Leaving On a Jet Plane

Next week we will be flying the friendly skies. Well, not really, that's Delta's slogan right? We're actually flying American, I don't know their slogan. I would wait until closer to our actual trip to write this blog, but I'm going to be pretty busy during the next week getting ready, packing, cleaning, etc.

So, "where are you going" you ask? We are flying to Indianapolis for a visit with my family! I am really excited. I've been thinking about the last time I've seen most of my family. I realized that the last time I saw my youngest brother Jesse was back in February, my husband hasn't seen him since last August, more than a year ago! The last time I saw my dad was for one day in March, when he flew to Dallas for a Bible conference, and the last time Keith saw him was back in December. The last time we both saw my mom and my sister Christie was in June when they came down for a visit. I will also be seeing Grace, Paul, and their kids, but I've seen them pretty recently. Up until a couple of weeks ago, they lived in Texas, but I'm still excited to see them too. If it was up to me, I would definitely see everyone more often than I do, but God called all of them up to the Indy area to start a church and who am I to argue with God? Keith and I haven't been called to go anywhere, so we're still in Dallas for now, which is fine, I'm at peace with being here. Plus, I still have my brother Brad and his wife, Kristen, with me in Texas, so we're not alone.

So, back to the actual leaving on a jet plane. Keith, myself, and Garrett will all be boarding a plane next Thursday morning around 9:30ish. I have flown somewhat regularly and Keith flies frequently for work, so neither of us are scared of flying or nervous about the actual flight. What gets us shaking in our boots is the thought of a 2 hour flight with a 2 year old! That's downright scary if you think about it. But what's even scarier? Driving 15 hours with a 2 year old. So give me the 2 hour flight anyday. Garrett has flown before, back in February when he was about 18 months old. It was just me and him and I didn't buy him a seat, since it isn't required until they're 2. He was actually pretty well behaved, considering. He did hit the guy sitting next to us a few times, but that man was super nice and very helpful to me throughout the entire flight. I'm in hopes that Garrett's second plane ride will be just as smooth, especially since he will be in his own seat and Daddy will be with us to help out. We'll have our own little row of 3 seats, so the only potential people to be disturbed by him will be those in the row in front of us. Hopefully it will be another family or grandparents who love all children, regardless of how many times the back of their seat might accidentally get kicked.

I'm not sure how many of you keep up with the news, but as a mom, who is also about to fly with my small child, I do keep up with the news. Especially the stories of all the families who have been kicked off of flights in recent months. I realize that most of the time there is more to these stories than meets the eye, but I'm still horrified for a lot of these parents who are kicked off of their flights simply because their child is talking loudly. I think the airlines need to loosen up a bit. All children under the age of 5 or so have issues with sitting still and being quiet for long periods of time. Should these families not be allowed to fly simply because they have a small child? I don't think so. Maybe they need to have a designated section for parents with small children on their flights. That would minimize the number of people who might get upset about your child talking loudly. Now, I am not saying that parents should allow their children to run up and down the aisles of the plane, or sit back and watch while their toddler is throwing a fit. Parents should have control of their kids as much as possible. Honestly, if my toddler starts throwing a fit on the plane and I'm unable to distract him with a different toy, then we will be heading to the bathroom to have a "come to Jesus" meeting. Of course, does that then mean that when we get off of the flight some of the people sitting within earshot of the bathroom will immediately call CPS on me for spanking my unruly child? Probably! That's what's wrong with this world. People don't want children acting up, but they're not ok with parents who choose spanking as their method of discipline. How exactly would one impose a time-out on the airplane? "Son, sit there in your seat, where you'll be sitting for the next 2 hours, and have a time out" how exactly is that supposed to work? I'm not anti-timeouts at all, I just think that sometimes some discipline methods just aren't going to work in some situations.

Now, with all of that being said, I will be heading to the airport as fully prepared as I absolutely can be with MANY things to distract and entertain my child during the 2 hour flight. I've bought quite a few new toys, books, stickers, crayons, markers, small containers of play-dough, many snacks, etc. Plus we will be bringing our portable DVD player and many DVD's that Garrett likes to watch. I think we'll be ok and he'll behave himself for the most part. But, if you're a parent reading this, we all know that sometimes kids just have melt-downs for absolutely no reason at all. You don't see it coming, and then, bam!, your child is screaming and kicking. I will definitely avoid anything that I think will bring one of these tantrums on, but sometimes there's no avoiding these things, like fastening the seat belt. I can see that becoming a major problem, I'm just in hopes to have him completely distracted with something else, so that I can quickly snap the seat belt into place before he realizes what's going on.

So, in closing, if you happen to be flying from DFW to Indianapolis next Thursday, you may see us. We'll be the ones carrying a huge bag stuffed to the brim with toys and distractions and hopefully we'll have a happy, content child with us who will make everyone around us say "What a great child, your son is so well-behaved". Hey, we can wish, right? Hopefully you won't see us on the news as the next family to get kicked off a plane. I'm afraid if that was to happen, my husband would also be arrested for punching the flight attendent who attempted to do this. That wouldn't be good.

I will blog when we get back to let you know how the flight and the visit went. I'm sure I'll have plenty of pictures to share as well (hopefully none of my husband in a prison cell).