Gypsy Money

I was raised to believe it was somewhere along the lines of vulgar to talk about money in any capacity to anyone outside the family unless some emergency was involved. However, since It's essential to the story of my journey, I'm breaking that rule for this blog.

So the thing about money among our brand of Gypsy is that it acts like one itself.. always coming and going when it pleases. Some days it shows up unannounced and other days you plan and plan based on messages its sent you about its estimated time if arrival, only to find it decided not to show up at all.. or somehow got rerouted on its way to you and whoops.. you'll have to wait another month. We don't deal in credit AT ALL, more on that later.

With my husband stuck overseas, it's no surprise that our financial situation was less than abundant. Much of our monetary support came from my father. Rent I managed on my own, and dad helped with bills and other expenses when he could, which had been challenging on a fixed income (not to mention his money's a Gypsy too).

This trip was an emergency. Hamza was getting worse and it was clear he needed his father. Fortunately for us I did not need to look outside the tribe for the money for the tickets. Being the tight knit crew that we are, it is especially hard to ask large amounts of money from within us, especially not knowing when you could repay it. Mainly I think it's culture, but also you want to increase the wealth of the tribe, not decrease it. My brother, who is without doubt the best soul I've ever had the privilege of knowing (let alone be related to) had footed the bill. He is the Sheikh of the family. More on our amazing adventures later.

In the days before our return to the Motherland, money was never a worry. A major advantage of owning your own businesses is that payday is frankly whenever you need it to be.

We arrived at the airport in what seemed a flash. For the entire twenty-five minute ride I'd been busy stuffing odds and ends into the outer pockets of our luggage and arranging my carry-on so that babies necessities were readily accessible. We got to the check in counter and I checked four bags and payed the $110 fee.

When I originally set my mind to purchasing tickets I thought it'd be cheaper to book an Airtran flight into New York, and a then find tickets from NY to Cairo. I'd done just that last year around this time and it was good. I got a great deal. I found a good deal this time too. What I neglected to realize was that last year it was just me. This time there were three other persons, all of whom needed bags for their stuff. Not only that, but Airtran uses Laguardia, and the cheapest flight to Cairo was on Royal Jordanian which left out of John F. Kennedy airport. This would mean taking a shuttle bus (like I did last year). What's more is that the checked baggage price had gone up. Last year when I was returning from Cairo I had one bag and one carry-on. The delightful AirTran ticketman informed me that instead of paying the $25 to check my second bag, I could just pay $20 more to upgrade to business class and get 2 free checked bags... Umm, Yes please? I should have known I'd lucked out with that one. The new policy as of February 2013 was first checked bag $25, second checked bag $35, per ticket. Once we got our connection in NYC, we would each get two free checked bags. With that in mind.. resourceful and thrifty gypsy that I am, I came up with a brilliant plan!

Four days before lift off, the brilliant plan was thus: Dad's retired from FEDEX and as such he gets a ridiculous discount on anything he ships. So, what I could do is ship the suitcases to JFK where they would already be waiting for me! I could travel light as a feather an not have to lug six cases from LGA onto a shuttle to JFK and on through the airport to Royal Jordanian's baggage check with an infant and two children in tow. I shared my plan with pops and he was game. We measured up the cases and weighed them and he called in for a quote. It was $85 and that was before some other potential discount. Ridiculousness! I was really excited. By the time I'd gotten everything squared, I'd lost a day. It was Thursday afternoon when dad called me with the quote and the message that I'd need to call in a pickup before 5pm today to FEDEX but first I'd need to get the address for Royal Jordanian at JFK where my luggage would be shipped. When I learned all this, I was out to lunch with my friend Angela. No worries, I thought. I'll get home and get right on the phones. And what a relief it will be to have the packing done. Right?

I got home at 4pm and got right to it. Several different phone numbers and a lot of frustration later, I finally talk to someone, most likely by accident from RJ customer care who told me in about four words that it couldn't be done. Just as I was about to get defensive, I realized that he was right. If people could just send baggage to be held at an airport, that would open the doors to all kinds of chaos. And anyone who's ever been in an airport has had the pleasure of being consistently reminded via pleasant voiced announcement lady to never ever under any circumstances accept a package from anyone, or leave your baggage unattended for any reason. I glanced at the clock. It was ten minutes till 5pm. My brain made one last attempt at the plan. I could have it sent to a FEDEX office in NYC and pick it up once we got there.. or even better have it delivered to me right at the curb of the terminal. We had an eight hour layover. Fail.. I was flying on a Sunday and no offices would be open or deliveries being made. I wanted it to work out so badly. I began to feel depressed. Then, all I could see in my mind was a vision of me and the kids standing at some service desk in the airport, sans luggage, feeling and looking like the fabulous mess we'd be in; our luggage no where to be found. All because I was trying to save $50? It wasn't worth it. I breathed a sigh and reached for my wallet.