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May 27, 2007
Carter
Friday I flew to Anaheim to do some work. I came back on Saturday. The flight down contained a few children, one of whom was about 2 1/2. He was not a happy camper during the hour long sojurn. Neither were the rest of the passengers after a while. I like children a great deal, but listening to a very long temper tantrum is not easy for anyone.
On my trip back, I sat next to Carter and his Mom. Carter is 20 months old, and I was hoping sitting there was not a mistake. The trip down had taken its toll on my ears and heart strings.
My first question to Mom as sat down was, innocently enough, "Is this his first flight?"
The answer was, "Oh, no. He's an old hand at this."
Great news. Mom proceeded to pull out a book from the bag she'd stowed under the seat in front of her. I recognized the bag. I'd had a similar one when I was raising my children. It went with us on every trip. It contained toys, books, snacks, diapers, and handiwipes. It was an amazing item I couldn't live without.
This mom was very comfortable with it. She read a book to Carter while he tried to turn the pages before she got to them. Fortunately it wasn't a story needing any order. So page nine could easily come after page two.
They finished the book and she pulled out a baggie full of small cars , trucks, and an airplane. He wanted the car for about the amount of time any 20 month old can last. He wanted the airplane next. We hadn't left the runway, and I was wondering how many more goodies she had in her bag of tricks.
Out came another book. This one had animals in it. They took turns making the sounds of the animals. The book also had matching pictures so Carter got to find the whale that looked like the whale in this picture. Lemur was a bit hard for him to find so they decided on Kitty for the time being.
Juice and peanuts were important and so was the little girl in the seat in front of him. She was an older woman, probably three or thereabouts, so he became a little shy, but he was fun to watch. Then there was watching out the window, drawing on a pad of paper, another book, and more juice.
Mom mentioned that he hadn't had a good nap for several days. She was hoping he would settle down for a nap after a bit. He did-about two minutes before we landed.
Traveling with Carter was a real pleasure. Traveling with his Mom was even more so. I enjoyed watching her interact with him and keep him engaged and busy during the flight. What she was doing was great for him with lots of learning and reinforcement going on, two of my favorites, but it was a real pleasure watching a mom really enjoy time with her child. Needless to say it was kindly to the rest of the passengers on board the plane, but we would have survived regardless. We did on the way down, but what I found refreshing was the obvious fun they were having together.
If you haven't hugged a wee one lately, I encourage you to do so. It'll make your day. Thank you Carter for making my day and trip enjoyable.
Posted by Dr Joni at May 27, 2007 08:21 PM
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