My Kids Will be Traveling Alone For the First Time!

Next week my two youngin’s will be leaving to visit their dad on the East Coast. Shoshie is 13 and Noah is 12. It will be the first time EVER that they will be traveling alone by plane to go anywhere. Just to share how neurotic I am about my kids and the airport, I drove them crazy constantly looking for them when we were on our way out to New Mexico. Every two seconds I was looking up, looking around, scanning people in the crowd, taking mental notes of those who stood in close proximity to my children. I’m a basket case! Forget when Noah has to go to the bathroom at the airport…I make him go into the ladies bathroom (which he hates) and he either has to go in with me or with Shoshie.

I have always kept a very watchful eye over my kids when we travelled anywhere, and now that they will be traveling alone, I’m FREAKED OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They will be en route for 7 1/2 hours and have to get on two different airplanes. Three hours for the first flight, an hour wait time between flights and then finally boarding the second plane to complete the journey. I had all these things running through my mind over the last month as I knew I would have to purchase the tickets for them to fly; plane crashes, flight delays for hours, perverts in the bathrooms, stalkers trailing them from one gate to another, weirdos on the plane trying to touch them in the next seat…you name it, and I have that scenario playing in my head. Are my fears unfounded? Uh, NO! There have been young girls molested on airplanes, boys touched in bathrooms, strangers giving the “look” to small children. Some of which I have witnessed myself as I was traveling with my kids. Some weirdos don’t seem to care that an adult is present with the child…so what do you do when you aren’t there to protect or shield them? At one point on our way to New Mexico, we were in between flights and since the kids were hungry, we stopped in a pizza shop. I was sitting at the table with Simmi while Shoshie and Noah went up to get some pizza. At the next table over from us, was a man sitting there ogling Shoshie as she stood in line. She was unaware that this man was looking at her in a manner that was totally unacceptable. I don’t stand for that shit, especially since he didn’t care that I was sitting right there. In that moment, this pissed off bald mama stood to her feet, and walked over to the man and stood there very angry just staring at him. I stood there until he turned around in his seat and stopped looking at her. I am sure that it was unnerving to have a furious bald chick that was nearly unhinged staring him down. I said not one word to him…I just stood there staring at him. He got the point. He never looked at her again. By the time Shoshie turned around, I was already back in my seat and she had no idea what had just transpired. These are the things I think about as my kids travel alone.

Noah and Shoshie are great kids, with good heads on their shoulders. I have full confidence in their ability to travel and I know that they are so excited about going. Since they are under the age of 16, I have to pay an unaccompanied minor fee. This fee covers the cost of one of the flight crew members assisting the kids from one terminal to another so they can get on their next flight. A month ago, I didn’t know about this cool feature. I couldn’t imagine the two of them flying into an airport and having to find the next terminal alone, so I waited till I had enough money just in case I needed to take a flight with them to the halfway point and then turn around and come home. There was no way I was going to allow them to just “find their way” to the next plane. Luckily American Airlines assured me that they will not be left alone at anytime during the whole flight. The cost of this fee is around $150.00 and it covers everything round trip.

They are so excited to go back to the east coast and see their dad and his fiancee and all their friends (credit for the picture of the two of them goes to their future mom! Is that picture of them awesome or what?). They are counting down the days right now, making plans and lists of all the stuff they are gonna do. They are so excited…and of course, I am a wreck! My stomach turns every time they mention the flight. I can’t help it, but I know I will be fine once they have landed and they are safely delivered into the arms of their father.

Bald Beauty of the Day