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| Mallory's vice grip on the airplane just prior to take-off |
It was my first and only day of work after spending Thursday through Sunday in Toronto on a work related weekend that saw me experience the Green Day musical American Idiot on Thursday, two full days of the imprint trade show on Friday and Saturday and then an early day Sunday when we had to be out of bed by 4am (Sask Time) to fly back to Regina. Needless to say, I felt like a zombie on Monday trying to get caught up from what I had missed and also trying to set up the work week without me being a part of it. I have fantastic bosses, so it wasn't very hard and I felt comfortable when I walked out the door just before 3pm.
We were on the road to Winnipeg by 4pm and I was, pleasantly, surprised by the behavior of our three kids. Usually, I'm ready to slit my wrists when we reach our destination because I can't stand, constantly, telling them to smarten up. It's not like it's our first day on a long highway jaunt. All three should be used to traveling. This time, they traveled like pros. They even behaved at the Neepawa Dairy Queen. While there, I picked up a local newspaper and read a really nice article on the MJHL Natives and how they were trying to make something positive out of the hazing experience that had put Neepawa in a negative national spotlight just a few months earlier. What a train wreck society we are. We'll watch, listen, and read stories all day long about a 15-year-old kid who is forced to tie a milk carton to his scrotum, but nobody seems to care when the team declares January 9-13 a special week where we raise awareness on hazing and let fans into an MJHL game for free. Still, my hat goes off to the Natives for trying to do something right.
We got to our hotel shortly after 9pm, and that's where the behavior goes south. Macey, the 4-year-old, gets going with 10-year-old Matthew and it takes some unpleasant parenting to settle them down. Fortunately, 7-year-old Mallory has bunked with the grandparents, so she wasn't part of the tom foolery. Macey and Matthew, I should point out, are essentially the same person. Their characters are mirror images of each other, only Macey is a little wiser because she has the benefit of watching and learning from the older one. By 10:30 we have all settled in for the night. I don't think the tv was even turned on. Even at the discounted price of $129 for the room, the hotel has done well on the Stackhouse family. Works out to a little over $20 an hour for us to stay there.
January 10
My wife Jenn isn't a morning person. So she says. But, she's always the first person out of bed and today is no different. She is up at 3:45am and ushers me to the shower. I come out to a couple of groggy kids. Macey, apparently, was in the midst of an interesting dream. When Jenn told her it was time to get up, she said, "First I have to get on the school bus." She doesn't go to school at all, by the way. Just Nursery School two afternoons a week and the bus is mom and dad (or Mr. Weinmaster if mom and dad are busy).
We get to the airport and drop off the luggage and four passengers. I head to the parkade and am torn as to whether or not I should leave my jacket in the van. It's plus-5 outside and I have a five minute walk to the terminal. No big deal. I just envision it being -35 on January 17th when we get back and that five minute walk feeling like a twenty minute walk. I leave the jacket in the van. Tough guy.
The ten of us get in line (five in our family, Amy-Ryan-Reese, Baba-Dido) to get our assigned seats. I forget that most of us really aren't seasoned travelers as I hear the term 'rush seating' and cringe. I picture hundreds of people charging for the plane when they announce it's boarding time. I know better. An attendant comes to us and tells us that we will be given seats and while we won't be placed together as a group of ten, the children will have adults that they know to sit beside.
I'm pleasantly surprised for a second time when all three kids pass through airport security with flying colors. Excellent behavior. Love the system. Matthew is, randomly, selected to have his bags checked. He's a text book terrorist. I often wonder how we can expect to find terrorists when the people going through the bags look more like terrorists than the passengers.
We are all excited. But Baba and Dido are uncomfortable when I have discovered ten seats in gate six that are unoccupied so we can all wait together. Apparently, I'm too far away from where we actually leave to get on the plane.
Mallory is the Nervous Nelly of the five of us. She asks to sit with Dad and Jenn gets Macey and Matthew in front of us. We are in the middle row. So no window seats for anyone. Mallory asks me 34 times while we are waiting to take off if we are in the air yet. Just in case there's an issue, she spends the one hour tarmac wait double clutching my left arm. She had a vice grip on it. We take off and the event is uneventful. Mallory asks one last time if we are in the air. Uhhh, yes. Matthew is doing something on his iPod and MaceyBear is hibernating. Didn't even stir as we took off. Mom gets the upper hand despite having to look after two kids and I have just one.
The flight was almost five hours long. During the flight, it's discovered Mallory has taken her brand new sandals out of the bag and left them in Yorkton or in the van. Not sure. Regardless, she is without sandals in Mexico. Flip flops, yes. Running shoes, yes. Sandals: no. Over the course of five hours, Mallory asks 28 times if we are almost in Mexico. She asks 14 times if we are still in the sky.
The landing process has a bit more drama. Matthew has picked this particular time to pull a tooth. Serious. Macey is fine, but her ears are bothering her due to air pressure. Mallory is almost crying because of the air pressure and asks three more times if we are on the ground.
We land just around noon and get in the very long line to go through Mexican Customs. Matthew and Mallory are fine, but the free spirited Macey left her ears on the plane. She's also the smartest of the five of us. Did I mention that? A more rigid country surely would've thrown some, or all, of us in the slammer. She likes being told what to do and then, purposely, not obeying it to see if she's going to be in any trouble. Of course, the trouble is never that severe, so she carries on as if a parent hasn't asked her to stay in line, don't go far, stay quiet, etc.
We get on the bus to head to the resort (Barcelo Carmina Palace Deluxe in Manzanillo) and Macey starts annoying Matthew and Mallory. We, attempt, to punish her by moving her away but her loud crying outlasts the parenting attempt and she gets her way and ends up sitting beside Matthew and Mallory again. Maybe she has learned something though. She actually behaves this time.
After a 30 minute bus ride, we end up at the resort and get assigned our room (5032). Everyone is pretty pumped. Tired too. But, excitement wins out. Throughout the last few months, the girls have definitely talked about this trip more than Matthew. Maybe he's hitting the 'too cool' stage. But, in my opinion, he's the happiest of the three once we hit the water. I can relate to him well. When I was ten (January 1985), I was living in Gagetown and jumping from our apartment to the Nickerson's while my mom pursued a chef diploma from NBCC Moncton. I didn't like it. The Nickerson's were a great family, but I hated their cooking. It was always full of vegetables I didn't like and it wasn't....home. But, it was a necessary evil for mom to provide for our family better. Needless to say, I never got a vacation in Mexico when I was ten! I take a lot of pride in being able to provide for our kids in a manner I never even dreamt was possible when I was ten. I know exactly how thrilled I would've been to be in his shoes today.
I'm a social guy. I like to meet people. On the plane, I met a retired teacher from Winnipeg and she was good at helping to pass the time. Poolside, I met Kent from Winnipeg. He works at Great West Life. Seems like a real good person. We chatted about everything. From family, to work, to football. Also at poolside, I met Armando. He's a Mexican, who has lived most of his life in California. He's a General Manager for Anderson Pea Soup. Very interesting person. He was very curious as to why I'd bring my family to Mexico despite recent negative publicity about tourism here. I told him as long as you mind your own business, Mexico should be as safe as anywhere. He agreed and appreciated my honesty as we got a little more in depth on the subject.
We met up with the rest of our family for supper and I was in the pasta line with a guy from Winnipeg who is here for a wedding on Saturday. I told him I have always wanted to be a real life Wedding Crasher. He invited me to do just that. Another nice person. Supper was excellent. As I finish up, I look at the table next to me and Macey looks like she's hit a wall. The extended family is ready to call it an early night just after 7:30pm, but Matthew has his heart set on a walk along the beach, camera in tow. It was a great walk. Reminded me of Puerto Vallarta, only I did a bunch of those walks alone...unless you count a cigar. It's very relaxing.
The five of us are back in the room by 8:15pm and as I type this, Macey is on her fifth life. Will she wake up in the morning, or will she hibernate like a real life bear and maybe miss Wednesday altogether?
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