Friday, February 7, 2014

Traveling with kids

I'm excited to see what those skeleton keys open.
We booked our flights to Sweden (!) for Sunday, March 2, so we'll fly overnight and arrive Monday morning.  It goes without saying that I am not looking forward to this. We have flown with a baby before (Montreal, Boston, Florida), which went smoothly.  Then we flew with a toddler (San Antonio) and I decided not to do that again for a while.

I have read a lot of information on flying with toddlers. What to bring on-board, where to sit, etc. I even read a book about traveling with kids*, and one of my favorite lines was, "It’s not always going to be good but it’s always going to be worth it."  That may even apply for our whole time in Sweden, but the flight over is the part I fear the most.  Ever tried to sleep on a trans-atlantic and there were littles who thought it was playtime?  Or just wanted their comfy bed at home?  I always feel bad for the parents because they're stressed out even if they're not getting evil stares from fellow passengers.  Now we're going to be those parents.  And as tempting as it sounds, we are not going to drug our children.  It's hard to imagine Bowen being Olivia's age when we return, so I can't wait to compare the trip over vs. the trip back to the States.

Whale playground in Gothenburg, Sweden
*I have come to realize that "traveling with kids" can refer to any age of kids.  Whenever people tell me "Oh, I miss the years when my kids were young," I now know to ask them to specify which age they mean, and it's never under 5. There's a world of difference between traveling with an eight-year-old and schlepping preschoolers. When I read about traveling with toddlers it's either stressful or the parents spend the duration of their "vacation" holed up in the hotel with sleeping children and takeout, and if they venture out it is mostly to playgrounds and parks.  We love to travel but my idea of a good time in, say, Paris includes eating at restaurants, poking around the flea markets, and visiting museums.  Parisian restaurants don't even have high chairs and we'll have plenty of parks in our own town, so forgive me if this does not become a travel blog while we're living abroad.  When our kids are elementary-aged I can't wait to travel with them.  I already have a Pinterest board for that chapter, including camping, Disney, and Great Wolf Lodge.

So if you wake up in the middle of the night March 2-3, please pray for us.  Steve says it will be one long, terrible night and then it will be over.  And then we'll take naps.

No comments: