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Tom and Cynthia have a good life. They have been married for eight years. They are raising two little girls, 5 and 2. They are both comedians. They do just about everything together.
But like many married couples, they sometimes seem like they are living in two different realities. Shortly after Christmas they packed up the family, left their New York City apartment, and headed home to Los Angeles. We asked them to tell us what was going on in each of their heads during this cross-country trip to see just how different the very same experience can be.
PACKING UP
Cynthia: Traveling through the airports with little kids during the holidays is a nightmare. Tom and I have to cover each other. The two smaller members of our travel team are unreliable at best, and their moods can turn on a dime.
Tom: If I had my way we wouldn’t leave the house with the kids until we drop them off at college. Up until now we’ve always flown first thing in the morning. This has its own problems, such as delirium, nausea and crankiness on all of our parts. But it’s also over before you realize what’s happening. For this trip we decided to try leaving at 6:45 p.m. — a nice night flight. Never again!!
C: I hate to pack. I have always hated to pack. But what choice do I have? If I left it up to any other member of my family we would end up looking like we got dressed in the dark.
T: Cynthia is a wreck about packing. She waits until the last minute and then goes nuts. It’s a big job, so why not start earlier? It’s a simple idea. But I can’t say anything about it or else she’ll stab me with a fork.
C: I can feel Tom when he starts to get anxious. He is always annoyingly punctual. He fidgets and checks the score of one of the endless stream of sporting events on his iPhone. I’m running around packing, cleaning and trying to pacify the girls, who exclusively want Mommy when I’m at my busiest.
T: I’m the planner. I have to be. If not, we miss our flights, end up in traffic and shortly thereafter, divorce court. I checked with the airline and the flight was delayed by an hour. Already the plan is starting to unravel.
C: I am secretly relieved to have the extra time to pack. The car arrives. Tom is out and loading the car before I’ve even filled the sippy cups. I have flashbacks of my dad honking the horn in the driveway, waiting for me to come out for the family station wagon vacation. He was 20 minutes early for everything. He would wake the entire neighborhood laying on the horn until I would scramble out of the house in fear. When Tom gets going with his punctual nervous energy, I swear I can hear that old station wagon horn honking all over again.
T: Five giant bags, two carseats, four pieces of carry on, a stroller, a giant bag of snacks and two kids. It’s my job to get it all into the car as Cynthia buzzes around the apartment one last time doing God knows what. Whatever she’s doing it takes an extra five minutes and she’s out of breath. Maybe she’s having an affair in there.
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