Calling All Gold Medal Mothers!

Just when you think you are the only woman on the planet crazy enough to drag her kid(s) from one end of it to the other, be reassured that there are others like you, including some of the women of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Softball Team. This story, A Journey Toward the Games, With the Kids in the Back, tells of how gold medal winners didn’t ride with the team around the States for the qualifying games to travel to China, but instead tugged their toddlers along in a RV. While the women of softball aren’t the only athletes alternating trainings with diaper changes and carpool duty, all moms who tackle jobs, travel, study, and more alongside family should be Gold Medal winners.

Since Alex was born, he’s traveled alone with mom from California to Idaho to Texas to Kentucky to the Middle East all on behalf of mommy’s work. At just one year old, and barely able to master walking, the three hour drive in Idaho from Boise took him trekking through the soft snow of Sun Valley. Things warmed up in Houston, but he slept all along the beautiful River Walk of San Antonio. A year later, he hopped skipped and jumped his way from the hills of downtown San Francisco to exquisite horse farms in Lexington, KY. Two trips to the Middle East already under his belt will soon make him an expert on the region.

But, while the women of the US Softball team were able to pull together the $75,000 needed for the daycare on wheels, the rest of us are not so lucky. What would I pay for a nanny-on-the-go? Even accepting the help of family, friends, business contacts and strangers in planes, trains, rental cars, airports, hotels and more is never enough to make the challenge of travel much easier, but the prospects leaving Alex behind is far more difficult. So until I win the lottery to cover the costs of a traveling nanny, Alex and I will continue the journeys alone.

8.8.08 “One World, One Dream”

Two years ago, when Alex was not yet 6 months old, he made his second trip half way around the world and back. At less than three months, he’d already been to the Middle East and now double that age, he took on Singapore and China.

Beijing was literally marking the days until the 2008 Olympic Games with a large countdown clock rolling back the hours in Tian'anmen Square. On that muggy July day, there were still 754 days to go before opening ceremonies, but the Chinese government and people were preparing for the throngs of international tourists.

Like the Olympic Rings from which they draw their color and inspiration, the five official mascots of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, known as Fuwa, carry a message of friendship, peace and good wishes from China to children all over the world. Each of mascots has a rhyming two-syllable name -- a traditional way of expressing affection for children in China. Beibei is the Fish, Jingjing is the Panda, Huanhuan is the Olympic Flame, Yingying is the Tibetan Antelope and Nini is the Swallow. When you put their names together -- Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni -- they say "Welcome to Beijing.

Alex was a star during his visit to Beijing – touring the Summer Palace, the Forbidden City, shopping and climbing the Great Wall – as hundreds of Chinese people surrounded him to snap a picture of the little American baby who’d come from so far. (Check out this blog’s story from July 2007). As I took pictures of delicacies like scorpions on a stick and panda bears, Alex somehow became a mascot of goodwill too as he brought smiles and joy to so many with just a smile.

As the countdown clock shows just hours until China commences the Games of the XXIX Olympiad , the whole world is watching and waiting. But on 8.8.08, Alex will be practicing for the 2028 Olympics by jumping across the living room, shrieking in glee and waiting for his marks from his parents. You never know…maybe he’ll win the Gold for the high jump, the long jump, gymnastics or be able to dunk a basketball! He’s already got the Gold, Silver & Bronze from mom!

All Aboard!

Travel Town is like heaven for little boys who love trains. Founded in the 1950s, the outdoor museum is situated on the edge of Griffith Park in the center of Greater Los Angeles. It features retired locomotives, freight cars, cabooses, passenger cars, dining cars, and more. The grounds are shaded, easy to walk and you can climb on nearly every engine.

Alex was so overwhelmed with excitement that I prepared myself for the first case of a heart attack for a 2-year-old. Once he got onboard with the place, he was a true conductor testing his own toy trains on the real tracks.

A good place to begin the visit is on the miniature train that adults and children can ride together. Lapping the park twice, the ride is longer, faster and the train is bigger than most of the kiddie train rides elsewhere. While this rest of the park is free of charge, the ride will cost kids of all ages $2.50 per ride. The gift shop will set you back if you (or your child) is a Thomas the Tank enthusiast. It is fully stocked with party supplies, T-shirts, books, videos, and every possible character in the Thomas and Friends collection. We enjoyed a picnic and planned for future birthday parties, as there are plenty of places for pinatas, cake and the party treats will be great! While the museum is popular with little boys, this recommendation is for all the 21st century little girls too....All Aboard!

Asleep by the Sea

Tel Aviv and Jaffa share the Mediterranean shoreline. One is the modern city of skyscrapers, open-all-night clubs, great shopping and traffic jams. The other retains its old city stone finish, crumbling streets and is famous for baklava and fish restaurants by the sea.

But the best thing to do if you're only 2-years-old in 100 degree heat is enjoy some ice cream and take a nap. Alex slept to, from and during the day trip, which made the excursion easier on the rest of us.

I made my first trip to Tel Aviv more than a decade ago to the clubs. It was great at the time, but what seems like a lifetime later was a lot more fun with my son. Seeing the world through Alex's eyes is greater than seeing it through my own. He'll have to save the all-night partying another 20 years to really enjoy the experience of its white nights, but maybe by then he'll stay awake for the trip.

Jet Setting Jet Lag

Alex's preferred method of getting through life is to jump. Running and climbing are both excellent too, but its not any fun at all to walk. So, how tired do you have to be to fall asleep standing up? Alex didn't grasp the concept of hours of airline travel that took him speeding through timezones across the globe and switching night to day. Try explaining the concept to a 2-year-old when its 3am, you haven't slept for days but he still wants to jump, rock 'n roll.

It took Alex five days and five nights to adjust to the ten hour time zone change from the Pacific Coast to Mediterranean Shoreline. It took me 5 more to recover from not sleeping for a week. By then, it was just in time to fly home again and I was falling asleep standing up.

Floating on the Dead Sea

Alex saw a dolphin in the Dead Sea.....and a Humpback Whale. Since the sea is so saturated with salt nothing can live in it and its saliency allows your body to float without effort, its hard to imagine how he saw these creatures, but I'm his mom, so I believe him!

The Dead Sea is the lowest point on the planet at 420 meters (1378 feet) below sea level, and the second saltiest place on earth. It's bordered by Jordan and Israel/Palestine. For centuries, travelers have come from near and far come to cover themselves in the boiling mud and float. The healing effects are well known as the salt & mud is packaged and sold in spas and malls worldwide. The mining of the sea has caused it to drop well below natural levels leading environmentalists to wonder for how many years future tourists may even be able to come to enjoy its effects.

We arrived mid-morning with temperatures reaching near 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The bumpy, two lane road through the West Bank to get there included passing through military checkpoints and a Separation Wall that divides Israelis and Palestinians politically and geographically. Unconventional tourists, we stopped for lunch in the ancient city of Jericho and drove up to the border crossing with Jordan and looked across with talks of our future trips. The newly paved freeway that connects from Jerusalem for the Israelis guided us back. Even on vacation, its hard to avoid the reality of the geopolitical and national conflict that challenges the Palestinian and Israeli people. The juxtaposition of nomadic bedouin tribes alongside newly constructed 4 Star hotels within minutes of each other is hard to miss. Neverthesless, the trip is worth the effort.

When floating with children on the sea, be aware that the salt stings the eyes, the rocks burn the toes, the mud boils and Alex warns it is "dirty." Oh, and most importantly, watch out for unexpected dolphins!

The Old City of Jerusalem

The Old City of Jerusalem is holy to Christians, Muslims and Jews. Inside its ancient walled City, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Al Aqsa Mosque and the Western Wall, the holiest of sites for the Abrahamic faiths, are just footsteps apart. Nevertheless, its not so easy to navigate by stroller. The ups-and-downs of the uneven stone steps, its small passageways and the seething heat of the summer sun make it a challenge for even the most rugged 2-year-old traveler.

As Alex longed to run free and I jetted behind, I couldn't help think about the reality of the life for the Jewish and Palestinian children who call this Old City their home. Though they are stacked in small flats on top of each other and neighborhoods that bleed together, these children will not play or study together; they will not meet and get to know each other as equals. They will grow up on opposite sides of a national conflict prepared to take up arms against each other. While Alex is having the chance in his life to mingle with children of different faiths, ethnicities, cultures, traditions and geography, the children of Jerusalem live in the shadow of hopes for peace and the reality of a conflict all around them.

Like all parents of the 21st century, we worry about the food our children eat, who they play with, where they will go to school, if they will dart out into traffic, and if they'll break their arms when they fall from trees. But, we need to do more to place our own fears aside and teach them equality, respect, mutual understanding. It's easy to know that broccoli should be on the dinner menu, its harder to instill a culture of peace in a child. But, the future of humanity for all of us depends upon our healthy bodies and our healthy hearts.

As for Alex, peace in the Middle East wasn't so much on his mind. He liked the french fries at Abu Shukri.