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Feb
24
From the February 2011 issue of Cleveland Family:
Early one December morning last year, my husband and I, our three kids, their respective computer bags and rolling carry-on luggage spiraled through airport security lines as we got closer to our Florida vacation.
As anyone who has snaked through this routine knows, there’s little to do while waiting to move forward. The options involve obsessing over what might have been forgotten or staring at everyone around you who is doing that too.
On that particular day, I chose to stare at and then start a conversation with a 30-something mother and her family of five who were in line just behind us.
We engaged in the usual chatter about where we were going, how long we would be staying and the ages of our kids. Even as I listened to her answers and responded to questions myself, I also absorbed the sight of her three kids, ages 5 and under, her husband and all their accoutrements: diaper bags, jackets, shoes, stuffed animals and toddler-sized Disney-fied tote bags.
The 3-year-old boy squirmed in his father’s arms while the under 2-year-old son stretched out his legs and arched his back inside his stroller. The oldest boy stood restlessly beside his dad while clinging to a luggage strap that was hanging down from a shoulder.
As I watched the two parents alternately cajole, caress and calm down a different child while we progressed to the body scanners, memories of me being in their shoes flowed into my consciousness. That used to be my family, my kids and my paraphernalia, I thought.
Read the rest here. Thanks as always to the publisher and editor for letting me continue to write for them. This will be my eighth year of being published, my seventh for column writing with them. Very grateful.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 1:54 pm February 24th, 2011 in Humor, Jill Miller Zimon, Media, Parenting, Writing
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You might want to check your link – I tried it and couldn’t follow through to read the rest of the article.
I’ve fixed it and checked it – should be ok – will check one other thing about it to be sure – thank you!
What a great piece, Jill. Our five kids span in age from 5 through almost 17, so we have feet in both of the worlds you describe. I keep reminding myself that one day I’m going to miss all of the “hassles” of having young children…though maybe not THAT much. Anyway, thanks for sharing. Well done.
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Scott, glad you liked it!! I really have so much fun writing these columns and I say that I am fortunate that my kids have been such a gift to my writing (and my world of course, too).
David – thanks – I fixed that second link – the first one had been trouble earlier and I fixed that but I also needed to fix the other one – thanks for letting me know. Hope you like it.
I did enjoy it, thanks!