Airports and Wallets

With a heavy heart we left India, I felt so emotional as we waved Pune goodbye and made our way to Goa. I thanked Alessia for coming with me and being so amazing. She really was a fantastic travel companion. I actually think it was safer traveling with a baby rather than alone. I felt that, being a mother changed how people  looked at me, and instead of looking at me as a sexual object or an individual I was first and foremost a mother and that  in turn made people more protective and helpful.  A lot of the kind gestures people made, i felt were based on me traveling alone with a baby so having Alessia really made the trip what it was.

As we packed our stuff up to go to the airport my friends mum came to say bye, she gave me beads her late mother had blessed. Her mother, had passed away only a couple of weeks before at 96, she sounded like an incredible person. And the stories I heard about her lead me to believe a very powerful woman too. She was one of the nicest people I had met since coming to India. There was something very special about her,I guess like her mother. She also gave me cash as there was no ATMS working and told me not to worry about giving it back. 

As we drove away in the taxi three of the woman that helped out in my friend's house came to wave us off.


 All of these acts of kindness really restored my faith and showed me that there are many very kind people out there. The amount of good fortune I had since coming to India showed me how good my karma must be. Though for some reason I love to loose wallets at airports and as I got off my first plane to collect my bags, I noticed my neck wallet was no longer with me. I had for the first time since loosing it the last time put my cards in it all together as I was heading home. The ground hostess kindly helped and rang Pune and checked the plane. With no luck finding it, We continued our journey just a little hungrier than I would have hoped. I could only think this was happening to teach me what it's like to have nothing, but I would have happily learned this another day. 

I actually really enjoyed the trip home, it was nice to have little to think of and knowing these were our last 24 hours of holiday mode I wanted to savor every second. From Goa, we flew to Mumbai, where we meet the kindest guy ever, his parents were Irish he grew up in Oz, but lived in New York, he helped with our luggage and offered to bring us to the business class lounge so Alessia would have more room to run in an enclosed area.

Unfortunately, they wouldn't let us in but maybe it was a blessing in disguise as I could  fully concentrate on Alessia by myself and it was actually easier to think only of ourselves. So instead we explored the shops and Alessia reorganized the bags in one of the stores and we managed to get water and I had luckily packed loads of snacks for Alessia. I was never so excited to get on to a plane to get the food, usually I wouldn't even touch it.

Our plane ended up being 90 minutes delayed and all I would think of was getting some food, luckily Alessia had her snacks and milk. If I wasn't still feeding Alessia, I think it would have made the trip so much more stressful, instead I always had food and drink on tap, I was less worried that she, would get sick as I knew that it would help protect her. When she wasn't eating I knew she had plenty of nutrition. It even cured a pretty bad eye infection she got while we were away.

I couldn't believe how good Alessia was on all four planes, and all the waiting in between, it was like she knew I needed a rest and she couldn't have been better.  

Getting off the plane at Dublin Alessia jumped for joy, it was fascinating to watch her. She knew she was home, she even recognize our bag on the carousel before me and was like a giddy goat trying to get at it. I had mixed feelings about being home. The bitter cold certainly didn't help. Though I knew this certainly wasn't our last adventure it was just one of many. As we drove back the familiar road from the airport to our house, I was delighted to see my family while all ready planning where we were going next. Though watching Alessia become immersed in her toys and familiar surroundings, I knew that she wouldn't complain if we stayed put for a while. 

Free Fun from India to Dublin