I don’t consider myself a seasoned traveller, but before Jeremy was born, I clocked up my share of airtime for work and pleasure. During those flights, it was all about ME. My wants, my needs, not my travelling partner, not fellow passengers. I watched what ever movie I wanted, when ever I wanted to. I relaxed, slept, read and basically did as I pleased to pass the long long hours.
I used to look at passengers with kids with dread and hoped none would sit near me. I found the babies crying annoying at best.
This was before, Jeremy. After Jeremy, ALL this has changed. They say, you have to walk in other people’s shoes to understand what they are going through. This is true. I understand now how difficult it is to travel with a child. It is no longer all about me. I cannot eat when meals are served unless my child is quiet, I cannot sleep or watch movies unless my child is a sleep, when my child is a sleep, I cannot relax in fear that he will fall off his seat. When my child is crying on a flight, I am stressed and almost in tears myself. Minutes of him crying in a small confined space feels like hours and hours. But unless you have travelled long haul with a child, you cannot understand this.
We have been told to settle our child because his crying was disturbing other passengers (by a hostess) and I’ve been given unwanted advice as to why my child was crying on a flight. All of this did not help. Most parents do the best they can to quieten their child so they are not deliberately trying to annoy you by using their child as a tool.
For those of you out there who find being in a plane with children annoying, remember that you too may be blessed with a child one day and have to travel with your child on a plane.
With all this said, I don’t expect a lot of people without children to understand unless they have walked in our shoes and experienced what we have experienced. I was one of those passengers too, once upon a time.
