BIG SIS

I went on a little trip to the coast of Texas over Labor Day weekend. (What? You didn't remember Texas had a coast, you say? Me neither, to be honest.) And I took a 3 hour and 8 minute plane ride to get there.

In the LGA airport, waiting to get on this 3 hour and 8 minute plane ride, was a Texan family - thick accents and all: Dad, Mom, Mother-in-Law, Older Daughter, and Younger Daughter. Now Younger Daughter was named Chrissy. I learned this in the same way that Bill Cosby learned his airplane arch-nemesis was named Jeffrey (anyone? anyone? four years old?).

Chrissy was maybe 4 also. And loud. And very tired. And blatantly ignored by her mother - who was, of course, the only person Chrissy actually wanted attention from in the first place.

"Why can't we get on the plane NOWWWW? I wanna get on the plane NOWWWW. NOWWWW!" Chrissy squealed this about a dozen times before the mom said, "Are you hungry? Do you want a breakfast bar?" And it went on like that the whole boarding process. "NOWWWW!" "Are you hungry? Do you want a breakfast bar?" "NOWWWW!" "Are you hungry..."

Seriously.

So we get on the plane for the 3 hour and 8 minute ride to Houston, and I settle comfortably into my 23A window-seat. And who do I see (or rather, hear) sluggishly crawling up the aisle toward me but the Texan family. And who sits in 22A - DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF ME - but my best friend Chrissy. Her mom, who has seat 22B, says to her Dad, "Oh, no. There is no way I'm sitting next to her" (just as an in-crowd teenager might say about the nerdy kid in school, sassy and annoyed). And instead of her Dad coming to the rescue - the Older Daughter, Chrissy's Big Sister, slides into the seat and is the first one I've seen over the past hour talk to Chrissy like a normal person. "Do you see that? That's the engine of this big airplane." "Do you want to keep the window shade open or shut?" "Do you think it will be fun to fly back home?" "Do you want to read this with me?"

And Chrissy miraculously - and seemingly without effort - nods yes, sticks her thumb in her mouth, and cuddles up next to Big Sis to listen to the story. And Big Sis begins to read the airplane Disney magazine: "Order this Princess Back-Pack and school will feel like a fairy tale. Only $19.99 plus shipping and handling." Big Sis is careful to use the sing-songy voice that can lure any 4 year old into a story - even if it's just a bunch of marketing babble - and Chrissy eats it up.

When Chrissy falls asleep, Big Sis puts her own blanket on her and turns to look at me through the space between the seats. I've been watching this for about an hour now, my own personal entertainment (and better than Maid of Honor, the movie of the trip) and I'm in awe of this Big Sis - who can be no older than 9 or 10 - and I'm amazed at her calm spirit. I say to her, as she's looking at me with her big, southern, doe eyes: "You Are A Very Good Big Sister." And she sort of half-smiles and shrugs a simple "thank you", as though she's an old pro and has had to come to Chrissy's rescue many more times than just today.

And no thanks to the adults in that family, the remainder of the 3 hour and 8 minute plane ride was quite enjoyable.