My parents, my husband and I are enjoying a wonderful week together in south Florida. We planned this trip at the beginning of the year when Southwest was offering two free round trip tickets from their VISA credit card. My mother was approved, used her card to make one purchase and the two free tickets appeared in her Rapid Rewards account. I booked all of our flights. The taxes and fees for my both of my parents free round trip ticket totaled $10. My round trip flight cost under $200 and my husband flies free as my companion plus $5 in taxes and fees.

We met my parents at their home and used senior transportation to get to the airport. In Philadelphia each senior is permitted to bring a companion with them on the senior transport van. Our driver picked us up on time, offered minimal assistance with our luggage and told us the she had never been to the Philadelphia airport and had no idea how to get there. My husband and I directed the driver to the Southwest departure area at PHL. The cost for this private ride without knowledge of the local roadways for the four of us was $16.

Getting through the airport can be a challenge with my parents. Dad can get confused and say some inappropriate words while dealing with security. My mom has difficulty hearing and taking off her sneakers without a place a sit down. They both need extra time. Fortunately we arrived at the airport on Saturday at about 7:30 am and there was no line for security.

My dad was great at pushing all of our carry on items through the scanner. TSA was wonderful after I told them my dad has Alzheimer’s. It only took about ten minutes and we were all through security gathering all of our stuff and putting our shoes back on. When we got to our gate I told the Southwest agent both my parents needed some extra time for boarding and we were given two blue sleeves. My mom was having back pain and not able to stand for more than a few minutes. My dad does best when he is not rushed and has extra time to get to his seat without many people nearby. To help my parents we all boarded together with the preboarders, even though we all had A boarding pass numbers.

My dad has always loved to fly. As soon as we walked onto the plane he got a big smile on his face. He enjoyed watching everyone board, take off and landing and having juice and a snack while in the air. Our flight arrived early and dad said, “That was a good ride” as we walked off the airplane.

Next we were off to pick up our checked luggage, something my husband and I usually try to avoid. We found a bench for my parents and they watched our carry on luggage while we went to get the four checked bags. All of our bags arrived, we loaded them onto a cart and off we went to get our rental car. My mom was excited to be back in Florida and that we were all together looking forward to a great week.

Flying with my parents reminded me to appreciate the simple pleasures of life and to be very thankful for each day we get to travel together.