Team USA to Keaton's 1st Day!

Ever wonder what it may be like to be hit by a mac truck at 50 miles per hour? Me neither, but if it is anything like I feel now, (presumably worse, but you get the point) I can imagine it pretty much sucks. So, let’s begin by assuring each of you that Daddy would have loved to have attended Meet the Teacher night, but he was in Cary, North Carolina serving on Team USA Baseball selection task force. Let me tell you, that was an honor and a bucket list event, but it was sticky hot, long 12 hour days and exhausting.

I was excited to return home Sunday, early evening. I should be able to help get the kiddos ready for bed, wrestle with them (I win every time BTW) and then spend some quality time with momma before closing my eyes for the evening in my own bed. That is until I made it to the airport in Raleigh. DELAYED 2.5 Hours. Complete ground stoppage in Baltimore (where my plane is coming from) and also in Atlanta (where my plane is going). It’s like being slapped by someone at the same time with both hands. New arrival time in Atlanta, 8:50pm. Connecting flight departs at 8:55pm. REALLY? So, my outlook is this, be patient, kind and fly safely (I HATE FLYING AS IT IS). First flight goes well for the most part considering we were told it would be quite bumpy, and then we get above Atlanta and circle the city for an hour… CIRCLED THE CITY FOR AN HOUR! I saw the Sun directly out of my window every 2 minutes or so. Sun, no sun, Sun, no sun, Sun… Finally, the pilot says we’ve been cleared to land. Also, our connecting flights had been delayed, so we would catch it and make it home, YES! “But don’t stop at the restrooms! You can use the bathrooms on the next plane.” Says the Stewardess on her final announcement. Really? We’ve been circling for an hour without being allowed out of our seats for the entire 2.5 hour flight from Raleigh!

I rebelled and used the john. Sorry, not sorry. Now, I’ve got to make it from C30 to C1. So much for my early check-in A Class seating. I’m most likely the last passenger on the plane and get stuck in a middle seat. Finally get to the gate… DELAYED! Waiting on a flight attendant to land and transfer to our plane. That’s not a very fast process mind you. 45 minutes to be exact but hey, I still get my place in line when we do finally line up for boarding. When she arrived at the gate, her comment was “Please don’t tell me y’all held the plane for me!” Umm… Yup. I don’t know the safety procedures announcement, can’t serve hot coffee in turbulence nor can I wear a skirt. I’m perfectly fine with waiting on her as long as that bird is comfortable, serviced well and ultimately I land on solid ground upright and without and catastrophic events. Some people on the other hand, just like to complain. They can’t understand why Southwest is so delayed. BEACAUSE OF MOTHER NATURE PEOPLE! Don’t be mad at SWA, be mad at God if you’d like (I would highly not recommend that practice either) but for crying out loud, give it a rest. Would you rather sit in a lobby gate area with restrooms, food and safety? Or would you rather fly that bird straight into a thunder buster and reenact the movie Airplane? I think I would rather charge my phone and play on twitter, thank you very much… Although I know in the back of my mind, if I don’t make it home tonight; it’s going to be stormy at the Koehler household if I miss Keaton’s first day of Kinder!

Ultimately, I did make it home. Roughly around 1:30am. Kids already asleep obviously. Erika sleeping on the couch having tried to wait up for me, I awoke her and we retired for the night together. I slept like a king and the best part, I got to wake up Kee-Kee for his first day of school! 6:00am and when he heard daddy’s voice, he smiled and stretched and gave me a little fist pump. I got him and me ready while momma got herself ready and Keaton’s lunch prepared. Teeth all brushed, clothes and leg braces on, I asked him if I should get brother up. He shook his head No J. Against his will, I went and attempted to wake up mini-me… Kason may look like daddy, but he sleeps like mommy and he does not want to be woken up… Having not seen me in four days doesn’t affect him in any way if it means he lose sleep. He was fit to be tied! Not crying, but MAD! Finally got a stretch and eye wipe out of him and it’s off to the living room. Then, rather than cooperate, he rolled up into a ball and tried to hit the snooze. “No Way Meat Head, You’re getting up!” Finally, after coaxing him with milk, he’s up, dressed and tearing up the living room as usual.

Mommy and daddy actually have the kids dressed, loaded and on the way to Williamson Elementary ON TIME! The world has stopped rotating or something. This may be a first. We meet PawPaw and Sweetie at school, get Keaton loaded in his wheel chair, struggle to figure out how the straps work and whether or not we are missing a chest harness (Takes his teachers to show us how his chair works L) Finally, Picture time inside the cafeteria and we head in. Of course, EVERYONE knows Keaton. He is EVERYONE’s favorite, and I mean everyone. We have our family photo session and as you can see in the pics, I am exhausted. Keaton seemed very content to be back in school. He loves pushing his chair back and forth. Even got him to push forward a few feet!

We take our family pics and begin to leave. Keaton seems a bit apprehensive now as he sees us walk away. Almost like “Wait a minute, you’re leaving? I didn’t know that was part of the plan!” His teacher diverted his attention long enough for us to slip out the doors. He’s a very content child. His mother is now tearing up and his PawPaw has Kason and walking quite quickly to the car… My guess is he is also in tears. So begins our new chapter. Keaton in school ALL DAY, PawPaw with Kason only and I know he is gonna miss his bubba. Today was a good day. Glad I could share it with you all!

- Daddy