Delayed Gratification (alternative title: United Sucks)

Everything started out perfectly. Our bags were packed, and the luggage train handle works great:

Boo was in a great, silly mood:

Time to roll:

We made it to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport by 12:30pm, got all of our luggage checked, and grabbed lunch by 12:50pm. Love me some TSA pre-check. 

I didn't even keep my rolling carry on with me, since we were able to check it all under a company credit card. The only vital things I took with me for the plane were our passports, birth and marriage certificates, Boo's methotrexate (because I'm paranoid), the essential toiletries, and thingamabobs to pass the time, like an iPad, cross stitch, and various snacks. Now typically I keep back a pair of underwear and change of clothes just in case, but I had already Spacesavered all my clothes and decided to risk it because I didn't feel like opening the bag. 

And then, boom. Our tiny flight through United gets delayed 40 minutes. Still, plenty of time to get to our 6:05pm Frankfurt flight, right?

Then it's delayed to arrive to Cleveland at 6:05. Enter sinking stomach feeling. 

The ONE time I should have kept back a pair of underwear, ya know. 

At this point Annora is playing picnic with a cute Greek toddler named Artemis whose parents are also having the DC-Frankfurt drama. I'm monitoring our stuff, and John is dealing with customer service.

Fast forward two hours: John is still dealing with customer service. First we were supposed to go to DC and stay in a hotel to fly out tomorrow night, then not. Then we would leave tonight but sit in London for 8 hours. Then we were going to DC again. Then we were to be given a hotel here in Cleveland, have to report back at 6am, and sit in DC for 12 hours because DC won't hold our luggage overnight. 

If all this good behavior is used up today, I am going to kill someone.

Boo has been an absolute angel. We will now need to go to a Target to get some fresh clothes and something to sleep in. At least I have a toothbrush, deodorant, and shampoo. I'm decently annoyed, but throwing a hissy fit like the charming gentleman next to us won't help anything. And it isn't like United customer service grounded the damn plane. It's just one of those things.

So now, three hours later, my phone is dying, Boo is tired and rightfully squirrelly, and there are still no answers. I'm glad (and United should be too) that I have a very calm, levelheaded husband handling the logistics right now. I'd be calm, but I suck at poker and it would be obvious how annoyed I am. 

Hopefully I'll have an update later. 

Here's my update: thanks a lot, Flypocalypse

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/flight-delays-spread-across-east-coast-after-d-c-outage-n410461