Ok, I get it. I've been that passenger on a plane who's never had kids who paid good money, and a lot of it, for a itty bitty seat and listened to a kid SCREAM the entire time.
I decided when Katarina first started flying that I would accept the fact that one day, I will be that parent. The one getting the dirty looks and the heavy sighs, and the awful comments. We have flown now about 15 times, and so far, I have not been that parent for very long - max crying time so far, about 4 minutes. However, the older she gets, the more she wants to run all over the plane and push buttons and get in to things. I'm so paranoid about being "that parent" that I don't allow Katarina to get up at all.
So today, I'm on a 2 hour flight from Orlando to Newark with Katarina coming back from Disney. The guy in front of me sees me get on with child and has his seat completely reclined. The flight has not left the gate, and his seat is reclined. I can't afford to get a seat for Katarina on her own, so she's in my lap and this guy is trying to sit in my lap with us apparently.
He had to put his seat up for take off, but literally as soon as the wheels are off the ground, the seat goes back again. Now, of course Katarina is going to occasionally stretch her legs and I try to stop her, but there is only so much I can do. The guy turns around and gives me the nastiest look... seriously buddy, you're sitting in my lap, what do you expect?
Needless to say, it was not a pleasant flight, but I'll give Katarina credit. She continued to be the perfect angel that she is! Please, if you are the passenger on the plane, give the parents a little bit of slack. If the parent is trying, give them a break. And really, the seats are small enough, so if you see someone could use just a little more room, give help them out and let them have it.
No comments:
Post a Comment