When There's No Other Way But By Plane

Whoever forgets their first trip on a plane? I remember mine. It was 1987, and while all my high school friends took our class' senior trip to Mazatlan, I flew across the country to the Big Apple. That was a long time ago. Still, I remember so many details of that flight. Like thinking that the twenty-something law student who sat next to me was "old." Or how annoyed I was to have to crane my neck to watch Some Kind of Wonderful on the cabin's movie screen.

A Fear of Flying

Over the years my discomfort fear of flying has waxed and waned. There was a point after I moved to Boston where for a period of three years I traveled all over the U.S. and other parts of the world. Flying became so routine and mundane, like washing dishes or folding laundry, that I eventually looked forward to those few hours of uninterrupted quiet in the sky. I could read, sleep, watch a movie or just stare out at the clouds.

Know The World

A lot has happened since that has changed how I view humanity. For starters, I'm more outwardly focused; I try to stay abreast of current events (social media helps a lot). And while I'm more informed, it's a constant battle to not become hyper vigilant. Living as though danger lurks around every corner is, well, no way to live. Yet, that's exactly how many in this country and abroad have to live, in order to survive.

Children Watching The News

As parents, our challenge lies in gauging how much of the morning news to allow our children to watch. What I can tell you is that we monitor our son's TV time. He watches. He asks questions. My husband and I answer as best we can. It's tough sometimes, knowing how much is enough. We want him to examine issues from all angles. We want him to be age-appropriately informed to walk in reality, but not be traumatized. We want him to know that there's more good than evil in this world. 

The problem lies in knowing that with knowledge comes its companion -- loss of innocence.