I had the privilege to travel to the states with my dh and dd for a wonderful vacation! 3 weeks of cable tv and FAST internet! Heaven!
I am not sure if any of you have had the 'privilege' of flying into JFK airport from outside of the United States. Its not as glamourous as I grew up thinking.
JFK! Let me just tell you, I HATE THAT AIRPORT! I have been into and out of almost 500 airports in my life and that is the ONE I pray and hope and PLAN and PAY to not EVER have to travel through again!
We had a 6 hour layover. I was irritated about having SUCH a long layover and WHAT and how are we going to entertain Little Miss for that long in SOME airport?! Well, we had just enough time to grab a SUPER quick bite and head to our gate. SERIOUSLY, 6 hours! Once we got cleared from customs and rechecked BACK into security, and located our GATE CHECKED stroller, AND found our gate, we had 45 minutes before boarding started! The WHOLE point of a gate checked stroller, is to have it WAITING for you to strap the child into to help you maneuver through the quagmire that is international travel!
While we were on our adventure from the depths of deepest darkest Gehenna, I came across some moments of true beauty and deep suffering.
I have traveled alone with an infant and baby, and a toddler. Most of which have been internationally. I have had the luxury of knowing the languages and monies and mostly the cultures of the locations ahead of time, or from previous trips. I can tell you, we need to pay more attention to our fellow women travelers.
My heart broke as I witnessed the callous and harsh treatment of my fellow mothers and women. By not just other foreigners, but my AMERICANS and those in the service industry.
While on our trip through Gehenna, pushing our luggage, finding our way through the maze that is JFK, I listened to this airport worker just be mean and cruel to a woman trying to find a change machine so she could get a cart. My dh was leading the pack and I was pushing our half sleeping baby in her finally found stroller. I was a good momma, stayed close, kept to myself and kept a lookout for 'strange stuff'. I walked past. Until I heard that momma say, I just need help, any help, please help. She was summarily dismissed.
I told our daddy, stop. I need my wallet.
I had done laundry for our trip. Nothing unusual. Most of us do. My Italian washer takes over an hour and a half to wash 1 2.5 kg load of clothes. In other words, 3 large towels and 2 hand towels and 3 wash cloths. NO JOKING. It takes a LONG time. So, with 6 loads of clothes, I went to the laundromat.
I had my dh get me $40 in quarters. Never know how much I need. Needless to say, I had a LOT of left over change. I knew I could use it later and so, CRAMMED it into my tiny wallet! It weighed 5 pounds! I never have more than $2 left over, of the 3 times I have been to the laundromat, in 10 years.
I grabbed my wallet and turned Little Miss around and headed back to the now crying mother. I asked her if she needed change. She said yes, but all she had was a $10 bill. I just pulled out $2 in quarters and told her, hope this helps. We both cried and I noticed that worker lady hang her head. I walked away lighter in the pocket, but richer in spirit and heart. It felt good, really good!
We meandered and I found a vending machine. I got some candy and a drink. I still had change left.
We found ourselves in the baggage claim and there was this beautiful woman in her scarf and headdress, she was DRESSED nicer than anything I own! Her little man was just too cute! He was running in circles around her feet and laughing. She was bone weary tired. She attempted to use the phone, but the call did not go through and she lost her coins.
She asked 5 people for help. None even looked at her. The SkyCap didn't even acknowledge her. Her little man just giggled. She had passed all of the currency changers. She passed all of the businesses to make change of her american money. She just needed to make a phone call. I made my way to her. I said, do you need help? She told me how she has american money, but does not know how much is enough to trade for the coins to call. She had 2 $1 bills and then dug around for more. I told her about my change and she can have $2 in coins for her smaller bills. The phone ate that up and she was still no better off. I told her, I have more. So, she pulled out $100 bill and said will this make a call? I let her know, it will make many and not to show or ask anyone else, but she needed to get some change as that is a lot of money. She was embarrassed. I told her, its ok, its hard to know this if its not your home country. She told me it was her first time in America and this was her new home. Her husband had sent for them, he was waiting to come pick them up, for her to call him.
I pulled every piece of change I had in my wallet out and handed it all to her, to make sure she had enough. She called him, and tried to give the money back, I said no, its your welcome to america gift, one mother to another. She tried to tell me it was too big of a gift. I told her, its just a few coins. She said, no its freedom.
Its hard traveling with a child. Hard as the only parent. People are watching and judging and NO one wants to be bothered to help, or even smile. But what are we saying to the mothers and their children if we can't offer a hand to hold an arm baby while the mother goes potty? Or washes her hands in the airport? Or entertains a whiney baby while mom calls dad? Or grabs a run away from a bone-weary tired traveling momma? Or gets her luggage down from the overhead bin while she attempts to dislodge the carseat from the plane seat? Or opening the stroller that is actually at the gate check waiting to carry her bags and child? Or holds up the blanket so the nursing mother can fix her shirt that got puked on in the seat?
Moms shape the emotional responses of their children that will one day become the adults that ignore the mothers traveling with the new little people that are becoming the new adults, that will become tomorrows parents. We have a responsibility as mothers, as sisters in this journey of life.
When you touch the heart of a mother, you change the future and add a little tenderness, a little love, a little kindness to the world, just by noticing that she needs a smile, a hand, or some quarters.
There are red poppies blooming all over the world. Can you see them? Momma's that need just that little something, little blooms opening, waiting to see if someone notices their bright spot on this day....... I love red poppies.
JFK! Let me just tell you, I HATE THAT AIRPORT! I have been into and out of almost 500 airports in my life and that is the ONE I pray and hope and PLAN and PAY to not EVER have to travel through again!
We had a 6 hour layover. I was irritated about having SUCH a long layover and WHAT and how are we going to entertain Little Miss for that long in SOME airport?! Well, we had just enough time to grab a SUPER quick bite and head to our gate. SERIOUSLY, 6 hours! Once we got cleared from customs and rechecked BACK into security, and located our GATE CHECKED stroller, AND found our gate, we had 45 minutes before boarding started! The WHOLE point of a gate checked stroller, is to have it WAITING for you to strap the child into to help you maneuver through the quagmire that is international travel!
While we were on our adventure from the depths of deepest darkest Gehenna, I came across some moments of true beauty and deep suffering.
I have traveled alone with an infant and baby, and a toddler. Most of which have been internationally. I have had the luxury of knowing the languages and monies and mostly the cultures of the locations ahead of time, or from previous trips. I can tell you, we need to pay more attention to our fellow women travelers.
My heart broke as I witnessed the callous and harsh treatment of my fellow mothers and women. By not just other foreigners, but my AMERICANS and those in the service industry.
While on our trip through Gehenna, pushing our luggage, finding our way through the maze that is JFK, I listened to this airport worker just be mean and cruel to a woman trying to find a change machine so she could get a cart. My dh was leading the pack and I was pushing our half sleeping baby in her finally found stroller. I was a good momma, stayed close, kept to myself and kept a lookout for 'strange stuff'. I walked past. Until I heard that momma say, I just need help, any help, please help. She was summarily dismissed.
I told our daddy, stop. I need my wallet.
I had done laundry for our trip. Nothing unusual. Most of us do. My Italian washer takes over an hour and a half to wash 1 2.5 kg load of clothes. In other words, 3 large towels and 2 hand towels and 3 wash cloths. NO JOKING. It takes a LONG time. So, with 6 loads of clothes, I went to the laundromat.
I had my dh get me $40 in quarters. Never know how much I need. Needless to say, I had a LOT of left over change. I knew I could use it later and so, CRAMMED it into my tiny wallet! It weighed 5 pounds! I never have more than $2 left over, of the 3 times I have been to the laundromat, in 10 years.
I grabbed my wallet and turned Little Miss around and headed back to the now crying mother. I asked her if she needed change. She said yes, but all she had was a $10 bill. I just pulled out $2 in quarters and told her, hope this helps. We both cried and I noticed that worker lady hang her head. I walked away lighter in the pocket, but richer in spirit and heart. It felt good, really good!
We meandered and I found a vending machine. I got some candy and a drink. I still had change left.
We found ourselves in the baggage claim and there was this beautiful woman in her scarf and headdress, she was DRESSED nicer than anything I own! Her little man was just too cute! He was running in circles around her feet and laughing. She was bone weary tired. She attempted to use the phone, but the call did not go through and she lost her coins.
She asked 5 people for help. None even looked at her. The SkyCap didn't even acknowledge her. Her little man just giggled. She had passed all of the currency changers. She passed all of the businesses to make change of her american money. She just needed to make a phone call. I made my way to her. I said, do you need help? She told me how she has american money, but does not know how much is enough to trade for the coins to call. She had 2 $1 bills and then dug around for more. I told her about my change and she can have $2 in coins for her smaller bills. The phone ate that up and she was still no better off. I told her, I have more. So, she pulled out $100 bill and said will this make a call? I let her know, it will make many and not to show or ask anyone else, but she needed to get some change as that is a lot of money. She was embarrassed. I told her, its ok, its hard to know this if its not your home country. She told me it was her first time in America and this was her new home. Her husband had sent for them, he was waiting to come pick them up, for her to call him.
I pulled every piece of change I had in my wallet out and handed it all to her, to make sure she had enough. She called him, and tried to give the money back, I said no, its your welcome to america gift, one mother to another. She tried to tell me it was too big of a gift. I told her, its just a few coins. She said, no its freedom.
Its hard traveling with a child. Hard as the only parent. People are watching and judging and NO one wants to be bothered to help, or even smile. But what are we saying to the mothers and their children if we can't offer a hand to hold an arm baby while the mother goes potty? Or washes her hands in the airport? Or entertains a whiney baby while mom calls dad? Or grabs a run away from a bone-weary tired traveling momma? Or gets her luggage down from the overhead bin while she attempts to dislodge the carseat from the plane seat? Or opening the stroller that is actually at the gate check waiting to carry her bags and child? Or holds up the blanket so the nursing mother can fix her shirt that got puked on in the seat?
Moms shape the emotional responses of their children that will one day become the adults that ignore the mothers traveling with the new little people that are becoming the new adults, that will become tomorrows parents. We have a responsibility as mothers, as sisters in this journey of life.
When you touch the heart of a mother, you change the future and add a little tenderness, a little love, a little kindness to the world, just by noticing that she needs a smile, a hand, or some quarters.
There are red poppies blooming all over the world. Can you see them? Momma's that need just that little something, little blooms opening, waiting to see if someone notices their bright spot on this day....... I love red poppies.
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