In which I truly lose my mind....Disney world part 1

Exhausted.....in one word.....exhausted.

The trip started out rocky and down right rough, but by Sunday things were much better.  On Friday night at about 11:30pm, Josh and I made sure that everything was packed.  We loaded the truck, we packed our carry ons, we set out our tickets.....tickets.....shit....did we do the online check in.....shit.....JOSH CAN YOU PRINT THE TICKETS?

At that point, I pulled out my laptop to find the email with the confirmation number of our flight,  the email I never printed out or the confirmation number I never wrote down....do you see where this is going?  Exactly.  Apparently in my chaotic state of late, I deleted the email from Southwest, which was deleted from my delete box.  So there was no email or trace of me ever purchasing anything from Southwest in cyberland.

So we picked up the phone at 12:00am and called Southwest to give them our name and find out exactly what time our flight was and check in.  That is when the nice ticket lady said...."I'm sorry but you aren't booked on ANY flight on Southwest tomorrow."  I wasn't on the phone, but if you know me you know what my reaction was or what I would have told the very nice ticket lady.

Instead I listened to the part of the conversation I could hear and got wind of the bad news....the very bad news....then fumed....WHAT THE FUCK!  I BOUGHT THOSE TICKETS!  After I insisted we were on that flight and that we had better be, I started to question myself.....did I book those tickets.....did I forget.....did I mean to do it when josh got home from work......I booked the trip on a weekend while he was on call at the hospital.....I did get the tickets right after I booked Disney right? right? right?  BRAIN WORK!!!!

Yes, the doubt crept in and my husband after giving 3 credit card numbers and our last name several times, hung up the phone with the nice Southwest lady with no seats on any plane departing from New Orleans and headed to Orlando.....or really any flight at all.

It is now 12:30, my kids are in bed and are so excited about our big plane ride and trip to Disney that was supposed to happen in less than 12 hours.  What the hell?

So we try to book more tickets on Southwest assuming I just forget, even though I know I didn't.  But at this point what do you do?  The Southwest lady checked and double checked and our family has no seats on any plane going anywhere.  Panic starts to set in.

My more reasonable husband gets a little panicky too, he decides to check our credit cards....good one.  But, the credit card company's website is down and we can't look up our records to see if we did purchase them.  And to save paper our credit card company does it all online.....so why isn't your website working!!!  I jump on my computer to purchase more tickets, but Southwest's website is showing all flights are booked to Orlando the following day. I am about to cry.  I cannot disappoint the two tikes sleeping upstairs, we have been talking about this trip for months!

So Josh, being his calm, collective self, calls Southwest back.  Tells the lady the situation and that we need to purchase more tickets now, he rationally explains that we need to get to Orlando tomorrow, and then politely asked her to please help us out, because the direct flight we were supposed to be on is sold out.  I am thinking...give me the phone...I'll get us on that plane....lady you are so lucky it wasn't me to call.  I know I booked that flight...dammit! 

The nice Southwest lady takes a minute to check out the situation and dig a little deeper, as she says.   What?  Don't these people dig deep every time someone calls and says they did book a flight before you tell them they didn't????  So again we give her and spell our last name to dig deeper....several minutes go by.....I'm am totally freaking out...... and voila, she finds one.... except this flight was in October of last year.....yes genius, that was our Southwest flight from our Disney trip last year......just book us a new freaking flight!!!!  So now I am yelling...."just book another damn ticket.....Josh,tell her to book us more tickets." 

 Am I happy  the price has more than doubled than the price I had thought I already paid...NO!  But we need to get to Disney world dammit and apparently I am really a chicken with my head cut off and need to start taking moments to breathe and write things down or print things out and put them in places they won't get lost!  Either way.....book us another flight already!

So the lady keeps looking.....several more minutes go by....and I am just beating myself up....how could I forget to get tickets....who does that.....did I really do that.....I'm not that stupid....I know I booked those damn tickets....I know I paid exactly X amount of dollars for them.  Josh I did book them, I know I did!

So I tell this to Josh and still being his calm, collective self, simply tells the lady..."Mam, that is our last year reservation and I need to be in Orlando tomorrow is there another flight you can put us on?"   Me, I'm still yelling in the background....I have no idea how he puts up with me for the record.

And that is when she says...."Hold on sir....let me keep digging....I'm still not convinced you aren't booked on a flight out tomorrow.  "WHAT?"  What would give this woman any indication that we MIGHT be booked tomorrow.  Either we are like I've been saying....or we aren't like your other lady told us.....what is to be determined....I didn't book the tickets under Mr. & Mrs. Smith.....I booked them under the names I gave you and spelled out for you multiple times.......is Southwest trying to give me heart failure.....come on!

The lady is looking....I am thinking alternating thoughts and at the same time.....HA I did book those tickets/please let her find our flight/ha I know I booked the flight/come on PLEASE find them!

At about quarter to 1am, she found them.  On an earlier flight than what I swear I booked.  Or let me say an earlier flight than I know I booked!   Yes, my flight was leaving about noon.  The flight she had us on was leaving a little after 8am.  Did I mention we live 2 hours from the airport.  The rest of the flights out were booked.  So I took a deep breath, cursed myself for deleting the email and in general not being more responsible and thanked my lucky stars she found our reservation and that we didn't hurry and book a second more expensive reservation without getting to the bottom of it.  And oh Southwest I am not letting you off that easy....I know I had that reservation....you need to be more accountable too dammit!

Okay Internets.....here is the pivotal learning part of the post....you probably already know this and do this....if not take note and write it down.....THOSE FREAKING CONFIRMATION NUMBERS THEY GIVE YOU ARE PRETTY DAMN IMPORTANT....WRITE THEM DOWN!!! DON'T JUST PRETEND TO!

So at 1am we are scrambling, instead of heading out for the airport at 730am liked we planned, we are now having to leave at 430am.  It is 1am....I decide to shower that night and then sleep, but my heart is racing, my adrenaline is pumping and I can't sleep.  I get into bed at 130am and I toss and turn and at 430am, Josh and I grab to sleeping tikes out of their beds and load them in the car.  We hope they will sleep until we get there.....

They are both wide awake by the time we back out the driveway.  They are on their way to the Magic Kingdom.....the excitement is bubbling out of them.  There is no rest for the weary.  For 2 hours we say....
"Yes guys we are on our way",  "Yep we are headed to the big plane",  "Yep we are going to DISNEY world!", "Nope we are not there yet!"

And eventually we board our flight and arrive in Orlando......Ahhhh!  But there will be no napping or resting....we check in.....we load onto another bus.....and we head to the Magic Kingdom!

to be continued....