I shot up out of my seat before take off and ran to the closest flight attendant. In a panic I asked

  “Is it too late to get off the plane? I can’t go. I need to get off the plane!”

Let’s hold it right there and back up two days before. It was December 28th I was working on a puzzle and I get this text from my best friend.

It did sounds a little crazy after all to travel from Kentucky to Michigan at the last minute like this, but with my mom working for the airlines the standby flight was only $50, E could ride along for free. We decided to go for it. I could leave on Sunday and come back New Years day. As I waited at the Cincinnati airport I knew our schedule didn’t have too much wiggle room, so when the flight was delayed I started to get a little nervous. The problem was I could make it to Detroit, but I would probably miss my connecting flight to my final destinations. This would also mean missing the party. Long story short we decided that someone would drive three hours to Detroit to pick me up and with that plan in mind I boarded the plane.

 It was really crowded and I was holding a baby so the people around me finally offered to help me out and I shoved my boarding pass in the seat pocket, they put the diaper bag on the floor, and my laptop in the overhead compartment. Then I plopped my exhausted self down while the announcements started up over the intercom. My mom called before they made us turn off our cell phones and when I told her the latest itinerary she reminded me that the car seat and my suitcase were headed to my final destination NOT Detroit. This meant I would arrive and have no carseat, clothing, or toiletries. That’s when I pleaded to be let off the plane. They brought me my bag and I headed back up the jet bridge feeling like a total psychopath for the way things just went down.

Back at the gate I began to regroup and make a few phone calls. People that were picking me up in Michigan needed to know not to, and someone needed to come and pick us up from Cincinnati. Finally, everything was settled and I was just about to let out my breath and head to baggage service where they said that my stuff would be. Just before that happened I remembered one last thing. With what little bit of strength I had left I headed over to the gate agent and said “this just isn’t my day…”. It turns out I had left my laptop in the overhead bin on a plane that was now on it’s way to Detroit.

I won’t make you suffer through a story that would include every detail about how many people I talked to online, on the phone, and in person over the next two days. Instead let me just skip to the end which is that my laptop was eventually located at the Detroit airport and my mom flew to Detroit yesterday (she flies for free) and brought it back to me so that I could  type all of this drama out for you. The ironic thing about it is my macbook came back the same time I should have. I left my computer on the plane, but since it made it to Michigan on Sunday and came back New Year’s day I am  beginning to feel like it left me!

As far as Michigan is concerned it was quite a debacle. I am determined to make up for it one of these days, but next time I’m leaving the laptop at home!