My knight in shining tin

Monday morning, Paige and Graham and I set off for Aspen, Colorado. My friend Celia had offered up her place at the Ritz Carlton Club Aspen Highlands during the off-season. Great! I thought. We'll play in the mountains, maybe catch the end of the fall leaves or even see some of the first snowfalls.

Our flight was 1 hour delayed by the time we got to the airport. By the time we reached the gate, it was 2 hours. We played with Thomas trains in the terminal, charmed some old ladies with hearty renditions of "Rain, rain, Go Away" and "It's Raining, It's Pouring" and remained light-hearted since this whole adventure was planned as nothing but a little fun adventure.

Finally on the plane, there was more delay. The captain announced that the baggage tag reader had shorted out, loosing all the baggage destination information. All the bags were pulled out (in the rain) and re-scanned. An hour later, we were taxiing to the runway. Wind shears and pounding rain shut down our runway. Four hours after our schedule departure, we took off.

Now in Denver. We missed our connecting flight to Aspen. We even missed the next flight to Aspen. We were booked confirmed on the 8:15 pm flight. It was 4 pm. Okay...we attempted to stand by for the 4:30 flight, which was delayed until 5:40. As I stood patiently waiting at the gate podium, the kids picked out all the "g"s and "p"s on the baggage safety warning sign. The gate agent informed me that we couldn't get on that flight because our bags wouldn't make it. Apparently, these days, you must be on the same flight as your bags for safety reasons. Okay. I thought.

The next flight for which we could stand by was at 7:30 pm. So Paige and Graham and I sat on the floor after riding all the moving sidewalks 20 times, recharged the dvd player, played more trains and a good matching puzzle game. We ventured to the land of airport food, and I was pleasantly surprised by the rotisserie chicken and gorgonzola-spinach-artichoke pizza we chose at the Wolfgang Puck restaurant. We sat at the only empty table. Then I came to find why it was empty. Next to us were three Middle Eastern men conducting shady business in forceful tones on their cellphones. I went with a mind-my-own-business-assume-nothing approach. As we got up to leave, one of them cracked a loving smile and spoke kind words to the kids.

At the gate for the 7:30 departure to Aspen, Aspen-looking people were trickling in. Ladies in fine cashmere sweaters and impractical but amazing-looking boots with quaffed hair, men in jeans and starched shirts trying hard to look relaxed. CANCELLED! Oh, the crowd was incensed. I was beginning to think maybe they knew that and I should just be smug that they knowingly booked me on the 8:15, right? Maybe?

As you might guess, just 1/2 hour prior to departure time, our flight was cancelled too. Paige and Graham were looking exhausted and Paige finally explained, "You know Mommy," head tilted, hands on hips, "This is really hard for a 3-yr-old." So we stood in line at the dreaded "Customer Service Center" to await our fate. I was glad my sister-in-law lives in Denver, so I called her and we planned to stay there. By the time I got to the front of the line, the kids were lying on the floor in a pitiful heap. The lady was SO unbelievably ill-tempered and unhelpful. She said they could book me on the same 8:15 pm flight the next day. NO WAY I said, book me on an early flight or with another carrier. No options. Okay, well just tell me where I pick up my bags and I'll go. "M'am, your bags are already at the Aspen airport waiting for you" This is unbelievable. Obvious proof that they DID make that flight that went out less than full. I go into a tirade about that. Due to the safety regs, we don't have anything we need in our carry-on bags; it is all in those bags. In Aspen! My voice was rising, and another customer service rep came over and said if I couldn't lower my voice and speak calmly I could leave and come back. THEY THREW MY TICKETS AT ME AND TOLD ME TO LEAVE. Yeah, I was irate, and I was yelling. Graham started crying.

Not a good move, Mom, I thought to myself.

Hugging Graham and looking at sweet all-knowing Paige, I reached for the nearest "Customer Service Courtesy Phone" and booked a rental car for us to drive (235 miles) the next morning. Okay. People who were behind me in line come over. One says, "You should stick around, they are reinstating our flight. If you go to the gate, they'll reticket you." What?

At the gate, the same rep who told me to leave had a giant smile on her face. She greeted me like she'd never met me before. She complimented the kids?!?! She handed us boarding passes. It's now 11 pm. Our plane takes off. We zoom to Aspen. It's bumpy. You can see the rain/snow and limited visibility each time the lights on the ends of the wings flash. I say a prayer as I look at my sweet children, bleary-eyed and travel-worn.

Captain comes on, "Well, folks, as you might have guessed, we gave it our best shot but we're turning around now and heading back to Denver, just couldn't get a clearing tonight." Oh damn. Now what?

Losing my voice with exhaustion, I called Gwynn just to let her know we would spend the night in Denver, but given the late hour, we camped at an airport hotel. I washed underwear in the sink and brushed the troopers teeth with "complimentary" overnight kits from United. Thanks United. I was really proud of P&G for letting me brush them with minty toothpaste, given the hour and the exhaustion level. It was enough to make me cry.

Weary, weary, weary and unable to swallow without raw pain, I awoke to the sweetest smiles and warm little bodies beneath the foam fuzz blanket. Oh my goodness, these are two my favorite people on Earth! We put on our clothes (again) and enjoyed the amazing -- to a 3-yr-old -- breakfast buffet. Can you imagine: donuts, fruit loops, make-your-own waffles, eggs and biscuits all out for the taking? Yeehaw. I drank my hot, watery American coffee and braced myself for the drive ahead.

It was chilly and overcast in Denver. After I installed the safety seats, we hit the road in our Kia Sorrento. Not an hour out of town, the soft rain grew to a driving sleet. Between Silver Pass and Copper Mountain, we saw heavy snow falling on already blanketed slopes. We stopped at a drive-though Starbucks for refreshments. Our next pit stop wasn't until Vail, where blue, clear skies greeted us and the visitors center had a Volvo made entirely out of legos. That was amusing. Graham asked, "What's our rental car made out of Mommy?" Ha ha. In his mind, it was a legitimate question, right? We encountered varying weather conditions for the rest of the journey, and my knuckles were so tense. When I wasn't avoiding ice patches or explaining to the kids what "Runaway Truck" paths were, I really enjoyed the scenery in the Canyon that leads to Glenwood Springs. There was one point where we were deep in a red canyon, with a creek beside us, just about to enter a tunnel. A train was coming around the bend to our left. It was picturesque. As we increased altitude on the road to Aspen, the snow returned. We were almost there, that's all I could think.

Stopped in at the airport, grabbed our bags, jumped back in the car and headed to the Ritz Carlton Club. They were ready for us and quickly got us to our room. I called for an immediate bubble bath. Oh, that was nice! Paige and Graham thought it was great, because I let them eat a bowl of popcorn while we bathed. We all took a long nap. Then we went into town and ate what Al jokingly referred to as "comfort food" for Paige and Graham: tuna sashimi at Matsuhisa. It went a long way to soothe our frayed nerves.

I would like to say it all gets better from there. It did not. I awoke on Wednesday so tender from head to toe and more coughing and sneezing than my now wrecked body could handle. The kids and I watched a marathon of Curious George, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Backyardigans, Dora...until Al finally called and I collapsed emotionally. Paige brought me a steady stream of tissues, whispering "It's alright, Mommy" while I blubbed away to my husband. He felt so bad for us.

Al arranged for his company's G4 to fly immediately to pick us up. We met the plane in Rifle, which is just 1 1/2 hours from Aspen and was experiencing much better landing conditions. The whole time we were in Aspen it was snowing. So beautiful but not great for visibility. It was quite a scene when the plane landed, taxied in while we waved from the fbo, then P&G quick-stepped across the tarmac with their rolling bags (Hello Kitty and Thomas the Tank Engine) in tow. Al descended from the plane's steps and held us all in his arms. Again, I lost it. I'm losing it just typing this. I am so fortunate.

There is no place like home when you are feeling ill. Here I have my support structure and everything I need. It is good to be home.