To Texas... or not?

My niece finishes high school in a few weeks - her graduation ceremony is Memorial Day weekend.  The plan had been (though it was in flux during the recent flu scare) was that Jacob and I would go down for the ceremony.  I'd come home on Sunday or Monday and my sister would bring him back the following weekend.  Jimmy wasn't part of the equation.  Flying on a plane with him is a major undertaking and extremely stressful - security, getting him to sit through take off (he flips when you put on the seatbelt, until you get airborne), entertaining him for three hours on a plane.  Making it worse would be dividing my attention between the two boys.  I was opting not to bring him.  

But the graduate has asked and I am forced to consider the possibility.  It's not that I haven't done it before with both of my kids - having a week between flights makes the challenge a little more palatable.  But it would be a Friday flight, Saturday, and the likely return on Sunday.  No, I don't have deep pockets - just a family member at an airline.  That brings another challenge in my situation - I fly standby.  I am crazy to consider it.  But she asked.  And my dad's there - he hasn't seen Jimmy in a long time either.  I just don't know.