Do I know you, Toddler?

Recently, I convinced my husband for a trip (by declaring that it is my last wish for the month or something like that). He grudgingly agreed, only if it brought some peace inside the house. I started preparing for the trip. My toddler sensed the vibe and injected enthusiasm on his part too. He was pretty excited when I told him that we would be flying on an airplane. Now, I gave it a lot of thought before deciding this trip because with children, one has to really foresee everything that can happen. You need to prepare yourself for limitless possibilities.

Because my son appears to enjoy spending time outdoors, I thought this would be a good time to make some memories. Anyway, the big day arrived (Which initially got postponed due to the snow storm). I swear, all I plan is one bloody trip and I have to pray for a list of things: a fever free child, a husband who doesn’t change his mind at the last minute and a snow free day. This combination is pretty rare and when it happened, I knew my prayers were answered.

At the airport, my toddler was super excited, running around staring at the airplanes. He couldn’t wait to get on the airplane when boarding started which usually goes at a snail’s pace.

“You have to wait until it’s your turn to get on the plane,” I said, trying to reason with my three-year-old son.

He stared me as if saying, pah, I don’t care. Just get me on the plane RIGHT NOW.

A few minutes later, we were finally inside the airplane, putting our stuff into the overhead bins and putting on our seat-belts. This whole process was so exciting that my toddler took to laughing and shouting loudly, so much that the entire flight knew ‘we had an excited kid inside’.

Phew, I told myself, the three-hour flight is going to be a breeze. He just loves being on the airplane.

When the flight took off the ground, the first signs became clear. My son peered down the window. In an instant, he turned red. Quick, hand him a lollipop, said my husband. I opened my little bag of ammunition to deal with the situation.

Meanwhile, my toddler took to high pitched wailing, screaming that he needed to get off the flight RIGHT NOW. I blinked. Why is it that a toddler knows only two words, RIGHT NOW? The word ‘waiting’ doesn’t exist in their dictionary.

Once the seat-belt sign went off, my son walked back and forth on the aisle-way, all the while screaming and searching for an EXIT door. At one point, he neared the cockpit and signaled me to open the door. What? I thought to myself, I have never been so close to the cockpit in my life. Soon enough, we were told to stay away from the door from a flight attendant.

So, my son decided to enter the lavatory. For some reason, he found great solace inside the lavatory. There we sang rhymes and played with the water that came out of the tiny sink. Ha ha, I said, so much for me wanting to be on a trip.

Once we were out of the lavatory, getting back to our seats (because I didn’t want to spend my entire flight inside the lavatory), my son continued screaming and waking all of the people (I wonder if anybody slept on that flight at all). A woman, probably in her mid-fifties felt sorry for me I guess, for she walked up to me and gave a quick peck on my cheek and handed me a little soft bunny toy to calm my son.

I gave a nervous smile and tried to coo my son with the bunny. He threw it down promptly as he repeated his need to get off the flight RIGHT NOW. I clutched at the bunny, praying for peace to return. A little while later, my son agreed to watch some rhymes. He seemed to say, if it lets me distract for a while, what the hell? I might as well just kill the time.

And he dozed!!! The rest of the flight was completed in uncanny silence as my son slept after being exhausted due to excitement and all the crying. Phew, I told myself, never saw that one coming.

I realized that no matter how much I prepare myself, there will always be situations that will go out of my hands. And in those times, someone will hand me a soft bunny to hold on to.