don't panic

My son and I went on vacation together for the first time! We flew to my parents' house. On our flight there, we had free internet, and we were able to read books and watch Thomas the Train on my tablet. In spite of my pre-flight anxiety, it was a breeze. I'd even go so far as to call it an enjoyable experience. Now that my son is almost three, he's able to sit for long periods of time (3 hours on our flight) and listens well (except for one escape to look at the planes out the window, he was careful to stay close to me in the airport). So we played, did some travel activities, and looked at everything through our plane window. Piece of cake.

On the flight home, I wasn't quite as prepared. I was counting on having internet again and being able to access Netflix, neither of which really worked out. I tried troubleshooting after troubleshooting, with no luck. The airline's internet troubleshooting page said, "Don't worry, we'll get you online in no time!" Don't worry?? Did they have parents in mind when they wrote that? Because I was in major panic mode. My son was waiting as patiently as anyone could expect a tired toddler to wait, but in that kind of situation, there's no telling how long you have before the poor child has a complete meltdown. I don't know how many times he told me it was "taking a long long time."

Finally, I told him to lie down and close his eyes, and that I'd have something ready for him when he woke up. After protesting for a short time, he did just that. And slept until we landed.

Lesson Learned #1: Be prepared. Count on nothing.
Lesson Learned #2: Just chill. It will be ok.