Thank God It Wasn't Me

Today's flight was horrible. Horrible because across the aisle from me was a 3-4 year old who decided to throw a 30-45 minute tantrum/full meltdown. I mainly blame the mom in this instance but also felt bad for her after it was over.

The kid was a little shit. He was nasty to her before we took off. She couldn't get him to leave his tray up before we took off. He kept kicking the seat ahead of him (bless that lady for giving two glares and finally saying something). I would have pinched the kid if it were me. Well, I would have said more to make the mom feel like shit. He tossed his bear at me multiple times. I was tempted to keep it at one point and make him cry about something real. At about the 1 hour mark of the 3 hour flight all hell broke loose.

The kid wouldn't behave and the mom decided she would force him to sit still and quit kicking the lady ahead of him. That provoked the 30-45 minutes of screaming, yelling, hitting, screaming, screaming, screaming...You get the point.

This is what raced through my head:
1) do you want to borrow my Parents magazine?
2) would you like to hit him with my Parents magazine?
3) would you like me to hit him with my Parents magazine?
4) take him to the bathroom and give him something to cry about.
5) you have a scarf, muffle him!
6) does anyone have dramamine or benedryl? Can't we drug him? Whiskey?
7) lady, set him down or let him run around.
8) lady, please set him down or let him run around.
9) can I ask him to fetch me something at the back of the plane?
10) let him sit on the floor and have the tantrum, he would kick less and quit screaming "mommy quit huring me." *she literally had wrapped herself around him to get him to hold still. All the while he continued to scream and hit her.

At the point where everyone within a 5 row radius was now annoyed and looking back, the stewardess came by with a juice box and some snacks. She said this is from the lady up front, would you like to try this? The lady snapped and told her "to tell the fucking lady up front to mind her own god damn business."

Well, it continued for another 10 minutes or more. Finally she set the kid down on the floor and he shut up. Then she melted down and cried a little. I felt bad and handed her a pack of kleenex. She was nasty to me and told me to back off (with the nasty hand gesture she gave me).

I think that was my worst fear about traveling with Miller-a full blown meltdown in a place you can't escape from. I also reassured myself that my kid would never carry on like that and I would have tried many of the options above even if it went against my parenting outlook. If she's on my return flight, I am sitting on the opposite end of the plane and sending her drinks to pass out or share with the monster so he passes out. I honestly do not think I have ever encountered a tantrum like that in my life and hope to god Miller never has one that bad.