The Geek and I always travel for Christmas. Since we have family all over Texas, each holiday season, we load the kids up on the Texas bus system (ie. Southwest Airlines) and head first for Dallas and then for Lubbock before drag our exhausted selves back to our home in the hill country.

It makes for a long week, but it’s filled with family and fun and I wouldn’t have it any other way. We always fly, because … well, Texas is big. Five or hours in traffic up to Dallas wouldn’t be bad, but tack on the five more hours to Lubbock and the nine hours home to Austin and that’s just too much time in the car for us.

This year we planned to fly up to Dallas early on the morning of Christmas eve. Planned being the key word there. Our plane was trapped by bad weather in Lubbock and our flight was delayed. And then delayed indefinitely. And then cancelled. More flights were cancelled. Airports were closed down. We were some of the lucky ones. After eight hours in the airport, we finally boarded a plane and made it up to Dallas and the comfort of my sister’s amazing cookies.

Being trapped at an airport on Christmas eve is an odd experience. All those hours of waiting, the emotional highs and lows. The stress of rushing through security only to wait and wait and wait.

You’d think they kids would have had a tough time. After all, it was Christmas Eve! They’d been looking forward to playing with cousins and opening presents. But–and I say this with no small amount of maternal pride–my kids did great. They were such troopers. Not a single complaint. No temper tantrums. Nothing.

In fact, all the kids at the airport were great. Strangers played together, sharing toys and Cheezits. Big kids played hide and seek with the younger ones. My girl actually had so much fun playing with one family, she insisted we give them our number so we can make a play date.

I was so proud of how all the kids just took it in stride and didn’t freak out.  Knowing they weren’t stressed out allowed me to keep my cool. And it reminded me that any day you have good company to share can be a holiday.

Some of the other adults didn’t fair to well. I don’t blame them. Some people spent all day there right with us only to find out that their final destination airport had been closed and they’d just as soon go home. I talked to one father worried that his kid’s presents had been sent on an earlier flight. The poor guy was thinking about stopping by Toys R Us just so his kids could have something to open on Christmas morning.

For the most part, the adults behaved too, though there were a few tears and a little yelling (none from me, I promise!) The thing is, I don’t remember ever being stranded at an airport before. Certainly not for such a long time or on such an important day. The whole experience was surreal. Boring, yet packed with heightened emotions.

I can’t help but remember some of my favorite songs and moves are about this very subject. The song, Flyer, by Nanci Griffith. (Which, if you’ve never heard, you should go listen to right now!) The movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles and … well, I’m sure there’s another one somewhere that I’m too tired to think of right now.

Have you ever been stuck at an airport? Or worse, missed a holiday due to back travel conditions?