My son was 4 months old the first time he flew on a plane.
I was invited to a tech conference at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I was exclusively nursing, living on a special diet of no dairy, soy or egg, and getting four solid hours of sleep a night.
It wasn’t easy, but seeing my little boy fall asleep on the plane, ga-ga at strangers on the city sidewalks and marvel at the curves and shapes of Pittsburgh architecture made me grateful for seizing the opportunity.
When he was 2 years old, we went on a family trip to Boston for a week. My husband and I love the city, and there are so many fun activities for young ones to enjoy. At 3, my son went on his first beach vacation to Key Largo, an island off the southern coast of Florida. It was a work trip for my husband, but it became one of our most memorable experiences. And last week, we visited the Grand Canyon and the deserts of Arizona. My now 4-year-old continually asks if we just came back from outer space. He’s convinced we went to Mars because of Red Rock State Park in Sedona.
Why am I sharing my son’s travel history with you? Because we did it, and you can, too.