State of the Union

I've decided that you can pretty well judge the general state of affairs by your experience traveling the 'friendly skies'. I use the term 'friendly' ever so tenderly and with the utmost regard, of course. As I sit in my cramped assigned seat across the aisle from my children flying Air Canada from Miami to Shanghai, I sit reminiscent of things past and things longed for.

One of my favorite genres of fiction is historical fiction, particularly novels about the simpler pioneer days. I love Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie series as well as Gerald Lund's historical fiction The Work and The Glory series . L.M Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables is also among my favorites, to be read over and over again. What I love about these books is imagining a world where people were intrinsically polite and friendly. How different would my life be if I could trust my neighbors, leave my doors unlocked at night or let my children roam free to play without a watchful eye glued to their little bodies in an effort to safe guard their innocence and safety? I love to lose myself in stories of service and a higher law of ethical purity and morality. I also love to picture the days when our money actually held a reasonable value.

My day started out with a 45 minute drive to long term parking, where our car will remain for 11 days while we return to Shanghai to say goodbye to friends, our sweet ayi and to tie up our lose ends. The kids and I took the shuttle to the airport, navigated today's modern mystery of checking in and going through security and sat down to a delicious and nutritious meal of McDonald's (for the discounted price of $22.96... 3 happy meals and a salad). I bought 2 packages of gum, two small bags of candy and a Runner's World magazine for another steeply discounted price of $15 (can you hear the sarcasm dripping, oozing and running freely?)

Just $93 and change later (parking fees included) we boarded the airplane. At the risk of being tactless here, I'm going to tell you that we spent over $5,000 on our tickets from Shanghai to the States. That's A LOT of money! That's more than most citizens of the great nation of China make in an entire year! While I am thankful to Lee's company for sending us home each year, I am speechless over the cost.

As we settled into our seats, we listened to the flight attendant going through her safety announcement, followed by her announcement for the price of food on board, followed by the price for headsets, alcohol and finally, if you are cold please allow us to serve you by selling you a blanket and pillow. I only heard part of the announcement.... feeling slightly irritated over having to purchase a crappy meal onboard. Cooper begged for $3 headphones. I could hardly refuse, knowing that we have a long journey ahead of us and that because Ally and Eve already had headphones, I could not deprive him of the same treatment. So, I handed the flight attendant a $5 bill,again irritated that something that once was free now costs money. I was politely told that they do not accept cash, only credit cards. GRHHHHH. A short amount of time passed and Cooper asked for a blanket. We had packed our blankets in our suitcases to make our transition during the 48 hour trip and the three airports we would go through a bit easier. Much to my disappointment and anger, when I requested a blanket I was told it would be $3, please. That's when I told my flight attendant just how pissed off I was that I could spend over $5 grand on airline tickets, have the first two flights delayed by a total of 8 hours, causing me to spend the night alone with 3 children in a hotel, without a how do you do from the airline, only to be charged for every last iota of service that should be included in an airline fare to begin with! To which she smugly replied "I'm sorry ma'am, that's just our policy". The outrage! If I could have thrown something at her, I probably would have. Shortly thereafter, she approached me at my seat, apologizing for the policy and then telling me that my yelling at her "was not appreciated". I apologized for getting upset, but explained that even though she was 'just doing her job' by telling me I'd have to buy a blanket, that it is also part of her job to field concerns, explain policy with a calm and polite manner, as well as to help ticketed passengers be comfortable and satisfied.

Here's where I say that the general state of our miserable existence is evident in the simple experience of being a passenger aboard ANY airline in this current day and age. I know, I know..... It's a little melodramatic to say 'miserable existence', but I'm feeling just a little low right now. I'm afraid of repatriation. I'm afraid to return to the US, where everything costs an arm and a leg. Try taking your family ANYWHERE halfway interesting without spending $100 easily. Don't dare to go out to a restaurant with 2 adults and 3 kids. There's another $50 big ones! To say I am scared is an understatement!

I'm disappointed with the fact that there are NO Customer Service standards in our world anymore. When was the last time you had a concern actually taken care of satisfactorily when you called a call center? Was your call even answered by someone who speaks English as a first language? Was that person even located in the US? My flight attendant offered a customer comment card, which I gladly accepted, thinking that at very least, I could write down my frustrations. She delivered a card with a website address written on it. Great, just one more way that I can be ignored. This way, it goes through cyberspace where there is no accountability whatsoever.

I want to live in a world where neighbors are friendly, people know each other's names,where our children are safe from evil doers. A place where common courtesies are extended on an every day basis, rather than as an exception to normal human interaction. I want to live a life in which treating a customer with respect is not going above and beyond the call of duty, but merely the way things are. I pray for the day to return where children are polite and respectful to their elders because their parents raised them to be that way. I'm feeling a bit disenchanted with the state of the world today... even a bit helpless to change it, a bit as though I am in a sea of unending waves, crashing one after the other that I will never be able to rise above. Is our society disintegrating at such an exponential rate that nothing can be done to save it? IS teaching our children and raising them to be amazing people enough to combat the throngs of parents who don't do the same? I used to feel that, as an American, I had the freedom and the power to overcome and attain anything I dared dream of. Where did that empowerment go? Can we really stop the downward spiral? Obviously no matter how many tea parties we organize, despite the throngs of people who may amass to protest current political movements, no matter how many times I fill out the customer survey, no matter how many times I ask to speak to a supervisor..... no matter the effort, it seems as though it is out of my hands.

Now I realize that this blog post is particularly negative. The blogging culture is generally one of "Look What We Did Today!" "Wohoo! We're Having a Great Life!" or "Look at my Cool Kid's Awesome Achievements!". Most of my blog posts play out that way as well. I love bragging on my kids, bragging on my husband and even on myself. Blogging is a great outlet for me. While I realize that we generally don't put all our emotionally difficult trials out on public display for the world to see, those trials are a huge part of who we are. You are bound to see more of my struggles laid naked to the world in the ensuing months. That's not to say that I'll be poring my heart out, sharing my most intimate thoughts or airing the proverbial skeletons in my closet. I just plan on getting a bit more 'real' with my posts. I have a feeling life is about to get a little bumpy as we transition back to life in the States!