Big Old Jed had a light on...

I just love this picture. "Um...Dad...our gate is over there. Helloooooo."

In mid November, Kiernan and I took a flight from Burbank to Phoenix to meet Wendy. She was on a business trip that week, and one of her stops was in Mesa, Arizona, which is close to Phoenix. To make life a bit easier for her--five cities in five days can be a little rough when you're missing your little one--we caught her in her swing through Arizona, then went to stay at her parents' house in Phoenix while she finished her trip. She met us at their place for the weekend (as did my sister-in-law JoAnne and brother-in-law Mitch).

I was pretty nervous about the flight alone with Kiernan. The flight was only scheduled to be about an hour and a half long, but given how active he is now, and how much he wants to be independent and walking, I was prepared to count those minutes in dog years. We got to the airport early--because he wanted to...not because I'm anal or anything--and muddled our way through security. Once in the terminal, I figured I would give him some time to run about, maybe burn off some energy.

The terminal in Burbank, which airport is now called Bob Hope Airport, though I have yet to hear a person refer to it as that, is wide open, long, and carpeted, as you can see from the picture. We were flying in the middle of the week, in the middle of the afternoon, so it wasn't all that crowded. He loved getting to toddle around the terminal, and was very helpful in pointing out pieces of trash that needed to be thrown away. He also wanted to help a few business travelers with their laptop power cords. Strangely most of them declined his offer of help. Some people.

As for burning off energy...I'm sure those of you with children of your own had a hearty laugh at that little fantasy. He spent a good hour running about the terminal, going nuts over all the people, and the kids, and for some reason the sprinkler heads embedded in the ceiling, and still when we got on the plane he just wanted to move move move. I held him in my lap, allowing him to stand most of the time, and he just kept turning around and around. "I need to see the people behind you!" "I need to see the woman beside you!" I need to rip the hair out of the head of the man in front of you!" And on and on.

We had three key things going for us.

First, the seat next to us, the middle seat, was empty. The last time we flew this would not have mattered, but goodness how this kid has grown. If a stranger had been sitting there he would have gotten his ribs kicked in, but on the bright side he would have shared a delightful meal of gummed quesadilla.

Second, the man in the window seat was the grandfather of an eighteen-month old. So he knew.

Third, the woman across the aisle from us was an angel straight from heaven. Her name was Anne, and she was just awesome. She wanted nothing more than to entertain Kiernan at every opportunity. She had some studying to do, but she was always ready to drop her reading the moment Kiernan focused on her. She talked to him. Retrieved his sippy cup when her threw it to the floor. She even tickled his chin when he found that arching his back way over so that he could look at her upside down was a great game. Without Anne, I don't know if I would have made it.

Anyway, we both survived the flight, which was made all the sweeter by the fact that Kiernan got to see his Gammy in the airport when we arrived in Phoenix.

Getting to see his Mom after being away from her for a few days was pretty good too.