June 28th 2011
Today we begin our journey to Scotland for a ten day tour of the country. We have told each child that they may have an international trip as a graduation present. Our oldest son Will has chosen Scotland in part because he is mighty proud of his Scottish heritage (his mama is a Buchanan), he enjoys Scottish history and he is mad about Rugby, in particular, Scottish Rugby teams He has played this "unusual" sport for 3 years. Our flight was not until 3:00 so we decided to treat ourselves to a nice breakfast before our neighbor took us to Port Columbus. We happily polish off a gourmet breakfast at North Star Café. That afternoon we board our flight to Detroit and then the massive 747 for the long night flight to Amsterdam. Soon after boarding we learn that there are some mechanical issues that keep our plane grounded. Then when all the problems are solved, a maintenance worker on the ground does something that makes the entire plane shut down. Crews have to be called back again to reset the planes systems.
All the while my youngest son is growing more and more impatient with the delay. I have a flashback to 14 years ago of a still nursing rambunctious toddler making a very similar journey to London England. Today he is a squirmy 16 year old. Not until the in-flight movie has begun and the dinner served does he settle. When the novelty had worn off and it was time to sleep he returned to his usual squirmy self. Nothing made him comfortable, not even the ugly fuzzy inflatable neck pillow I had bought at Target the day before. He fought with his seat, his pillow and his blanket trying to get comfortable.
