Fear is an interesting phenomenon. My mind raced with all of the potential issues that could have occurred when traveling with Tatum. The brain can actually start creating a pseudo-reality from just our own thoughts. They feed on the fear of the unknown and grow into a monumental truth. That describes me worried about traveling with Tatum.
How did I overcome it?
Avoidance.. then, procrastination. Then, lots of research on how to do it gracefully. Then, prayer. THEN……
I just did it.
The first thing I did was prepare everything in my mind. I created lists, read blogs, shopped. The best thing I could think of was to buy many books, and Savers came to the rescue. Then, lots of snacks, a Thomas DVD, and then just pens and paper with stickers.
We arrived with plenty of time to spare (which of course stressed me out). She was so excited to see planes, and I just focused on that we’d be riding in this wonderful bird in the sky.
While waiting, I had to keep her occupied since I had to lug everything around if she left the area. This meant I had to dig into the treasure chest of the airplane surprises! Yarg…But, I did. We went through about 5 books waiting to board. Oh well. What else could I do?
Finally when we boarded, I could feel it. Their eyes said, “NO DON’T SIT HERE”, but their mouths said, “What a DOLL!” So, I grabbed the seat with a nice single guy of course. He comforted her the whole way. WE had to wait F.O.R.E.V.E.R to take off, so we kept counting the planes taking off and “going fast!”
Taking off, FAST!!! Then finally. Comfort and Happiness
Arriving was awesome as she felt the bump and speed of the landing. 
Tatum never had any fears going on the plane. She did not have the precedent of what could go wrong or what could happen. We humans create these fears and then we water them with our thoughts. My relaxed attitude and my preparation with prayer created an awesome ride.
I learned so much about overcoming fears that weekend. Our brains are finite and fallible. They can play tricks on us, and we fall prey to this. The only way to overcome and conquer fears is to face them head on like David faced Goliath. David had the force of God in his heart and on his team. Yep, that’s the right plan.