Friday, July 23, 2010

snakes on a plane!

dear emily,

this is a "sabbath" repost for the weekend.

remember the commercials for the movie, "snakes on a plane?" i don't
know anyone who actually watched it, but i have lived it.  most anyone
who has flown with a baby understands just what i mean.

the fear rises as you stumble down the entry ramp toward the cabin
door.  you smile nervously (with your ticket between your teeth) at the
skinny young flight attendant who is not happy to see you carrying your
15 pound baby, his 25 pound diaper bag, dangling his pacifier from your
pinky.

you are praying that your seatmate is an understanding and helpful mom,
maybe even your own mommy. . .

6 ABC
7 ABC
8 ABC

 . . . but, instead it is a pair of bifocals, glaring at you.  the expensive
pinstripe suit and snakeskin shoes defy you to disturb the very important
work being done on their laptop.



your sweet baby is picking up on your increasing stress and is already
getting a little fussy and hungry.  the thought of nursing him with an
uptight executive sitting next to you, makes you want to wean him.

then, horror of horrors, your precious baby throws up all over mr.
reptile shoes, who hisses with displeasure.

your baby, however, is now content and sleepy, and you no longer
care about any snakes on the plane.

love,
lea

"can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion
on the child she has borne?  though she may forget, I will not forget
you!"  isaiah 49:15

21 comments:

carissa said...

so cute and true!!! we are taking (as long as grandma gives us her skymiles to use so we can get free tickets!) the kids to cali in the fall and each of us will have a baby on our lap. it shall be interesting. i'll be praying for an empty plane so we get a free extra seat!

Joan Elizabeth said...

O poor thing. I'm the person who is too fat for the seat and snores so the snake skin is on the other foot.

Farm Girl said...

I once nursed a baby for a 8 hour flight. 8 hours because I was so afraid of the stare. I can so totally agree with your whole post and laughed about it and remembered that. I try and help mommy's with that now.

Farmgirl Paints said...

Ahhh the days of panick and worry when traveling with a wee one. So glad those are pretty much over. Now I just have to worry about my girls talking too loud...kicking the seat in front of us...vomiting!

Vee said...

I have lived it. Almost to the "t." It's not long enough in my past to laugh, but I have grinned.

Vee said...

And that past is more than thirty years ago so you can see how traumatized I was. :D

Debbie Petras said...

This is so funny to me, although I'm sure it's not to those who have to travel with little ones. I actually enjoy having a baby and mom ride beside me because ...I love babies!

But 'snakes on a plane' commercials were rampant at one time. I attended a social media conference and they were all talking about it. When the movie actually came out it was terrible. I saw it and agreed. But they really wanted to see if social media could influence people and it did.

myletterstoemily said...

debbie, i would have loved to have
had someone like YOU sitting next
to me on the plane!!!

Jo said...

This made me laugh out loud.

Been there...

done that...

got the tee-shirt...

It can also happen on a bus, on a boat, on a train... *sigh* :-)

http://bitsandpieces-sonja.blogspot.com/ said...

if a mother has EVER flown with a baby, or baby's... and NOT had some stories to tell, I would be mighty suspicious! I can almost FEEL the same flight you were on... yikes!! Some memories stay strong! :)

This was fun!

Champagne Macarons said...

I remember the days when my little ones were babies on the airplane. We take up most of the seats of a row so I never had to worry who was next to the baby; however, I can understand how one must feel in that situation.
xoxo, B

Debra@CommonGround said...

Loved this!!

Deborah Ann said...

I would welcome you and your baby with open arms, puke and all! See how much I like you?

Packrat said...

I so love this! Years ago, the airlines/whoever messed up our seating (duplication!) so that when we boarded I was separated from my two-1/2 year old. The snakes at either seats didn't want to trade places. Finally, I told one very sharply dressed man, "Fine, then you can feed her and bring her to me when she needs to go to the bathroom." He instantly traded seats.

Rosie said...

Oh my Darling I have never had the pleasure of flying with wee babes...but I was totally counting down the seats with you...I love your writing style. God has truly blessed you with an amazing gift...thank you dearest, for so generously sharing this gift with us all.
Dearest you are so sweet to honor me with this first place ribbon...however, you have NO idea how scared and nervous I was that I would "MeSs Up". I am so grateful to have made it through...
Hope you are enjoying your weekend my dear...Love Rosie

Vivek said...

Hi Lea,

How you doing?
Thats something amazing ..you wrote ..ya I heard about the movie but really didn't get time to watch it.

The Incident you telling , kind of same happened to us ( from us I means we were 4 ppl) going on official trip ..but via ..train ..to GOA ..(India)..and there was child ..very naughty ..but he bring smiles to our faces..I managed to get him comfortable with us ..and there after it was no looking back.

But as you said ..sometime its not the same way ..when you have Lil kids ..they are very tough to take care off and handling is totally a tedious ask..

But Mom are always make it look so easy ..hats off to MOMs they are really amazing ..

and You know ..My Mom is back with ..us ..so I'M very happy ..and she will be with us till next summer.

You too have a great time ..

take care
Keep smiling
God Bless :)

TeriGigi/Girl Meets Paris said...

Too funny! My crazy son who just moved to Hollywood, celebrated the premiere of that movie with his friends. They thought the whole thing was hilarious... he even has a Snakes on a Plane t-shirt! I shudder sometimes... but he keeps me laughing!

TeriGigi/Girl Meets Paris said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jodie | Velour said...

chuckle chuckle chuckle chuckle

Oh but traveling with little children is HARD!

I just laughed all the way through this. :) I'd venture that Difficult Mr. Reptile Shoes has never had a child of his own... or else he might be less difficult. (Let's hope!)

Anonymous said...

I would like to exchange links with your site myletterstoemily.blogspot.com
Is this possible?

myletterstoemily said...

anon: sure, but i don't know how
to do that.