At this point, there is no pandemic that has been able to keep us from visiting family back in Kansas City, and the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-21 was no exception. Despite the restrictions, we were able to visit no less than four times. Observing all the protocols, we were able to successfully navigate our way through empty airports and socially distanced planes without succumbing to the virus. 2021 saw a major upswing in holiday travel from the year before. Rather than flying on Christmas day as normal, I booked our flights on Christmas eve. At first, things were fine. We got to fly first class to Detroit and had a five hour layover that was made bearable by being able to access the Delta Sky Club. This was a whole new experience for us which we enjoyed immensely. While there, we learned that our connecting flight had been cancelled, along with 100s of other flights that day due to the Omicron variant affecting so many crew members. The flight was rescheduled to Minneapolis at 9:00 PM and a connecting flight to KC arriving around midnight. Knowing that the family was quite disappointed, we scoured our options. Janet’s brother Steve suggested a flight on Southwest which would get us to KC by 4:00. The change was made and we were on our way with a connection in Chicago. Our return flight was not as dramatic, but instead of connecting in Minneapolis, we flew to Atlanta where due to a problem with a brake, we had to deplane and reboard another plane. This trip would go down in our annals as one of the most memorable travel experiences.
Christmas day came and the girls were adorable. Grammy and Papa were in 7th heaven as were the munchkins.
Dave, Jen, Devyn, and Gracyn came by in the afternoon to introduce us to their new puppy, Dash. The girls are enraptured by my iPad game, Gardenscapes so Papa shows them all his achievements before they take his device and rearrange all my gardens.
The whole family gets together at Dave and Jen’s house for the Dancy family Christmas. We’re dedicated Chiefs fans, so everyone comes dressed in their best fan gear. You’re never too young or old to be a Chief’s fan!
It wouldn’t be a Christmas trip without taking my mother to see Christmas lights. This year we went to the Children’s Mercy lights at Swope Park, and then down to the Ward Parkway residential competition. Janet stayed behind, but mother and I had a great time.
Our final day was spent working with the girls on their Kiwi Co boxes. Amelia’s box was creating a farmer’s market that we all had fun playing with.
Jennifer’s birthday is two days after Christmas. In order to make it special we always go out for drinks and to a nice restaurant for her birthday. We’ve been doing this for years and it’s a nice tradition to maintain. We didn’t have a lot of traditions growing up. It’s kind of neat to be establishing traditions for a new generation. Our trip to KC was fantastic. We had a marvelous time with our family, even despite the flight issues. I’m extremely happy living in New England, but it’s always nice to go home and visit!
Living in New England Like a Tourist 