It's that time of year again, holiday travel time. Every year it seems we gear up for it after Halloween and it continues through to the New Year. Some of us actually travel for the holidays in that in between spot between Halloween and Thanksgiving and in doing so avoid some of the conflict that takes place at that time.
This last weekend, my son, my husband, and I went to Iowa, and, no, there was no corn to be seen. The initial reaction of everyone I encountered, and told I was going to Iowa was “why?” which, honestly, was my reaction as well. The answer is simply that we have family there, which seems to be the only reason why anyone goes there.
The last time I flew with my son he was 14 months old. Now he is 23 months old, and believe me, the nine months in between have made a huge difference in how we travel. The difference between a child who is contented to look at everything that is new, to one that insists on exploring everything that he can reach, which included under, between and sometimes over the seat.
On the almost four hour flight out to Iowa, my son slept until 20 minutes before we landed. During the flight back, he slept for about 35 minutes, then woke up ready to explore. Explore he did, and the floor was the place of choice. Nine months ago I wouldn't have dreamed of letting him get anywhere near the floor of an airplane, but, now that he is a toddler, anything that will keep him from kicking the seat in front of us is a very good idea.
So, the floor it was. He crept happily down into the Netherlands that is the under seat world of the airplane for just a little while, when I heard it, the deadly silence that inevitably accompanies something that he knows he shouldn't be doing, like climbing to the top of his changing table so he can dance a jig. I looked down just as two brown eyes furtively glanced up, “Burr,” he said, which is the closest approximation to bear that he can come up with at the moment.
I thought this was a little a strange because I had his “Burr” on my lap. As I lent down to see what he was referring to, which by the way, he thought was the funniest thing and sent him into gales of giggles, he showed me his new “Burr.” A small white teddy bear with a pink ribbon tied around its neck was clutched in his hand, apparently he had been foraging through the carry-on bag of the children behind us.
So began the game of, “Burr” and “put it back” that entertained him for the remainder of the three-hour journey. To say nothing of keeping me on my toes, because who knew what else might accompany the small white bear?
When the flight finally landed, and the white bear had been safely stowed where it had originally been pilfered from, we made our way off the airplane so he could see his Granddad. Granddad had figured heavily into conversations that went something like this, “Your Granddad will be waiting for you at the airport.” Look. “What are we going to tell him about how you behaved on the plane?” “Bad,” which was usually accompanied by the quick temporary displacement of all the reading material left for the passenger's enjoyment by the airline.
As we disembarked, the older couple who had been sitting in front of us, and had no doubt heard the “Burr” game, and the subsequent conversations about Granddad, told us what a good boy he had been throughout the flight, which made the whole experience that much better.
A word to the wise, the foolish, or whoever else may decide that they too want to travel with a toddler, it's not an easy undertaking, but, you might be rewarded with a small kiss from a little traveler sitting on the floor of an airplane. Not to mention the fact, that it may be the only time you are actually be complimented for your I-am-the-boss-of-me-and-I-will-do-everything-on-my-own toddler's behavior.
