On a Wing & a Prayer
by Linda M. Sharp

Having grown up under a father whose career is in the airline/airport 
industry, I have always had a passion for planes, flight and the perks that go along with being around the airlines - free travel.

I've often said that the most difficult thing about having children lies not in the physical pain of childbirth, is not found in the pacing of the carpet with a colicky infant, or even in the embarrassment of the inevitable tantrums for candy at Wal-Mart. The most difficult thing is the fact that all too soon they begin to grow up and comprehend the world around them . . . and that it can be a confusing and frightening place.

When they were babies, I knew I could watch my sitcoms full of innuendo and nurse at the same time. They could not understand the English language, let alone the sexual banter on Frasier, Friends and Seinfeld. As they hit toddlerdom, an Oprah show on divorce or infidelity did nothing to scale their Barney-sized wall of comprehension. But they are getting older now -- and at 
the ages of 8, 7 and 4, no more can my husband and I even watch the news, safe in the knowledge that it is all "going over their heads". Such was the case on Tuesday when Tom Brokaw interrupted Regis & Kathie Lee with the news of the devastating crash of a Concorde into a hotel in Paris. 

My older daughters stood as still as I as the report unfolded. Crashed.  Hotel. Fire. Death. They understood it all. And they were frightened.  After Tom was finished and we were abruptly returned to the inane bantering between "Reeg" and the ever bubbly Ms. Lee, they turned very wide blue eyes my direction and began asking questions in rapid fire form. What went wrong?  Couldn't the pilots make it come down safe? How many people were in the hotel? What do you think the people on the airplane felt? Will our airplane crash in September too?

That last question shocked me the most. Coming up with heartfelt, yet "flowery" answers to the other questions was easy. We parents are good at that. Painting pretty pictures, using softened imagery, relying on the abstract to cover what we cannot truly explain. But they will be boarding an aircraft in just over one month to carry us to the happy occasion of their Aunt's wedding.  That is not abstract. We will be soaring through the clouds and time zones at an altitude of tens of thousands of feet for a prolonged period of time. Their association and fear are understandable.

Having grown up under a father whose career is in the airline/airport industry, I have always had a passion for planes, flight and the perks that go along with being around the airlines - free travel. So much so, that for a brief period I even worked for an airline, hopping into those spare free seats whenever my days off and their emptiness coincided. And although being so integrated into the industry also meant knowing more details of the inevitable crashes, I can honestly say I never had a fear of once again "placing my seatback and tray table into their full and upright position" and taking off into the wild blue yonder. I believe it has something to do with that whole "recklessness of youth" disease. 

However, it took only the addition of a child to my life to realize how precious and tenuous that life is. While I still fly fairly frequently, I never buckle myself in without offering up a silent prayer that the plane makes it there and back safely. When I fly alone, I think constantly of how I only want to watch my daughters grow up. When my husband and I fly together, I am intensely aware that if something should happen they will be orphaned. And on the occasions that I buckle them in beside me? My thoughts always stray to how vulnerable they would be in the face of an accident.

As they waited for an answer to their wrenching question, I could see by the looks on their faces, wanted a guarantee, an assurance that nothing could possibly happen to our plane. Taking a deep breath, I did the other thing that parents do best, I held them close to my heart, told them how much I love them and then lied. Of course nothing will happen to our plane. 

They may be growing up and able to understand the news reports, but there is 
time enough for them to find out that nothing is this life is guaranteed.

Visit Linda at www.sanitycentral.com!

Related Articles:

The Importance of the Father/Child Bond
To this day, spending time with my kids continues to be one of my favorite activities. To not spend time with my children is unfathomable.

A Mother's Perspective: Germ Warfare!
A humorous yet informative article on the spreading of germs and illnesses between young children. Includes personal experiences as well as advice from a Board Certified Pediatrician.

Hey, Who’s the Boss, Here?
We’ve all been in situations with our children when, out in public, we just want to crawl into a big hole in the ground, never to be seen again, right?

In The Blink of an Eye
I am the mother of a licensed driver. These are truly frightening words.

To Clean Or Not To Clean (Your Child's Room)
Whether or not to help your child clean their room. It's an age old dilemma.