Lessons in holiday travel

 

1. You might be able to sneak a “lap child” past a TSA agent but you can’t get one past an airline gate agent.

2. A “lap child” needs to be claimed (so to speak) on a boarding pass and you need a form of identification, such as a birth certificate or shot record, for the child.

3. If you look like you’re on the verge of tears and your child is really teeny, the gate agent will be kind and redo your pass without said identification.

4. It is best to travel when your infant should be in bed. He will sleep through a car ride, take off, lay over and second flight.

5. Out of town family members love to hold your baby so you can do things like go to the bathroom, drink coffee and run 12 miles (a 3-miler and a 9-miler).

6. Running in Florida sounds much more glamorous than it actually is. It was humid and not very scenic, aka I ran alongside a highway and planned communities about 30 minutes outside St. Petersburg.

7. Sometimes you have to abandon your way of eating based on what your gracious aunt/host has made available.

8. Muffins taste great for breakfast. Two muffins taste even better.

9. If you are smart enough to procure summer clothes for your infant to wear in Florida, you should be smart enough to pack summer clothes for yourself. Should be.

10. The beach is like a giant sandbox and children love it accordingly.

11. So do adults.

12. And old men in banana hammocks.

13. It’s great to be together as a family. The beach is just a bonus.

What did you do for the holiday?