This weeks post in English, sorry for my not so perfect English 🙂
I was going to visit a friend up north one summer
To her hometown, the city of Bodø
I was going alone, with my four kids, who at that time was at the age of 2-4-7-and 9 .
No problem, I thought….:)
After all, my husband would take me to the airport and my friend would pick me up in Bodø
It would only be the transfer in Oslo I would have to manage on my own…
NO PROBLEM!!
When we arrived in Oslo I got super stressed. I thought our landing time in my schedule was the time to board our next flight
We had landed 10 minutes early…
I ran with one child on my arm, the other one holding my hand as I was dragging her along – while my eldest boy was told to take his little brothers hand and follow me…QUICKLY!!
Hysterically I ran through the corridors
The children cried and I yelled
When we got to our gate, there were no people there and no plane outside…
I ran hysterically over to the next gate and explained that I had missed my flight..
«What am I going to do????» I almost cried…
The friendly airport worker looked at my ticket and told me that my plane would be boarding in 45 minutes….
When we finally were boarding the plane, the airline where trying out a new system were we could pick our own seats!!!!!! 😦
…..Well……. that doesn’t work well for a mom with four children – when the eldest boys run in, pushing themselves past people and pick two seats way in the back without holding some for their mom and 2 younger sisters…
We sat with 9 rows between us!!!
When we finally took off, I sank into the seat and looked forward to arriving in Bodø and getting some help from my friend…
For a little while I relaxed, but suddenly a woman came to my seat:
«I think you have to come back here, your son is airplane sick and is throwing up all over the place»!!
I ran back and forth between one kid who were really sick and to little girls who didn’t, AT ALL want to sit by themselves alone in the front..
«MOM» were yelled between the 10th and 19th row for a long time!!
You think anyone offered to trade places with me?
NOPE
Things settled down after a while and NOW I was really looking forward to land in Bodø!!!
«This is the captain speaking. Unfortunately there is to much fog in Bodø airport so we have to fly to Værnes instead, and maybe we can fly back in a while»
I wanted to cry…. Værnes where the heck is that????
At Værnes we waited for a long while inside the airplane, but eventually we were told that we had to go by bus back to Bodø….
«How far is that ?» I asked someone on the plane.
«10 hours» She replied
NOW, I was fighting the tears for real!
But I pulled myself together and grabbed the first flight attendant I saw;
«All 5 of us gets car sick, so you better find some medication for that, or this bus-trip will be a nightmare for all!!!»
He took off and were soon back with plenty of tablets and water for us.
And then the journey began.
2 busses in a convoy heading for Bodø.
The ferry that we had to take had been transporting a large circus all day, so the cars in line had been waiting for hours already…
When our flight got cancelled, the ferry was held back for additionally 30-40 minutes, to wait for the 2 busses.
It would be an understatement to say that the people waiting there was unhappy..
And they took it out on us…
No seats were available and no one gave their seats to an exhausted mother with 4 children…..
we were supposed to get free food, but the ferry was emptied out..
Back in the bus there were some woman that helped me with two of my children and the trip towards Bodø continued.
When we were getting close, I borrowed a cell phone and I called my friend at her house to make a plan for her to pick us up.
«We will drive both to the airport and the bus station» the buss driver told me.
So we planned for her to pick me up at the bus station which suited my friend best.
We first arrived at the airport and the bus driver from the bus in front came back and said;
«We have to hurry back, so that we can catch the last ferry back home«
This was a time when not everybody had a cell phone. Neither my friend or I did, so now I couldn’t reach her, were she was waiting at the bus station.
The last thing the bus driver did was to call for a taxi, before he left me and my four small kids out in the cold night at 01.00……
The taxi came, but it was a regular taxi – with seats for 4 people – we were 5!!!!!…..
So he had to call for another one – and a maxi taxi finally arrived minutes later…..
«The airline is paying for this» I told him. ( The buss driver had promised me that)
«Do you have a requisition?» he asked and I lost it!!!!!
With tears in my voice I screamed:
«Don’t ask me for anything right now!!! I have travelled for 12 hours with my 4 kids and I am about to loose my mind!!!!»
He threw his hands in the air and said:
«Take it easy madam – take it easy«
He than went into the airport and soon came back with the requisition.
«They tried to say no» he told me when I had calmed down.
» But I told them, that the totally exhausted mother of 4, sitting out in my car – was NOT one that they should fuck with!!!»
At 03.00 I was sitting in my friends kitchen with a glass of wine.
Totally exhausted, happy to finally be there, and swearing that I would NEVER take a trip alone with my 4 kids EVER again…
Its funny……now that my 4 kids are all grown up….. I would give a lot to be able to take that same trip again… 🙂
I wish you all a great weekend – enjoy the moments – before you know it, they`ve passed….
❤ ❤ ❤
forfatterwannabe 