for every second, which left me with a lot of questions... like how in the world do you go to the bathroom???? Actually I don't want to ask. Nor do I want to tell.

I got seated in the front of the plane - right behind first class so that when Titus cried, the noise would go right through the tiny excuse for a curtain that separates the elite from the scum and remind them why they paid quadruple the price for their ticket. Maybe if Titus cried loud and long enough, the airline would give them more complimentary wine...

We took off at 9:00 p.m., an hour and half past Titus's bedtime. He was exhausted. When he is exhausted, instead of sleeping, he screams. And scream he did... loud enough that the stewardess came flying through that tiny excuse for a curtain with a panicked look on her face to find out what this incompetent father was doing to his child.

Another observation: when a father travels with an infant, every woman over the age of 30 just assumes that you are incapable of taking care of your child. They watch like hawks ready to pounce if they ever feel that a woman is needed. As I wrestled with a screaming Titus, trying to keep my elbow from taking out the front teeth of the guy next to me, and trying to ignore the stares of 361 people, one of the stewards suggested that I move to row 14 (which was empty) and lay the child down. I almost kissed him. I had no idea that God dresses some angels in Aeromexico uniforms.

Sleeping like a baby

The second that Titus was horizontal, he was asleep. The armrests between the seats were stationary, so I put him on the floor so he could stretch out. Shortly after, another stewardess came by... "So he fell asleep?... good.. <gasp> YOU PUT HIM ON THE FLOOR?" 

"Yes ma'am, I did." She walked away speechless. I enjoyed the rest of my flight.

O'Hare went well.... even got a selfie in the men's bathroom:

"Whatcha up to little guy? Just hangin' out?" - that was the question of the night it seemed

We headed out to the curb and jumped on a shuttle to Budget rental cars. My ride was a brand new Malibu.

This may or may not have been one of the highlights of our trip.

We rolled into my mom and dads at 5:00 in the morning. Caffeine kept me from sleeping, but I was starting to get jittery and was having a hard time thinking straight. Titus had a rough transfer, and made sure that everybody in the house knew that we arrived.

Friday morning, Dad and I walked through the house. It was a no-brainer. I called Hannah and we said yes.

There she is!

Saturday morning, Titus went with the girls to a wedding shower. I sure didn't mind some time to get some paperwork organized, but boy, he sure lost a lot of man points. I picked him up from the shower at noon and headed back up to Chicago in the Malibu. I wished I would have had some beef jerky for him to chew on in order to detox.

Travels to Chicago and check-in all went smoothly. We waited until we were the very last people to board the plane and the stewardess told me I could sit wherever I wanted to. The very back row was empty all the way across. Praise the Lord. Lots of space and no eyes.

I tried buckling him in... didn't work.

Ripping up magazines kept him occupied for awhile.

Supper time!

And he was out. That was probably the most relaxing flight I've been on.

We got into Guadalajara, got back in the truck, grabbed a hot dog and a cup of coffee, and drove back to Ixtlan. We arrived safely at 1:00 in the morning.

Titus was somewhat excited to see his mother :) He got so wound up he wouldn't go back to sleep. This video was taken at 1:30 a.m.

We are very thankful that we now have a place to call home when we move back to the States in just three weeks. We will close on it the first week we are back. God sometimes waits until the last minute, but He always provides.