Here we are, on the flight - the first of many I hope.
Starting in the morning, Smallsteps knew that there was a surprise coming, but had no idea what it was. She had a guess that it was a boat trip to Sweden, but then still didn't want us to confirm or deny - and ruin the surprise.
There was a little drama, because I said she could take three toys, and she wanted four. I decided it was a teaching moment in decision making, so one had to be cut. Naksu, Karva Pörrö and Lupiainen made the trip - with many tears, Panda missed out. Just as we were going out the door, she went back upstairs to give Panda a hug.
We drove toward Helsinki Airport, stopping at a roadhouse for lunch, telling Smallsteps that this was the surprise she had been waiting for and after, we'd drive home. She "knew" we were joking outwardly, but there was a shadow of a doubt in her voice when she said it.
Finally arriving at the airport, we parked the car 88€ for the week (which sounds bad, but isn't bad at all around here), and then she started looking around. She was surprised that there were a suitcases in the back and then realized, we might be gone awhile. She has never been to an airport before and really had no idea where we were. The signs were meaningless to her, as she has no idea what a terminal is, or what it is for. However, once we were inside and saw all the people with bags,
she still had no idea.
We went through the normal rigmarole of printing bag tickets and boarding passes, then headed through to security. Helsinki airport has the newer x-ray machines now, so nothing has to come out of the bag. It made it smoother and easier to load the box and go through, but at the other end, it was a different story.
Normally it is me who gets pulled up for "random" checks, but this time, it was my wife, as she had something that made the scanners take notice. She wasn't the only one either, there was a whole line of people who were getting pulled up - for kids juice boxes. It seems, the scanner can't tell if it is a box of juice, or packed with cocaine, and they had to test everyone in the special machine, just to make sure. Pretty much everyone with a kid was stopped, and the line moved very slowly.
Quite a bottleneck.
But, eventually we made it through security and into the airport proper, and through the big windows and between people's legs, Smallsteps saw a plane. She has never seen one on the ground before and was surprised they had wheels. It was then that she realized that we were at an airport, but despite her suspecting, she didn't want to assume we were going anywhere. She is funny like that - a bit like me, she doesn't want to get it wrong.
I am not sure if she is scared of being wrong or, scared to get her hopes up.
But, once we had a little space and a clear view, we had her look out the window and said that we are going on a trip, her first plane trip, our first trip as a family. She was very excited and then, realized she is also nervous about going on the plane, so got a little quiet. I think that is part of the spirit of surprise - anticipation, mixed with the fear of the unknown. Even as we sit on the plane, she doesn't know where we are going.
I realize, neither do you.
We are heading to Croatia. It is the first time for any of us, but we have heard good things and the weather should be warm enough at around 30C and sunny. The coast of Croatia is beautiful supposedly, even though the beaches are rocky. But, we will have a pool at the hotel anyway.
It isn't one of those sightseeing tour trips and we likely won't move very far, but it is nice to get away as a test of what it is like to travel together as a family, looking for gluten- and lactose- free food for Smallsteps. We expect it not to be too easy, so we are actually carrying some food with us, like porridge and fruit smoothies that she can eat in a pinch. And I am sure we can find a store that at least has some fruit and vegetables that we can cut and cook in the apartment we have booked.
The plane was funny, as she didn't know what to expect in terms of the takeoff and when it started to move, she had the same face that I guess many of us had - play it cool - but wondering inside if this is normal. Again, it is one of those "don't assume" things. And then, as we climbed through the clouds and into the sunshine, she was amazed and still frightened, because let's face it, none of this is a natural human experience, we aren't designed to be so far off the earth - we are land dwellers.
Yet, here we are.
And here is where I will leave it for now. We have no plans for the week ahead other than see and enjoy what we can, but I am going to still write daily if possible, which might be a lot of image posts - because I plan to walk a lot and take many. Which reminds me of the one thing I forgot - my watch. It is still on the charger.
But I did bring...
After Smallsteps said her goodbyes, I was the last out and before I left the house, I stuffed Panda in my carryon-on.
Daddy points.
She did make the decision though.
And, we have arrived, had dinner and are getting into bed.
Tomorrow, the adventure really starts..
Taraz
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