On the Road Again

One of my favorite things to do is sleep. One of my least favorite things to do is get up. That's especially true when getting up comes early; like 3:30 AM early!!! But in order to catch another early fight, it's what I had to do on Sunday.

Since December, I have been quite the traveler. Wade and I flew to VA for two weeks at Christmas. In February, Curtis and I flew to FL for a week for a much needed vacation in Key West. The very next week, my friend and I drove to Austin for the Inclusion Works Conference for four days. A couple weeks after that, Wade and I boarded another plane bound for VA for two more weeks. That trip was for the amazing magnetic therapy. Here we are two weeks later on yet another trip. This time we've landed in New Jersey where Wade is participating in an intensive week of Medek physical therapy with the very talented Azriel Novogroder. Azriel came to us very highly recommended by some new friends we met while in VA Beach. You can check out their story here.

As usual, the journey to New Jersey was quite an adventure. As mentioned, my day started way too early. When traveling with a child who has a disability, it is always wise to get to the airport early, and is also very important to make sure the gate agent is aware of the disability so that you can board first with assistance. In the past, I've been really good about this. For some reason, I chose to "wing it" this time. This wasn't my brightest idea considering it was a full flight on a HUGE plane. Not to mention that when I booked the flight, the system did not sit my three year old in the same row as me! When flying, I always bring Wade's Childrite seat with us so that he can sit up properly in the seat. It's also a lot easier to carry through the airport instead of a car seat, and I can also use it as a booster at restaurants. (It's a bigger version of the popular Bumbo for babies. Of course it has a bigger price tag too since it's designed for children with disabilities!) The seat belt on the plane fits around it just fine. I'm sure it's not FAA approved, but I have NEVER had an issue. In fact, many of the flight attendants have even commented on how great it is. Well of course since I had been up since 3:30 and had a massive headache, this would be the instance that the flight attendant would choose to follow guide lines and tell me that Wade couldn't use it. I told her he has a disability and won't be able to sit up in the seat then. She finally agreed to let him sit in it during the flight, but I had to hold him in my lap during take off and landing. I really don't see how that is safer, but anyway...

Now to the fun part! Navigating through Newark airport with a huge suitcase, Wade in his adaptive stroller, his Childrite seat, and a carry on bag. For those who don't know, you get your baggage from the ground floor, then you have to go to the third floor to catch an airtran over to the rental car area. Thank goodness for nice people at the airtran station! Once at the rental car area, I had to figure out how to install the carseat properly and become creative in an effort to fit the heavy stroller and huge suitcase in a Dodge Caliber. Once loaded, we were off to find our way to the hotel. Thank goodness for GPS on the iPhone!!! The roads in this area are quite unique and interesting to navigate, but I think I'm getting the hang of it. And the biggest surprise? This southern gal really likes it up here! The little towns are quaint, and the houses are cute. The cultural diversity intrigues me. The diversity is one thing I miss living in Texas.

Wade and I are in the hotel relaxing for a bit before we go back to the clinic for his second session today. I'll be taking some video and pictures to post on my next update. But for now, I'll just let you know that this is some amazing stuff!!! Although we've only had three sessions so far, Wade absolutely loves it. When we pull into the parking lot, he starts giggling! At least I know my 3:30 AM wake up was worth it:-)