Airplanes and Kids

My children love to travel - especially via airplane. I love to travel - I like the speed of airplane travel, but I prefer a road trip when there is enough time to visit new places along the way.

Here are the good parts of traveling alone with my three munchkins:
1. Airports are fascinating and long escalators and trains in the Atlanta airport are super cool.
2. Buying tic tacs and bottled water inside the terminal is considered a treat.
3. The changing clouds outside the airplane window are better than TV.
4. The free drinks and little snacks on board are sufficient to keep my kids happy. When they are allowed to order soda pop (ginger ale or fresca) they are positively giddy! Usually the stewardess humors them by giving them little coffee stirrers to use as straws.
5. Max and Sophie read on the plane - as do I. In fact, I finished three books between the four flights we took this weekend.

Here are the bad parts:
1. Calvin likes to kick or lean against the seat in front of him on the plane. Sorry. He also likes to put his tray up and then down and then up and then down and then . . .
2. Sophie and Max cannot sit next to each other. Calvin and Max cannot sit next to each other.
3. We do not have any rolling luggage which means Max has to lug a heavy duffel as well as his backpack through the terminals. This makes for s.l.o.w. transitions between planes.
4. Calvin is kind of messy. On our last flight, he had a can of pringles that he shared with Max and Sophie. When the can was down to the bottom three inches of broken pieces and crumbs, he and Sophie fought over it, sending pringles crumbs everywhere. When they got up, it looked like their seats and the floor surrounding them had been dusted with a layer of snow - of the crispy potato chip variety.
5. Calvin is afraid of the bathroom on board the airplane - even when I go in with him and hold his hand.
6. Max does not have an inside voice. He is a loud traveler.



Overall, they are pretty good little travelers. I received several compliments on how well behaved they were, so I count myself lucky that I now travel with older kids and there will not be a repeat of the infamous breast milk vs. business traveler event from my past.