Flying with a Toddler

A year and a half ago Mary and I had no grandchildren, now we have two! My grandson Christian is now fifteen months old, and our first granddaughter, Elle Kennedy Wehbe, was welcomed into the world three weeks ago!

She arrived six weeks early and is still in the premie unit at the hospital. We expect her to be home in a few days, as she is gaining weight every day. She is doing great.

For spring break we went to Chicago. That is something I never thought I’d say.
No pool bars, warm beaches, and outdoor dining. Nope, we got cold, rain, sleet, and a snow storm. But you know what? We had a great time!

We stayed at a place called The Neighborhood Hotel, a restored old stone edifice that was just four blocks from my daughter Landon and son-in-law Ramsey’s apartment.
In the morning we would walk over to their place and play with and take care of Christian so his parents could go to the hospital and look after Elle, and so Ramsey could continue his cardiology research.

Throughout the week there were challenges. Walking through a sleet storm pushing a toddler in a carriage while pulling a wagon with his stuff so he could spend the night with Mary and me is no day at the beach. Christian had a cold and would sneeze in my face whenever he suspected things were getting too relaxing. He is non-stop movement, so you have to follow him everywhere so he doesn’t  crash into the corner of a table, the arm of a chair, or fall on Ramsey’s elderly, overweight cat, Jasmin, who seems to hate anything that moves.

Christian and I bonded very early on, and he loves me to hold him. He also loves mechanical things and can spend a long time figuring them out. This is fine when you are talking about him sitting on the floor playing with an old tv remote he calls his mo-mo. It’s a bit more of a challenge when he is determined to figure out how the lock and chain on the front door work. I would stand in front of the door for twenty minutes at a time holding the  twenty five pound little man as he studied the fascinating workings of a door knob and locks. We probably did this four hundred times during the week. They say the reconstruction surgery on my right shoulder should be successful.

One day Mary and I slipped away and had lunch at the Ralph Lauren restaurant next to the clothing store. As you might suspect it is a rich combination of heavy wood, Persian rugs, gold framed oil paintings, all coming together to look like the dining and bar area of heritage country club. The only thing missing is a Donald Ross golf course behind it on Michigan Ave. We snagged the table next to a glowing fireplace and I ordered a Bloody Mary and a lobster roll, which cost the exact amount of of one of Ralph’s suits.
I didn’t care it was bliss. Then it was time to return to Landon’s apartment for further study of door knobs and locks and chains.

Mary did a fantastic job with baths and food, and I loved playing with Christian, but one thing was hanging over my head all week. Anyone who knows me well is aware that borrowing trouble is a skill I have honed since the day my mother and father and my brother and I were evicted from our home on Shore Road in South Lyme, Connecticut.
I can play movies all day in my head about what situation could go horribly wrong, and the latest film is “CRYING TODDLER ON A PLANE!” We were taking Christian back with us from Chicago at the end of the week to give Landon and Ramsey time to recover and focus on Elle.

Most of us have experienced the scene of settling into your seat and then looking up to see some poor soul carrying a baby down the aisle. “PLEASE DON’T SIT NEXT TO ME, OH PLEASE GOD, NOT NEXT TO ME!”

Every day during the week I could picture myself with a screaming, crying toddler with a bad cold making the entire two hour flight miserable for all. I could imagine the pilot coming on the mike and saying “Ladies and gentlemen we are so sorry but we must make an emergency landing in Lima, Ohio because of the asshole in 10B who obviously is deeply hated by his grandchild.”

I prayed everyday for at least not too bad of an experience. And you know what? My prayers were answered. Through all of the horrors of airline travel today, going through TSA, checking a stroller, climbing over someone to get in my seat with a baby in my arms, the rough weather (we flew around tornadoes), Christian was perfect. Not a whimper. He snuggled into my left arm, Mary read him books, and believe it or not, he fell asleep and woke up in a great mood. We changed planes and still, perfect! I have since changed my will and left everything to him.

The learning moment here is this…I again borrowed trouble. For a week. For no reason whatsoever. I asked Mary and Sheri if they thought I could learn from this. Could I now realize that to fixate on the mere possibility of a future experience becoming miserable and joyless with no actual evidence of that possibility, that is ridiculous. Can I now stop the absurd habit of borrowing trouble. They both said probably not.

Ashleigh Fiorino