The Continued Travels With Tessa Tangerine

I was barely home in January and so with one last quick trip to Nashville, TN on the plate, I decided to take Tessa Tangerine along to keep me company and connected, and it was another chance to get her in the air and on her way to "seasoned traveler" status. So off to Nashville we went.

Let me get the humiliating part out of the way first, ugh... the mad white knuckle dash for the bathroom at the layover in Atlanta on our way home, where Tessa had to squeeze into a stall with me in her stroller, and all our luggage, in the stink of the mens bathroom while I took care of some unexpected urgent business. There was a dude in the stall to the left of me, and to the right of me, and Tessa decided she wanted to say "dadadadadadadadada" a hundred times and giggle. Let's just say that at 19 months she already knows the hilarity of a good solid fart sound, and in that Atlanta bathroom they were "booming," some brassy, some low, but all hilarious to her, and she was not shy with her reactions when hearing them. I am sure the gentlemen seated on the sides of us appreciated me taking the time to give a life lesson during all of this to say: "Shhhh, that's not polite honey."

I have to say that traveling alone with my daughter was a reminder of just how much the majority of the female population has bought into this idea that a man is a bumbling ding dong, barely capable of ordering his beer correctly, or knowing when to stop shoving a couple pounds of bacon and cheese wrapped in fried chicken into his mouth. I mean the reaction I got to taking Tessa on a trip was insulting, all the disbelief and smirks, and that annoying "aww isn't that sweet" reaction-- Look a father is actually doing something with his child. This was largely the reaction while en route to Nashville, and I was happy that once I was at the actual Blissdom conference, that I didn't experience the same disbelief. Well, not so much about taking Tessa on a trip alone, but there was quite a bit of awed amazement that I actually dressed her myself. I mean I know how to put an outfit together, it's not a real big deal.

Some important realizations and discoveries were made on this trip...

** Tessa outgrew the lap child thing. After the flight out, I realized that I was being a rude prick trying to save some extra bucks, and that this kid needed her own seat from now on. It just isn't fair to the person sitting in front of us, she is a serious seat kicker. So I bought her, her own seat on all the flights home. It made a huge difference in her behavior and I am glad I spent the extra money. She is definitely not a lap baby any longer.

** Tessa discovered that if she walks up to a group of people and says: "Hi!" that she gets a reaction. So she became the kid that waves and says "hi" to everyone. To everyone.

** The last night we were there, I decided I would take her down to a party for a little while and get some food, and let her see some of a concert that was going on. She loves live music. There was a red carpet entrance with a step & repeat and a few photographers, and let's just say that Tessa worked that carpet. I was actually shocked at how much she played to the camera.

** We also learned how powerful of an impact a good pair of shoes can have.

** The first morning we woke up in Nashville, I was sad. I was tired of traveling, I missed home, I hated that we were in a hotel room, and I felt guilty for taking Tessa. I wasn't comfortable here, so I assumed she wasn't either. I laid in bed in the dark of the room and swam around in a lot of frustration and let myself be a baby for a few minutes. Within a minute of Tessa waking up, and saying "good morning dada." she managed to change my whole head around. She was happy, she was smiling. As soon as I picked her up out of her crib, she made a break for the curtains, and started playing in that perfect soft golden light that the first minutes of morning brings. It was like watching a kid play in the rain, she was swimming in this light, and it was one of the only times on the whole trip that I took a picture. It was one of the best starts to a day that I can remember.

In case you were wondering: "why were y'all in Nashville?" I had the pleasure of speaking on a panel about Compassion Fatigue at the Blissdom Conference with some amazing people. This was the first time in a long while that I spoke in front of a crowd and did not feel out of my mind terrified. I was happy to tell the story of Do Fun Stuff and felt a little ting of pride while I was telling the story of how it all went down. That doesn't usually happen, so I have to thank Megan Jordan for thinking of me for this panel, and convincing me to do this. After attending Blogher I had decided that I was not going to be a part of any more lady conferences as I just felt like I had no business being at them, at all, but Megan has become a fast friend and it was impossible to say no when she described the session. So I agreed. Another big moment during the session was while I was seated next to Ellen Seidman who writes Love That Max, I was listening to her talk about the realization of the list of symptoms and challenges her special needs child had to face, it sent me back to the first time that Cole and I read the symptoms and characteristics list onSmith Magenis Syndrome when LB was diagnosed, and I got this huge lump in my throat, and I just wanted to hug this woman sitting next to me that I had just met, and cry, and say I know what you mean, and thank you for being kind, and funny, and accepting.

To sum it up, it was a great experience, I was glad that Tessa got to be with me, I needed her to lift me up that morning and get my brain thinking positive again. All that said I am happy to be home. This week is catch up week for sure.



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