As I sit here wrestling with the looming doubts of sharing my life on a public social media page, scrolling through curated accounts that clearly have a point of view and a purpose, I wonder: What is my thing? The thing people hear about or see and immediately think of me? I honestly don’t know. How does one make friends without sharing a passion? How does one keep friends without sharing special moments and events? How does one even have friends, let alone a social media presence without a “thing” to relate to?
In 2020, as a brand new mom struggling with her postpartum body image, I started a blog called The Other F Word to navigate through some of my own personal challenges and to dig deeper into topics like fat-phobia and diet-culture. Along the way, I uncovered some triggers and some trauma that had formed the way I felt not only about myself and my body, but also the way I viewed others. As a mom of girls, I decided that I really wanted to break those cycles of associating self-worth with appearance and tearing down others to help yourself feel better.
To put it bluntly, my children are human beings who deserve experiences and adventures just like you and I. They should get to visit their grandparents and experience the beautiful island their father grew up on, but they should also get to do fun things like go to Disney World. I know kids aren’t for everyone, and there are tons of things to do in this world where there will never, ever be children present. Air travel isn’t one of those things. That being said… let’s talk about how it feels to be an adult flying with small children, and why we chose to fly rather than drive if either is an option.