Parents Struggle to Keep Up With Jet-Setter Baby

After traveling for more than 3 weeks, Kevin and I returned to Zürich airport looking haggard and stressed. I even caught a cold and lost my voice during the tail-end of the trip (presumably because I’m not used to all that central air conditioning in the U.S. anymore). Even though we just returned from a long vacation, we were in need of some serious R&R (substitute any of the following: rest and relaxation, recreation and restoration, rejuvenation and reacclimatization). The baby, on the other hand, did just fine: Kenneth took the whole trip in stride and returned to Zürich as a seasoned world traveler. In the end, it was all a bit too much for his parents, who are just not the jet-setters they used to be.

As you will see in the following articles, in hindsight, it was only natural that we were going to struggle. Our itinerary was quite challenging, spanning about 20,000 miles, including multiple visits with family & friends. Although we love our family to death and look forward to the next time we see them again, it’s only natural that visiting our respective in-laws -- so many in such a short span of time -- would be stressful. Any visit to the family is emotional, but, this time, our families were especially intense, since we were bringing along the precious first grandchild on each side! Finally, the varying degrees of customer service and friendliness of airplane and airport staff also contributed -- from the luxurious service of the Japanese crew on ANA ("may we get you something to drink while we triple pack your stroller in plastic wrap so it doesn’t get wet from the rain?") to the frazzled, pension-deprived staff of United ("just put the thing [sic: the stroller] on the tarmac and just try to hang on to it [sic: the baby] somehow during take off.")

We also had to deal with our ever-expanding luggage. We literally added a suitcase at each stop. Re-packing everything the night before each departure to our next location was close to an all-night affair. Packing in Washington, D.C., the night before we returned to Zürich, was especially stressful and caused Kevin and Nina to have one of the biggest blowouts in their marital history! For those not in the know, we rarely fight, but when we do, it’s like the War of the Roses. Putting two tired, angry, stubborn Libras born in the year of the silver boar together is like mixing oil with fire! Nina’s poor sister, Lisa, had to endure our fighting like cat and dog until she dropped us off at the departure gates of Dulles Airport. We came back to Zürich tired, but, finally, at peace with each other. In order to avoid such embarrassing fights in the future, we are now signed up in a "Stress Prevention Training for Couples" course. :)

Through it all, however, we were very grateful for one thing. Our dear son, Kenneth, was a super-trooper, oblivious to the stress of his parents. He never got sick the entire trip and was always a joy to be around. Aside from the 25-minute "puddlejumper" flight from Chicago to South Bend, Kenneth fell promptly and angelically asleep on every leg of the trip. Appreciative fellow passengers came up to us and remarked how lucky we were to have such an easy-going baby.

So the question is, whom did he take after?!