time with you

I recently had the pleasure of traveling with you...just you, just us, alone. It was refreshing to be able to spend the time listening to your stories, pretending, coloring and visiting a new place and two familiar faces.

As we searched for our plane, you told me all about the airline we would be flying on.  You chanted "I love flying Southwest Airlines!" {probably because your Daddy told you if you said something of the sort, you might just get a lucky set of wings...poor kid, never got any wings.  I guess they don't give them out to excited kids anymore.} 

You got giddy and a bit silly when our plane arrived at the gate.

You were very serious about getting to your seat by the window and getting your seat belt buckled.  You listened to the flight attendant's instructions about "safety in flight" and insisted that we follow along with the safety card found in our seat-back pocket.

  You were curious about the drawing of people sliding down slides into the water and I had to explain that a plane COULD need to land somewhere other than the airport.  You were a bit worried about that but thankfully the new package of markers sitting in your lap diverted your attention away from that situation.

Tasty little snacks of honey-roasted peanuts and plane-shaped crackers were a welcomed treat mid-flight, especially because we had quickly exhausted the newness of your marker set.

At our destination, you confidently rode all the escalators with me {only hesitating a bit as we got on}.  You loved walking on the moving walkways that zoomed us across the airport in no time.  

Soon, we were there!  We made it to the place we had talked about for months.  Everything in a new place seems to excite all the senses at once, making for a very stimulated and tired preschooler. 

 The air was cooler,

 the smells of your backseat buddy were unfamiliar, 

the sights were magnificent,

 the tastes were new and wonderful

 and the sounds of children playing by a mountain stream were quite different from the sounds we encounter on a daily basis at home.

But the highlight was seeing these dear folks who are missed so much back home!

And Momma sure enjoyed spending the time with her sweet girl.