You Want to What???

Thanks to the loving folks who make the show Bubble Guppies, I am now faced with a reminder of one of my biggest fears well earlier than I thought I would be. While Amelia and I were watching an episode this weekend where they fly somewhere, she turned to me and said "I want to fly on a plane....with Daddy!".  Most of you who know me know she might as well have said "I want to stand in a pit of snakes and play Russian roulette...with Daddy!!".  From 1998 to 2008 I flew exactly 0 times. I have flown 3 times since - once to see if I would have a heart attack, once for work, and once to take Meggan to New York.  Luckily, I didn't die on any of those flights. Unfortunately, the stress of them probably shortened my life by 5 years on the back end.

I'm not dumb enough to think I was going to avoid this problem forever. But, sort of like boyfriends and training bras, I just hoped if I never mentioned it, maybe she wouldn't notice until she was 20 or so.  The irony is that I want Amelia to travel. I want her to see the world. But, I want her to do it with passion and zest....not Xanax and stomach aches. 

I know I will be able to put off flying for a little while longer, but it has now become a topic...a topic I'm sure Meggan will revel in bringing up as often as she can. It isn't that she doesn't love me. It's that she so badly wants me to fly and knows using a child-induced guilt trip is probably the best shot she has. I want my children to face their fears, so eventually I'll have to do something because there is only so much room on this dad-pedestal I stand on and frankly it's getting a little crowded with all the hypocrisy floating around.

For anyone who thinks it is not a big deal and I should just suck it up...1) In a weird way, I agree. 2) Strap yourself in a straight jacket and get locked in a coffin for about 3 hours ...that's how flying feels to me...and you'll only get to Texas in that time frame. Stay in there another 6 to go see Europe. In the meantime, if you see any 3 year-olds dragging their dad out of a plane Weekend at Bernie's style, you'll have Bubble Guppies to thank.