Why I love when my daughter distracts others.

My carry on luggage is too big?

Mahal and I were on the way to Cuba to meet Josh on his video shoot. The hubby suggested that I carry on my large backpack instead of checking it in just in case it gets misplaced. We were on a tight itinerary in Cuba so waiting around for lost luggage was not an option. Ugh, the night before the flight I took several items out and attached straps around the bag to compress and decrease the size of my backpack. Even though I have carried on this bag several times before, it visually did not look like it met the dimensions of a ‘carry on’ luggage.

Mahal and I were waiting patiently in line to check in our car seat when I heard loud commotion at the counter. I was horrified when an employee at the ticket counter asked a family to put their bag in the sizing contraption to see if it fit..oops, not even close! I watched as this poor family took clothes and items out of their luggage and shoved them into other bags they had. I whispered to myself “not me, please not me…”. I even counted the people in front of me and was certain I could somehow avoid this specific employee. It was 4:00am and she looked a little tired and cranky.

Yep, it was my turn and guess who I ended up with? So Mahal did what she does best…talks uncontrollably. While Mahal was distracting her new friend with cute little 4 year old stories, I quickly  hid the backpack behind the counter and close to my legs so the employee would not see it. How devious but it worked!! She was thoroughly engaged in conversation with Mahal and forgot to check the size of my large backpack. I walked away with my bag and in exchange this employee had a great big smile on her face.

Josh and I have learned over the years that most people love children and sometimes you get special attention…no complaining on my end!