Do you ever consider the small, uncanny coincidences in your life and realise that G-d really is on your side? Sometimes its simply a matter looking around you and being grateful for small mercies.
As with many parents, theres always one part of a family holiday that I dread. The journey. It could be a plane, train or automobile, but that vital step necessary to get you point A to point B can prove quite an experience.
Im a veteran at flying with kids. Ive been doing so for almost 21 years. So either Im getting old or my toddler is just that much more of a challenge than her now grown up siblings.
My first stroke of luck came when the moving sidewalks in Heathrows Terminal 4 were broken. I could only but picture my little daughter insisting on riding it again and again, either with or against the flow of traffic and causing us to have to rush for our flight. The barriers in front were a welcoming sight. I cast a glance heavenward and whispered a small thanks.
Its a long eight hours to New York which is even longer when a two-year-old, otherwise accustomed to daily walks outdoors, is confined in a tin can for all that time. I have vivid recollections of our trip to Israel last summer, only half the distance, and the way she chose to amuse herself for much of the four hour journey. The disgruntled Israeli in the seat in front didnt take kindly to the tap-the-bald-spot game. The English woman behind was far more understanding (she must have been a mother herself) until my daughter started to throw things. So when I observed on this trip to NY that the seat immediately in front and behind her were empty, I breathed a sigh of relief. The travellers prayer was recited with added fervour. G-d really was on my side.
Still, she wouldnt let us down entirely and when the stewardess came to complain about the launched missile (a plastic spoon) striking a lady three rows behind in the eye, I realised she wouldnt have gone stir crazy were it not for the fact that the movie screens were broken and there were no cartoons with which to entertain herself. Broken sidewalks – √. Broken screens – X.
Thank you G-d for Your mercies. I know I can’t have it all.
