I would love to say that I'll never do it again--fly on an airplane with a toddler, that is--but we're already booked for a June 10 trip back to Houston. **sigh** Yesterday Nathan and I embarked on a 2 1/2 hour journey to Grand Rapids via Continental airlines. It's not that Nathan was particularly ill-behaved. It was just such a long period of time to stay seated.
The largest blessing of the trip was that Nathan and I had a row to ourselves. I was able to use his car seat on board the plane to keep him seated. He was thrilled with the complimentary beverage service and consumed an entire can of Coca-Cola by himself. The peanuts (did you know they still serve these??) weren't a hit. He chewed on them for quite a while before deciding they weren't worth swallowing. He then presented me with a crude version of peanut butter which I disposed of as inconspicuously as possible. Really, though, the eating and drinking only took 10 or 15 minutes of the flight. What to do with the rest of the time?
I brought books for Nathan. He threw them. I brought his bear (a website I checked recommended bringing a security item along for a young child) which he also threw. I tried playing peek-a-boo using the airline blanket to cover my face. Apparently, not entertaining. Toward the end of the flight Nathan engaged in an activity which captivated him most successfully: shredding the seat-pocket "Sky Mall" magazine. He would tear off a nearly-microscopic piece of magazine and hand it to me. He waited for me to say 'thank you' and then thanked me in turn for my part in the process. Shredding continues. Thanking continues. It was so polite that it almost seemed impossible that we could be speaking of destroying perfectly good reading material. Still, if it kept the toddler occupied, I was a willing participant.
At 11:10pm we de-boarded. I was feeling, if not looking, a bit disheveled. We had made it in one piece, but it wasn't an entirely pleasant experience, and I have no desire to relive it on the way home. As usual, I realized that if only Nick had been able to come, things would have been astronomically simpler. Extra hands for carrying things, extra energy for entertaining Nathan, and a hand to hold when nothing soothed Nathan and I felt like leaving him and moving to a vacant row.
Nick, I wish so much that you could be here with us! The day isn't as fun without you! Love and love and love to you...Rachel
Nathan Paul
10/10/2005
Nia Madelynn
08/27/2007
Lottie Caroline
11/03/2008
Liam Calvin
03/25/2010
Nixon Kyle
10/16/2014
2 comments:
Oh yay you got to go 'home' for a bit. How long are you staying? I know we will be having lots of water play with the TX heat just starting. Most of our house will stay just the tiled floors, but we have to have just a little carpet in at least one room or it will drive Jesse and I both nuts, lol. We have what they call a Swamp Cooler. It does a great job, but not so good if you have allergies (poor Jesse).
YIKES! I will be praying hard for you on your return trip? I wonder how Nathan reacts to Benadryl? Maybe it will quiet him down more for you? Hmm. Glad to hear that you bought a pool for Nathan. The kids and I spend all day in and out of the water when it gets hot. You should come over and join us again sometime soon!
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