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Tuesday, February 2, 2010

It Takes How Long To Get There?!!

If there is one thing that I hate, it's flying. I am so nervous and have so much anxiety every time I board an airplane, it's a wonder I travel at all. Somehow I manage to sit quietly, smiling at everyone while drawing on every bit of self control I have to keep from screaming and running through the plane trying to get the doors open so I can jump.

I think I already mentioned that we spent 17 hours traveling to get to Maui so that's a heck of a lot of time for my mind to run through the details of every single plane crash I've seen on Mayday (this is a television show where airplane crashes are recreated and the causes discovered). Well, as much as I like to stay focused on my own unfounded fears about flying, all it takes is a problem with my 3 1/2 year old to snap me around to forget my own panic.

Coming back home took about 15 hours but my thoughts of all those crashes quickly faded during our take off. Imagine how panicked I became when my 3 1/2 year old grabbed her ears and started screaming hysterically. It must have been that short runway over the water that caused the pilot to climb so quickly and steeply that my daughter had no time to clear her ears. She had been in such good humor before the take off so I knew the problem had nothing to do with being cranky. My husband and I tried everything we could think of to calm her down and get her to swallow or yawn or anything to clear her ears but she was so hysterical, there was nothing we could do but wait it out which takes a long time when you are taking off at sea level.

To the woman with the long, light brown hair hidden under her baseball cap who flew from Maui to Calgary last Friday evening, I want to say the biggest "Thank You" ever. This fellow mom jumped up out of her seat the minute that seatbelt light went out and ran over to us with a candy lollipop that she keeps on hand when traveling with her children. This 25 cent lollipop was all that our daughter needed to clear her ears and within a few moments, she was able to settle down and finally fall asleep.

Later on when I found this mom to thank her for her kindness, she happily handed me a bag of lollipops when I told her we had two more flights to get through. I promised her on the spot that I would never again travel without enough lollipops for every child on the plane and I plan to keep my word on this long after my daughter no longer needs them. I had always relied on a drink with a straw but in this extreme circumstance, the straw couldn't do the trick.

To the flight attendants on that same flight who I asked for advice or assistance, thanks a lot for the plastic cups with hot water towels that you told me would NOT help. What a total waste of f#$%ing time. Learn something here and spring for a $2 bag of lollipops and keep them on the plane for f@#$% sake! You travel for a living, have you not noticed a pattern with some children and their ears??!!

To the employees at the screening station in the Calgary airport, I want to offer my sincere apology for the vomit left behind by our daughter in one of your plastic x-ray trays. She had a rough six hours out of Maui and had an upset tummy after her ordeal. By the way, I would have loved it if she had spewed on the Canada Customs Agent instead. Might just do a blog post about my thoughts on them one of these days.

Thankfully, the other two flights were fine for her although I didn't know that at the time so instead of bracing for the crash, I worried about how her ears would be during every take off and landing all the way home. Personally, I think worrying about her was a lot more distressing than worrying about crashing Lol.

So that pretty much sums up the air travel time. After all that traveling, I can tell you with complete honesty, as beautiful and warm as Maui is, there is just no place like home!

35 comments:

Liz Mays said...

There really is no place like home, but Maui is worth leaving it for a while!

I had never heard of lollipops for the ears. That's so smart! I'm sorry she had a bit of a rough time at spots during the travel.

Welcome home!

Anonymous said...

So glad you're back!! I hope you had a wonderful time and you are correct, there is no place like home.

The lollipop trick is very good to know. I'll make sure when we fly that we have some.

VandyJ said...

We went to Vermont to see family when Turbo was two. Grandpa worked diligently with him to teach him how to chew gum before we left but landing in Concord NH was rough on Turbo. He was asleep as we came in to land and the altitude change really got to him. He was to sleepy to chew gum and just miserable until we were on the ground. The flight attendants told us we could hold him or what ever he needed, which was nice of them.

I will remember the lollipop trick for future flights.

yonca said...

I will keep in mind the lollipop trick.Glad you had a great time Deb!It is such a great feeling coming back home.So true, nowhere like home:)

Corrie Howe said...

I love how you are going to Pay It Forward for all the other children in the future. I don't mind air travel so much as my stomach does. I have to have the air blowing in my face on take off and landing or I'm throwing up.

Thanks for reminding me why I really don't want to go back to Hawaii and see where I spent four years of my life.

The Four Week Vegan said...

Lollipops - genius! So glad she came to the rescue.

f8hasit said...

Dorothy sure did have it right...there's no place like home.
As long as the travel plans work out right, at least.

:-)

Matty said...

Lollipops. Who knew. But that's a great tip, and the next time I'll be sure to have some with me. I still envy you with that trip. Did you get a tan?

kyooty said...

We have a hard time with my oldest going over Mount Tom, sometimes.

Anonymous said...

Im glad to hear that someone was able to lend a helping hand. Us moms have to stick together because sometimes we cant count on the professionals (airline attendants) to know how to handle their job!

Joanne said...

A friend of mine had the same ear problem on a flight, years ago. It was very, very painful. Nothing worked, but they didn't try lollipops. Thanks for the advice.

Anonymous said...

I don't think I could ever step on a plane. But I will have to remember the lollipops for the kids if we ever do get on a plane.

Heather said...

You would think that the airlines would have something to help the kiddos. Maybe you could write to them and suggest lollipops. I'm not a traveler, so I had no idea ear popping was an issue. Good to know.

Glad you had a great vacation and happy to have you back.

I did an Awards post last week, you have an award waiting for you.

Samantha said...

I have never heard that about lollipops. Glad to hear that there was at least one nice person :) I don't think I'd do too well on a 17 hour flights. That's a long time! But, glad to know that you're feet are back on the ground safely :)

Anonymous said...

good for you for venturing air travels with a toddler...we have yet to try it and i am terrified. and how lovely is the kindness of strangers?! i never would have guessed a bag full of lolipops would do the trick.

Unknown said...

I rarely leave home without some lollies, regardless of whether we'll be on a plane or not. SOme things are just good for toddler meltdowns and emergencies! So sweet of that mom on the plane to share!

Ducky said...

I'm filing this away for future reference. Although I hate flying and can not forsee doing so anytime in the near future with my year and a half child - its just one of those tips you shant pass up!

Danielle said...

Oh, I have experienced a toddler on a plane and let me tell you. I was in tears and if I had a gun, the flight attendant would have flown her last flight that day!

The Mommyologist said...

You are SO right. The flight attendants do nothing to help these days!!

Glad you all made it back in one piece! Your poor little girl!! :(

Unknown said...

I hadn't thought about the lollipops but good thing the super mommy did and came to your rescue. That's a long time to be in the air. I would've been tempted to run through the aisles as well.

Unknown said...

Aww poor baby girl that must have been awful for her let alone for you .. I would have gone off on some airline employees for crying out loud and kidos to the rescuing mom

Unknown said...

Aww poor baby girl that must have been awful for her let alone for you .. I would have gone off on some airline employees for crying out loud and kidos to the rescuing mom

Martha said...

I'm so sorry your daughter had such a bad experience.

I never flew without Earplanes for Tara. They are ear plugs made specifically for air flight, and are designed to help with ear pressure. Tara never had an issue on any of our flights, as she always made sure to have them in, she wasn't taking any chances. She was surprised one day recently when we were going up in elevation on a drive to the Poconos when her ears did pop. I guess it doesn't take much when we were used to living at sea level! How wonderful that the mother came to your rescue, and I know from reading your other posts that you will always have them with you for others from now on. Pay it forward!!!

So glad to have you back.

Aunt Juicebox said...

We very rarely go anywhere that we have to fly. I just hate it so much. We're hoping to take a trip out of the country when my daughter graduates, and I'm not looking forward to having to fly to get there. You know, I've heard that the farther back you sit on the plane, the more likely you are to survive a crash.

gayle said...

I know exactely how she felt!! I will never forget when I was about 17 and that happened to me. It is very painful!! We used the lollipops with my grandson. Can't wait to here/more about your trip!!

Tammy said...

Sounds like a fun time! We flew to Orlando (a 5 hour flight) and found that our daughter got motion sickness while flying. I think part of it was anxiety, not a great breakfast and then the flight. She had to use the bathroom before the seatbelt light went off. My MIL said "go", so we did. Between both kids, I was back there 3 times in the first 30 minutes of the ride. Ugh! I was so stressed for the rest of the flight and then worried on the way home. We gave her some drugs for the way home which made life a little easier. I still don't really want to fly for awhile and that was 2 years ago.

Buckeroomama said...

I'm glad you are home now, safe and sound. Travelling with toddlers can be quite an adventure. :)

We always travel with little snacks... anything that they could munch and then swallow. Swallowing is what helps clear their ears.

honeypiehorse said...

Gosh, you flew to Maui via Calgary? Welcome home.

Sarah at The Stroller Ballet said...

Glad you made it back, ok! Poor little one. Flying can be so hard sometimes (on little ones, any mummies!)

Grizzly Bear said...

Aww poor baby.. I am such a dork I wrote start of a vacation I meant to end .. ugghh I need coffee this am.

Wow lollipops that is good to know. I haven't traveled with the baby yet. So thanks for that.

Stephanie said...

Oh I could FEEL your pain in this post. It such a helpless feeling being trapped in a tube in the clouds with a crying baby. And then you added some vomit to the mix for fun. Whew. Glad you are home safe and sound.

Anita said...

Gotta remember the lollipops too!

Traveling can be challenging!

Anonymous said...

Did you figure out how many licks it takes to get to the center of a lollipop?!

Nikia, May and da kids said...

Sorry you paid for the airline to lose your luggage, when they use to do just as fine a job of doing that when it was a free service.

Candy, juice bottles anything to swallow with. I worked for the airlines for about 20 yrs so my kids are great travelers. It is hard on kids, especially for a trip that long.

I use to commute to Narita (Tokyo) to work for a few years. The flying time alone was 16 hours straight. My kids and I use to fly to my homeland of Samoa which was a total of 24 hrs through Hawaii. We did that 4x's a year. Crazy, huh?

Movie tip: Up In The Air - loved it and Clooney has the regular traveler down pack. Flight attendants, most of those skanks are dumb as heck and have bad attitudes. Every blue moon, you will get a flight attendant that is really great!

May

Working Mommy said...

Poor little thing!! The lollipops and bubble gum always do the trick for me! So glad you got home okay...and hopefully there isn't a picture of your daughter up as a warning for future vomit!!

~WM