We are just finishing up our longest day of travel EVER. We got up 24 hours ago, left for the airport 22 hours ago and spent nearly 12 hours in flight in between.

I’m so tired that i can’t think straight, so i’m not certain how coherent my writing is. But today, in addition to crossing the Atlantic with a toddler and a preschooler, i accomplished something — I didn’t miss the good moments. Because even today, when we had to walk for what felt like miles through the train station and both airports, when we were worried we were going to miss our flight, when we couldn’t be seated together, when Liam was screaming because he’d had enough of being still, when Benjamin was crying because his ears hurt or when we (temporarily) lost our passports, we had good moments.

Great ones, actually. I got to snuggle with my sweet boys. I got to hold each of them while they slept. I got to hear B talk about flying and about our trip. I got to watch my kids play together. (I even got to watch non-animated tv for a few minutes!)

So, even though today was hard, stressful and exhausting, the fact that I managed to keep myself in a good mental place (most of the time) allowed me to stay open and available to those wonderful moments. And, my kids got to experience a relaxed, flexible, happy traveller as a mom (except for a few brief moments).

It was a VERY long day. I am tired. But I was together with my boys today, and it was wonderful.