If this first 2 hour plane ride from Nanjing to Guangzhou was going to be a test for the 14+ hour segments we have back to the U.S., does this statement from Becky shed any light on how it went, "Paul, I want to buy a house in Guangzhou. We are never flying on another plane again!" Needless to say, it was a bit frustrating and humbling for the both of us.
Lyla had taken a good 1.5 hour nap before we left for the airport in Nanjing, so most indications were that she would be in pretty good spirits for the flight. However, she hadn't been eating all that well today (mostly just bottles and snacking on Cheerios), and she was even a little grumpy in the morning during a tour through some gardens. Her performance during that tour earned her the nickname "Little Dragon" from our guide, Susan. Apparently Lyla growling whenever the stroller would stop too long for her liking somehow made the nickname stick. After learning that the Chinese in-country airlines don't mess around when it comes to overweight luggage (I think we bought a few too many things over our last stop), we also learned that Lyla would be on our lap for this segment. Thankfully, we will her own seat for her on our international flights back to the U.S.
Boarding the plane and everything went well, but around or just after takeoff, Little Dragon started spewing some flames. So much so that the Chinese woman, probably about 50, sitting right next to Becky started trying to talk to Lyla, the row behind us started to try to talk to Lyla, and even a woman in the row behind us would pop her head over the seat every minute or so to check what was going on. All of them buzzing about in Mandarin Chinese, so we only had our thoughts to imagine what they were saying about us. ;) Yes everyone, there is a Little Dragon in the seat next to / in front of you, and apparently these folks travelling with her don't know how to calm her down once they have tried her favorite two toys, giving her a bottle, bouncing with her on the seat, cradling her, feeding her Cheerios, and then repeating everything at least 3 times in a random order.
We didn't feel like very good parents and it only got better when the woman sitting next to Becky finally extended her arms towards Lyla and insisted that she take Lyla from us. The woman immediately coddles Lyla, starts talking to her sweetly in Mandarin Chinese, and then starts singing what must have been a Chinese lullaby. Once Lyla got in her arms, the Little Dragon lost her vigor, and she actually fell asleep a little while later. Over the next hour or so of the flight, we insisted that we take sleeping Lyla back, but this woman would have none of that. "She'll wake up" she gestured. The attendants served dinner, but the woman insisted we eat while she held Lyla. After eating, again we asked, but no, "she'll wake up." After what seemed like at least an hour had passed, Lyla finally woke up, and finally the "lame" parents got to take back a rested baby. Lyla did pretty well for a while, but eventually the Little Dragon resurfaced. Once again, the woman next to us extended her arms, and Lyla relaxed into them (picture above). Pretty soon, the 2 hour flight came to an end, and most of the people sitting around us probably felt like going up to the woman sitting next to us and giving her countless Thank you's or High 5's (if there was such a thing in the Chinese culture). If that Lady had no been next to us, there would have been two crazy parents and one Little Dragon at their wits end.
We're on the "road to recovery" now :) , but it's humbling to know that people are willing to help you. It took a LOT to swallow our pride and let someone else step in. It's hard to not feel like bad parents for a while. We know that we're not the perfect solution for Lyla right now, and despite the disappointment knowing that there are some gaps that we have to overcome with Lyla to become better for her, we know that really soon we WILL be her favorite place. It's really hard to thank God for the humility that he shows us along the way, but we are growing from this. We know that we can't do this on our own, and we need family and friends, spiritual guidance, and even sometimes strangers to show us a better way.
God bless and good night (almost midnight here)!
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