throw baby from the plane?
"not everyone is going to find your son as enchanting as you do".
this statement was calmly spoken to me across the lunchtable. i was seven months pregnant with sebastian, and the author of the sentence is a good friend, with children in their teens. i had asked her for some parenting advice, and she had passed over the typical stuff about treasuring each moment, and came out with this bombshell.
not everyone was going to find my little, $10,000 illegal immigrant completely captivating? the thought seemed impossible, but if my friend said so, i was willing to listen further. i leaned forward, (thus enabling myself to grab another breadstick from the basket), and requested that she share more.
"when your baby becomes a toddler, you will go to a restaurant. and he will pull himself up and be staring at the person at the table behind him. maybe trying to start a conversation. or passing toys, paper, crayons, who knows. some people may find that enchanting, but the majority will be very content to have a small conversation with him, and then are going to expect you to keep him away from them."
although mild protests about it taking a village were swirling around in my head, i did see the sense in the comment. and i was the first to admit (and still am), that although i like kids, and find them fascinating, there are times when i don’t want to be interacting with them.
apparntly, 92 percent of the population agrees with me. 92 per cent? that is the number of positive letters that airtran airlines has received since their 22 january forced removal of elly (the princess) and her parents, julie and gerry.
the parents handled the incident the way they thought best, and let’s face it, not all of us are at our best when there are glowering observers, all with advice at the ready. but to misquote bon jovi (and who doesn’t?) folks like them, who give all the power to a three year old, "give parents a bad name." i have worked my j-lo off trying to get my kids to understand boundaries, the ramifications of choices and all about obeying authority figures. it’s not easy, but i do it. because they need to learn, for so many reasons.
apparently julie and gerry, who contacted the press to make them aware of what they considered air tran’s horrific and underserving actions, are stunned at the public’s support of the airline’s action and public comments about how their daughter (who probably is a perfectly nice little girl), deserved to be thrown from the flight for "being such a brat" (cnn’s words, not mine).
obviously, julie and gerry were never given the nugget of advice i received, and have never forgotten since that day i first heard it in 2001 ~ not everyone will find your child as enchanting as you do.
