Read an article today about traveling with kids. There was a whole discussion about if people traveling with kids should have to sit in the back of the plane.

My nieces traveling with my sister in law
The results where mixed.

If you think traveling next to an infant is bad, try flying with us. It is always an adventure. JJ is 13 and severely autistic. Sometimes on the flight he is good, but sometimes he is bad. Sorry.

There is no way to predict his behavior. Some thing's do help. We always travel with his portable DVD player, his snacks and his toys. We try to make sure he has eaten and gone to the bathroom, before, during (not in his pants) and after the flight to make sure that that is not the problem. But that being said sometimes he cries and we have to idea why.

Maybe it is because his clothes are bothering him.

Maybe he has a stomachache.

Maybe he is upset the Sacramento Kings have not fielded a quality team in 2 decades.

Who knows.

He is who he is and we are who we are.

We are traveling for some family event that we view as important. We are not traveling to make sure your business trip starts off on the wrong foot. Or as some form of preventative birth control, making sure you never want kids.

After having people tell me some mean things because he was laughing to loud, and then them feel bad when I explain his condition, I warn people at the beginning of the flight. Before we take off I explain to the people sitting in front and behind him, listen, he is autistic. He is a little loud. It could be laughing or crying, we are going to do everything we can to make sure its laughing. But there might be some crying. Sorry Bear with us, we are having technical difficulties.

When I explain the situation usually people smile (or fake smile) and say no problem.

Flying with people that are different than you is a metaphor for life. People are different than you. Not everyone is exactly like you. Thank goodness. Wouldn't the world be boring if we were all exactly the same. If we all looked, thought, and sounded exactly alike? Can you think of a worse hell than being surrounded by 1000 people who are exactly like you?

I don't know about you but I would not want to date myself. There is an exhaustive list of reasons why.