Single Parent Travel

I'm taking Nathan away for a long weekend to Biarritz. This involves flying on a low cost budget airline, which is a 2 hour drive from my house, and understanding the complicated new security arrangements for liquids and cosmetics.

Once on the plane a glass of wine goes down well, but the journey from the car park onwards will look something like this.....

Arrive at the car park, get buggy out, hang handbag, in flight bag, Nathan's rucksack on the back of the buggy. Hoist on rucksack which contains more things for Nathan than it does for me.

Struggle over to the bus pick up point and try and get everything on to the bus with no help from a. the driver or b. the other holiday makers.

Lurch all over the bus area as the driver rounds corners at the speed of light whilst grimly hanging on to the buggy to make sure it doesn't tip over with all the weight.

Arrive at the terminal sweating from the battle to keep myself and the buggy upright.

Queue at the check in desk and hope to god that the rucksack is within the weight allowance.

Go through to security. Madam they will say can you take you child out, and put his buggy through the scanner? Whilst you are doing that can you please put your childs shoes through the scanner? Please place all your items in the tray so they can go through the scanner? Please madam, can you hold on to your child. I will of course be balancing on one foot with a boot half on and half off as they ask this question.

Nathan will run through the scanner and I will follow. I will make the machine beep. I always do. Nathan will run off. Ill be in a dilemma as to go after him and cause a major terrorist alert or just simply let him run off shoeless with no buggy as an anchor.

Madam they will say, your items are clogging up the whole of the scanner, do you think you could take them off, oh and by the way, can we look in your handbag? Can you come here whilst we take everything out and not bother putting anything back in a way that the bag can close?

Madam they will say, is that your child running through Duty Free? Could you please control him as he runs as fast as his little legs will carry him in any direction he can as no one is holding on to him?

Madam they will say, if you can't get your child under control you may not be allowed on the flight?

Parents travelling with infants and small children may board the flight first they say, forgetting that I some how need to be able to get Nathan out of the buggy, collapse it, leave it in the right point, carry him to the aircraft, up the stairs and in to a seat before everyone else arrives....

Glass of wine, they will say. YES PLEASE is my reply. Make it a large......