Pre-boarding

This should be the first of a series of installments about our recent trip to Virginia...... we had a great relaxing time. We got back on Sunday evening. As of Tuesday at noon I had already managed to be be at the hospital for 30 hrs. Today I learned on NPR that in the France the gov't regulates work so that the work week is 5 hours a day, 3 days a week - that's 15 hours a week!

Anyway, my reflection for today is on the processing of Pre-boarding. You probably know what this is, "Hello, ladies and gentleman and welcome to flight 1043 to Harlingen. At this time we will be begin pre-boarding for those that need assistance or may be traveling with small children."

It begins..... you are waiting in line. For some reason everybody is tense, even though almost everybody has flown multiple times before with no problems. The people who are waiting in the A B or C lines (this is what Southwest does, sorry to anyone who is not familiar with it) start to eye up those in the pre-boarding line.

The silent scrutiny begins from those who have to wait for the Pre-boarders.

"Does that person really need assistance? Sure, he has a cane... "

"Yeah, that person is old and in a wheelchair, but...."

"Do both the parents have to be with the child? really? "

It seems that in truth we just don't like other people to go before us - and there is something about waiting to board an airplane that causes added stress.



So what was it like to be on the other side of the aisle, one of the Pre-boarders, validated by traveling with our baby?

It was sweet!