The Wild Journey Home: A Tale of Flight Cancellations, Tarmacs, and Patience Snacks

When it comes to traveling, my motto is: if you’re not sprinting to your gate, are you even trying? I’m always the mom who cuts it close, juggling bags, kids, and my sanity. But this time, thanks to my oldest son Seth, we were ridiculously early for our flight back to Atlanta from Indy. Turns out, Seth’s Type-A tendencies were about to save the day.

Let’s rewind for a second. Our flight TO Indy was a nail-biter—the kind where we showed up with five minutes left to board because, well, classic me. But for the return trip, Seth’s insistence on arriving early (with plenty of “time to spare, Mom!”) meant we were first in line when chaos struck: our flight was canceled.

Cue the panic…except we got lucky. Since we were already at the airport hours early, we snagged seats on the last flight going to Atlanta that evening. Winning! Or so we thought.

Welcome to the Waiting Game

We boarded the plane on time, feeling smug about how smoothly things were going. Oh, sweet naivety. As soon as we got comfy, the captain’s voice crackled over the intercom: “Folks, flights into Atlanta are temporarily grounded.” No biggie, right? A quick delay? Ha. How about THREE HOURS of sitting on the tarmac?

At first, it wasn’t so bad. We played “I Spy” with the kids, laughed about how “this only happens to us,” and munched on snacks. Delta even passed out water bottles and Sunchips and cookies as if that was going to fix the frustration. Blake thought it was the coolest adventure ever, but by hour two, Brittany’s patience started slipping. And me? I was calculating how many Delta Cookies it would take to buy my sanity back.

Eventually, the plane turned around and headed back to the gate. Why? Because air traffic control wasn’t releasing us. Cue the collective groan of everyone on board. We unboarded the plane, stood in a painfully long line to speak with Delta agents, and faced a decision: rebook for the next day or roll the dice and wait it out. Naturally, we chose to wait it out because we’re patient people. HAHA. (Okay, we’re not, but desperation makes you brave.)

The “Patience Snacks” Reward

By this point, it was 9:37 PM. Our flight was originally supposed to leave at 5:07 PM. You can imagine how thrilled everyone was. Seth, being his usual calm and collected self, kept saying, “Mom, it’ll work out.” Brittany and Blake were surprisingly well-behaved (probably because they were too tired to rebel). The flight attendant even came over to compliment their behavior, pointing out that they were the only kids on the plane. How did I not notice that sooner? Oh, right, because I was too busy trying to keep my own nerves in check.

Finally, at 10:02 PM, we got the green light: the flight was back on! Everyone cheered like we’d just won the lottery. We boarded again, crossed our fingers, and prayed we’d actually make it home this time.

Snowpocalypse Atlanta

We landed in Atlanta, and for a second, I thought we’d taken a wrong turn and ended up in Colorado. The tarmac was iced over, snow was everywhere, and I had no idea Georgia even knew what snow like this looked like. My nerves hit an all-time high because, let’s be real, Georgia roads + ice = disaster.

As I stared at the icy parking lot, Seth said, “Mom, it’ll be fine. I’ll drive.” UGH. He said it so confidently, but you know what that translates to? Mom’s heart rate skyrocketing for the next 40 minutes.

The Grand Finale

Somehow, we made it home in one piece. Seth drove like a pro, Brittany and Blake passed out in the backseat, and I made a mental note to start listening to Seth more often (maybe). The journey was chaotic, stressful, and exhausting, but we survived—and now we have a story to tell. Next time, though, I’m going to try that whole “always early” thing. Or at least pack more snacks…

Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: travel with kids is always an adventure…but with patience (and pretzels), anything is possible.

~ Mary

#MomLifeWithMary