We arrived at the airport with plenty of time. Since they were traveling by themselves for the first time, we wanted to leave time for any complications.
I could have asked the airline for a pass to get through security and walk them to the gate. They protested as soon as I brought up the idea. They really, really wanted to do everything themselves.
In reality, we had flown with the girls since they were toddlers. They had been in airports across the country multiple times a year. We had been preparing them to fly by themselves for years.
We went through the "to do" list one more time as we checked in their luggage at the self-service kiosk. When we finished, I turned to the airline representative standing near us and said, "On the way back, they will pay to check their luggage with cash. Do they have to go to the desk for this?"
The airline representative said, "They have to pay by credit card. If they only have cash, they cannot bring back their luggage."
I said, "Oh. Ok." I turned to the brunette twin, handed her a credit card and said, "Don't lose it."
They disappeared through TSA pre-check on their way to their first solo airplane flight. They texted a photo of them at the gate and with Erin in Portland. After a year, the birthday triplets were back together and so excited.
