She didn't sleep

The flight left Hanoi at 12:30am; it was a 4 hour flight. My did not sleep a wink. This was not a good start to the journey. We arrived at the airport in Seoul in the morning (once the time change was factored in). We were so happy to have made it but we were all feeling a bit tender. The Seoul airport was strangely quiet, there were not many people. Many stores and restaurants were open but there were not many flights. We were thankful to only have a 5 hour lay over. Other flight options had 10 hour layovers.

THEN IT HAPPENED! THE TANTRUM HEARD AROUND THE WORLD

When we had flown with My to Da Nang, in the airport, we let her ride on the small luggage cart with our carry-on luggage. It was not the best and safest idea but it worked. In this airport, we had her new awesome stroller. Unfortunately, she wanted to ride with the carry on luggage. It really was not safe, so I pressed my point and offered her walking or the stroller....THEN BOOM.....SHE ERUPTED

She was in an absolute black rage in the airport. Her screams were absolutely visceral. The scooted on her butt across the ground to get away from all of us then started bucking. I was panicked that she would hit her head on the super hard floor with the full force of her body. I could not go near her or she would scream and scoot further. I was ready to attempt a home-run baseball slide to put my body under hers if she escalated further. I felt horrible for her having to live in her own skin in that moment. I knew that we had pushed her as far as she could go. She was sleep deprived, in a different country, she had been cooped up on a plane...and while she was a good sport about her new family, we sure were different

After about 10 minutes, she settled and allowed me to comfort her and carry her. At this point, she could ride on 2 luggage carts simultaneously if she wanted to. The goal was to avoid another melt down at all costs.

We boarded the Delta flight to Vancouver at around 1pm. The rows had 8 seats. Due to social distancing, every 2nd seat was empty, then due to low booking numbers, even more seats were available. We would be able to spread out. It was amazing! I love travelling to placed where I don't know the language, currency, food and customs. To be immersed in a setting that offers so much learning, is what my soul thrives on.... on this trip, I really learned the sweetness of familiarity. This came when the Delta Airlines captain announced in perfect english the details of the flight and that the flight crew was from Seattle. The plane felt like home, I didn't realized I needed home so much until then.

The flight crew learned our story quickly and they were simply amazing. We got settled, and waited for the kids to fall asleep. Natalie got airsick for hours and finally slept (with the help of a lot of gravol) and My was hyper vigilant, she did not sleep a wink....the whole flight.....10.5 hours. Steve and I passed her back and forth and kept a close eye on Natalie. We landed in Seattle, without incident.

By the end of the flight, My had been awake for about 21 hours.

Finally on the next flight, the 1 hour flight from Seattle to Vancouver, she could not stay awake any longer and sleep overtook her.