Yes it’s Friday and that means it’s time for another Finish The Sentence Friday post. Today’s sentence prompt? “What I really want to scream out loud is … ” I’d like to finish it with … “remember the vomit bag.”
Remember the vomit bag.
Yes, what I really want to scream out loud is “remember the vomit bag!” Delightful, no? Oh it gets better.
In my last post I wrote about the time my darling honey bunny baby of a son forgot to bring THE key item he promised to pack. Well to counter that revelation I am offering up a rendition of the time I forgot to pack something rather important. Just typikel.
It’s March of 2009 and the three of us have just spent a splendid Spring Break vacation in San Francisco. My teenage children and I are now on the plane heading home. Both are sleeping and all is calm.
I allow myself yet another moment of Thankful Reflection. It’s so nice that I’m able to enjoy some freedom while travelling. A few years earlier it was full on attention with my two. I had to remember the onboard snacks (goldfish, chocolate, lifesavers, jujubes … yes, I am one of those moms. Keep ’em full of junk and they’ll be happy), their blankets, their whiteboards and pens, their diapers, their wipes … oh the list went on for pages. Now I just have to remember to basically bring them. They look after their carry-on. Perfect.
“Ok folks we are about to make our descent. Please ensure that your tray table is locked and your seat is in the upright position in preparation for landing. Flight crew please prepare the cabin …” You know the drill.
I gently nudge my children awake. My son’s eyes flutter, he nods and immediately goes back to sleep. My daughter gives her head a wee shake and a funny look comes over her face. Aw. She’s aware the vacation is over and it’s time to head back to school. I give her hand a pat and settle myself into my seat.
“Can I have a bit more of my chokkie Mom?” this from my suddenly alert and always eager for chocolate son.
“Only if you give M some too.” He shoves the bar in his sister’s face but M just shakes her head. Huh. What’s wrong with her? Oh… no. I’ve forgotten. How could I forget? She often gets queasy on landing. Time to find the aircraft vomit bags. Just in case. I rifle through the net seat pocket in front of me. Empty but for a creased emergency pamphlet. No problem I’ll just use her brother’s. No. I won’t. There isn’t one. I lean across my now paler than pale daughter and scrabble through her seat pocket. Bonus. It holds not only the wrinkly emerge pamphlet but a well-thumbed magazine. Unfortunately no vomit bag though.
Surely I packed one in my carry-on bag? A brief plummage reveals nothing. Bad mommy. How could I not remember the vomit bag?
I sneak a peek at pale girl. She sees me and waves a dismissive hand in my face.
“Stop staring at me!”
This is bad. We’ve still ten minutes to go, the flight attendants are all seated and my little girl is about to hurl.
“You don’t have a throw up bag in your seat pocket do you?” I hiss at the startled chap across the aisle. He rallies and after a futile search produces two thin wisps of tissue. Others around him mercifully assess the imminent need. However it’s stunning. Not one pocket in our immediate area contains a bag.
To my poor daughter’s supreme horror she begins the inevitable undulation that precedes sickness. Oh my. There’s only one option.
“The seat pocket. Go in the seat pocket.”
Credit: bodybuilding
She does. And again. And yes again. That netted number is now bulging beyond what’s physically possible. Yet not one drop has escaped. I’m all astonishment. As the unmistakable aroma floods the cabin a huge handful of purloined Starbucks napkins flutters down from over the seat in front of me. Endless packets of wet wipes are handed from passenger to passenger until they arrive at our row. The kindness of these strangers is beyond belief.
My effusive “I’m so sorry. I forgot to remember the vomit bag” is waved off by a smiling flight attendant. “Not at all. It’s our fault, ma’am. We should have provided the bags. Please don’t worry. The maintenance guys will have that cleaned in a jiff. Welcome home.” Ten minutes later we slog towards the customs officer in the arrivals hall. He zeroes in on my son with a frown and a beckoning finger; suspicion oozing from every pore. Obviously I’ve stolen these two from their father. I bite down on my lips to keep from screaming out loud “I didn’t remember the vomit bag!”
“Why are you so sad? Take off that hat.”
My little man takes off his cap and looks up at the uniformed officer.
“I’m sad because school starts tomorrow.”
This was unexpected. The officer fights to break out in a smile. He dismisses us with the slightest of nods and I steer my girl to the bathroom for a much-needed freshen up.
Flying with children? I want to scream out loud “remember the vomit bag.” Trust me. You’ll be glad you did.
This wraps up my post for Finish the Sentence Friday. Many thanks to my marvelous hosts Kate’s Can I Get Another Bottle of Wine, Janine’s Confessions of a Mommyaholic, Stephanie’s Mommy for Real and Kristi’s Finding Ninee. Today they are joined by Sarana at http://www.sandinmytoes.tk/
Enough about me and my just typikel failure to remember the vomit bag. I’m curious about you. Has such forgetfulness ever happened to you? Or are you Perfect Parent and you remember not only the upchuck bags but also the Gravol and wet wipes? If you’d care to share, I’d love to hear.
36 Responses
Thinking about taking my kids to Disney sometime hopefully in the future and now you just made me make myself a mental reminder to indeed pack a vomit bag. Seriously, sounded like a traumatic enough event and hope to god to be able to heed your advice and not have one of our own anytime soon. Thanks Kelly for sharing and linking up with us again!! 🙂
Oh it was yet again another special situation for my kids and I, Janine. My two will never run out of stories about life with their mom …
Oh dear! I don’t think I will ever forget to pack a vomit bag now!
Hahaha! No, apparently it’s no longer something you can count on inside that seat pocket!
Oh that is a great story Kelly. I would never even think to pack my own vomit bag ! The quick thinking to use the seat pocket was hilarious ( although i am sure mortifying for your daughter at the time )!
Yes, I am certain she’d be delighted to see this write up… However, perhaps she won’t read it?
OMG…I can’t even imagine, your poor daughter. I will always remember a vomit bag no matter where I go. Thanks for the tip!
We all carry them now I have to say. I have one tucked into my carry-on bag when it lives in my closet awaiting another trip!
Since that time do you always check for a bag BEFORE the plane takes off?
I rarely get motion sickness, but two years ago when we were on a cruise one of our excursions involved a small boat and a very rough sea. Bad things happened 🙂
My carry-on bag has a bag always – even when it lives in my closet awaiting another trip. My daughter always carries at least 9 in hers. However, thankfully she doesn’t need to use them anymore. I feel for you and your bad things episode on the small boat/rough seas front. Ugghhh. However, I suspect you didn’t need to use a bag that day …
Three out of the four of us in the group had to use vomit bags. Some of us filled more than one!
Noooooooooooooooooo!
Wow….your poor daughter! I can’t imagine there not being a single bag on the entire plane. Somebody wasn’t doing their job.
Exactly Teresa. Exactly. The flight attendant knew it as well and she could not have been kinder. I still feel sorry for the poor person who had to clean it up and for the poor folks who had to sit in that seat for the next couple of trips though …
OH, MY GOSH!!!!! I cannot believe that there wasn’t one anywhere near you…and your daughter was such a trooper! How nice that the other passengers were helpful. Ashley once had a kidney stone attack on a plane which entailed repeated vomiting all while holding a crying baby the entire time…and nobody helped her at all!!!
REMEMBER THE VOMIT BAG!!!! -Lisa
No one helped her at all? How perfectly horrid.
You were much more alert than I would have been. I would have just stood there mouth open wondering why on earth there wasn’t a vomit bag. Great story.
Oh it was an interesting time Jamie. She’d thrown up before on other flights but not for a while. Silly me not to have a bag. We over compensate now that she no longer hurls while flying.
I would STILL be having nightmares over that one lol. That said, as soon as I get home, I’m going to throw a “just in case” zip-lock bag in my purse for emergencies. If we’re ever on a flight together, I’ve got ya covered! 😉
Yes – good for you. Really that’s a wonderful thing if out of such a nightmarish situation others remember their bags!
You are hilarious and I actually think you’re an awesome mom for usually PACKING a throw up bag! I didn’t even realize throw up bags could be acquired anywhere outside a plane! I also get barfy and can only imagine the horror of being stuck without a throw up bag. How nice of people to be supportive.
No I just take along a supermarket bag! Not a specially creased and waxed number like the airlines should have.
Oh my goodness, what a horrible (and yet fantastically entertaining) story. Back in my 20s, one of my favorite couple-friends told a legendary story about using their vomit bags on a flight home from a good friend’s wedding. They’d both been “overserved” as my parents would say, and they tag-team barfed the whole flight home. What a nightmare. 😉
Your poor daughter! And poor everyone else on that flight too – just the smell of vomit makes me vomit. I’ve never needed a bag for me or my kids, but I will pack one from now on – just in case.
So do the airlines just not provide them any longer? Your poor daughter that she gets ill during landing – that sucks. I love how nice the flight attendant was about it though. Maybe in part because it was not her that needed to clean it up!!
Hahahaha! Yes – she DID not have to clean it up. Great point Kristi.
Hopefully this happened long enough ago that you can laugh about it, because I certainly did. Especially when you got to the part about going in the seat pocket and the GIF was dead on 🙂
As a kid, I couldn’t be a passenger in a car more than an hour or two or I’d puke. I remember my sister and brother drinking milkshakes while I sipped Sprite on road trips, and yet, I was the one vomiting. 🙁
Oh that was my cousin too! We’d all be horking back milkshakes while she was pale face and limp sucking on flat gingerale. So hard for you! Hopefully hopefully you are fully able to down milkshakes of all flavours now!
Oh nooooooo!!! As a surrounding passenger, I would have been scouring the seatbacks all around for her. Good for her that she made it all in the pocket.
A post about vomit made me smile. That’s a first!
Glad I made you smile! It was quite the flight, I have to say. Wish you were there – perhaps you’d have found one!
Oh no! Your poor daughter. I haven’t had any incidences with my kids throwing up yet – just crying and screaming bloody murder. I was once sitting in front of a guy that was throwing up into his vomit bag when we hit a bunch of turbulence. He was having a rough time. But the turbulence was really bad – I was white-knuckling the arm rests.
Wonder if he brought his own or was he blessed to actually have one in the seat pocket? Poor guy. Yes, the joys of the screaming bloody murder child are a treat as well. That’s when I wish I had a fast forward button to press that would get us on the ground in two seconds.
Hahaha! I can so relate since I have motion sickness. I’m so glad the flight attendant was so kind. Your poor daughter…to be sick and embarrassed. You handled it like a champ!
Yes, my daughter was the star really. She now packs multiple bags with her and hasn’t needed them and, all crossables crossed, hopefully won’t.
I’m so sorry your daughter had to go through that. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to enter a plane again without a vomit bag. I’ve only gotten motion sickness on a ferry. I’ve been on other boats, but for some reason, the ferry got me sick.
Oh that is such a nasty feeling April! Thankfully my daughter seems to have outgrown her nausea on planes but she does get queasy on large boats when the sea is rolling.