Vacation...or Work?

We’ve all experienced them…we’ve all been annoyed or astonished or entertained by them. We’ve all wished they were ours or more likely, thanking the Lord that we’ll probably never see them again. We’ve all had airplane rides where you wished you could throw them out the window because of the constant screaming or kicking of the back of your seat, or dinners interrupted because they are running around and knocked your server off of his feet and screamed so loudly the fire alarm went off. Who are we talking about? OPK’s...or, Other People’s Kids.

I’ve always been a kid lover. I was a nanny for years and now I’m a 2nd grade teacher so I’ve had pretty good experiences with OPK’s. I’ve seen them be incredibly sweet and wonderful and I’ve wanted to take a few home with me and never let them go. A few of my students have been so inquisitive and polite and spunky that you wish you could bottle up whatever their parents were doing with them and sell it…you’d make millions. However…there are the other ones.

The OPK’s where they don’t think human decency apply to them. My mother-in-law once saw a 5-year-old run up to his mom at the Boulder Courts and pull on her shirt and yell, “I want some titty!!” She could only assume he was talking about breast milk and not Jenna Jamison. Last summer we flew from London to Denver (yes…it was a 10 hour flight) with an OPK that I personally would have paid someone $1,000 to strangle. This child was easily 3 years old and didn’t want to talk…she had learned that screaming got her anything she wanted. Imagine a 10 hour flight where this child would just scream, “AAAARRGGHHH” whenever she got bored, wanted food, was tired, wanted to run around, or just wanted attention. I watched the mom: most of the time, she was sleeping and totally ignored her which made the child scream louder. Eventually the father would lean over and give her what she wanted which would shut her up for about 2 minutes until she got bored and started screaming again. I was shooting this poor 3 year old horrible dirty looks and I noticed other passengers who were desperately trying to sleep talking to the flight attendants, but there was nothing they could do. This OPK was making our lives miserable for those 10 hours while her mother slept peacefully all the way to Denver. Fabulous.

The reason I bring this up is I am in danger of having my very first OPK experience with my own child. On Monday, we are embarking on our first of many adventures together…we are going to brave the unknown with only the allotted amount of equipment with us. We’re not climbing mountains or joining the Peace Corps…we’re taking our very first plane ride.

My grandmother lives in Traverse City, MI…the cherry capital of the world. It’s a fabulous summer vacation destination. It’s in the northern part of the state and it’s famous for its beaches, calm waters, wonderful weather, wineries and of course, cherries. My grandma (Mimi) has a house right on the beach…the beach is her backyard. The pictures above were taken in Mimi's backyard. We try to go every year, but as we were in Europe last year, this year is it. Kevin can’t go because he took so much time off when Maelin was born, so my friend Emily is coming along with us. So it’ll be me, Maelin and Emily. We will be desperately trying to keep Maelin calm on the plane so we won’t be one of those OPK’s that people want to kill.

I have no idea how to go about this. I’ve had many moments of anxiety and at one point; I almost bowed out of it altogether. However, I don’t want my daughter to pick up on the vibe that because something is hard or you haven’t done it before so it’s scary, means that you don’t do it. I want to lead by example that if you want something, you should do what you need to do to get it.

I want to show my daughter her great-grandmother’s house. I want my daughter to hang out on the beach with her cousins and great-aunts. In spite of my trepidation, we’re going. We leave Monday night.

Here is what we need to bring…keep in mind that you are only allowed 2 bags and there is a weight limit:

Breast Pump

Bed for Maelin…it folds up, but it’s somewhat bulky

Fan…or something to make white noise

Diapers, Wipes, Diaper Rash Cream, etc…

Bottles

Diaper Bag filled with articles for baby to play with on plane so she doesn’t annoy anyone…including us

Tent and Air Mattress for Emily (Mimi’s house is small so adults w/o kids camp on the beach)

Towels, Swimsuits

Bouncy Seat

Car Seat

Stroller

Baby Bjorn Carrier

Sunscreen

Medical Supplies for baby

Clothes for a week…pj’s. burp cloths, warm clothes, cool clothes, etc…

Bathtub for Baby (it’s small and folds up, but we have to bring it)

Blankets and Sheets for baby

Inflatable Raft Floaty Thing for Baby

A few books for me and all my crap

Anyone see a problem? How do we get all of this into 2 bags? Emily will only have one, but some of this stuff is pretty heavy. I’m kind of freaking out…I know we’ll get there just fine and have an amazing time, but I really don’t want Maelin to be an annoying OPK…

From now on, I’ll have more empathy for OPK’s who are acting up. Now I know that no parent (except for the sleeping mom ALL the way from London to Denver) wants their child to be annoying or bothering other people. Sometimes there’s just nothing else you can do.

I told my uncle that I was really nervous about bringing Maelin on the plane. She’s such a good girl but I could see her freaking out because she’s not at home and just being cranky the whole way and then not sleeping, etc. He gave me great advice…”Mara, how many OPK’s have you had to deal with? If Maelin acts up, just remember that it’s your turn now.”

Keep your fingers crossed for me…