When Your Son Goes Traveling Alone…

You say a lot of prayers and cross yourself even though you’re not Catholic. Then you pray some more and plaster a smile on your face and rattle off everything you think he needs to know again even though you know he’s not listening anymore and finally you say it’ll be okay just relax you have the utmost confidence in him to figure things out and to ask questions when he can’t.
And you do, and he does, but still. You have to watch your 13yo go through airport security, all by his lonesome, so small and so grown-up, all at the same time. And you know when he gets to the other side, he’s on his own.

Just him and his cell phone, that is. I told him I wasn’t leaving that airport until I knew he was all comfy sitting at the gate with a warm and fuzzy that he knew he was in the right place, so he better call me.

He did. Then he texted me when he got on the plane. He texted me when he landed. He called me when he was sitting at the gate in Atlanta, waiting for the flight to Wichita, telling me he was bored. He called me when he got on the plane there, excited because they let them board so early. (Not realizing this was normal.) He called me when he got to Wichita, confused after he got off the plane because he forgot where to go next. And he laughed, “Oh, yea,” when I reminded him to follow the crowd and the signs for baggage claim; he’ll see his aunt when he passes by security. He sounded happy and confident.

And he should, because he just navigated a day of air travel, all by himself, for the first time.

One Air Fare ticket (one-way): $89.00
Plus Taxes and Fees: 21.20
And checking in one bag: 15.00
TOTAL: $125.20

I could have paid another $59 for the airline’s unaccompanied minor service. But it was optional for Conner’s age with this airline*. I wasn’t being a cheapskate — obviously $59 is a small fee to ensure the safety of your child. But I had the utmost confidence in Conner, that he could navigate this on his own. (I might have had second thoughts without the wonder of cell phones…)

Conner has flown many, many times in his lifetime. He once flew alone internationally, though we did pay the airline’s minor service. He was ten at the time.

How much changes in three years. I wonder what it will be like, the next time we fly as a family. The changes we might see in Conner, the knowledge gained and confidence built from his experience flying solo.

We’ll see him in just a week, when the rest of us drive to Kansas. He’ll probably be happy to see us… for at least five minutes or so. But he probably won’t be too happy to get in the car and drive for some 14 hours when it’s time to come home. I’ve a feeling he’s going to wonder why he can’t just fly, now that he’s been there, done that.

And after 14 hours stuck in a van with a teenager and two smaller siblings who do nothing but get on their older brother’s nerves, I might be wondering the same thing.

*Check with the airline, as each has its own rules and fees for unaccompanied minors.