My Son’s MacDill Airfest Show Meltdown

The following experience isn’t really travel related, but the lessons can certainly apply.

Earlier this year, my family attended an air show in Tampa, complete with a Thunderbirds performance. My 3-year-old son was getting over a sickness, and I really didn’t think he should go.

However, my husband insisted on attending and  told me to stay behind and that he would just take both kids by himself. After all, my father-in-law was there to help. Thank goodness I didn’t take him up on that offer. As soon as we entered the military base (after a long, miserable walk), my father-in-law disappeared and just went off to do his own thing.

We didn’t bring any snacks and figured we would just buy food and drinks inside. Shocker number one: a bottle of water was 4 bucks and the weather was hot, so we had to buy 4 of those suckers. It costs more than it does in Disney World. Honestly, I kind of understand, since the entrance and parking are free, so they have to make up for the expense somehow.

We also bought some sandwiches and a hot dog for the kids to split. My daughter ate it happily, but my son refused to touch it. He usually likes hot dogs, but is very specific about the way they have to be done. Apparently, this one didn’t meet the criteria. After that, everything went downhill.

He got cranky from being hungry and started having a fit. It was honestly a mother of all meltdowns. We tried everything, but he would not quit screaming. Finally, my husband got fed up and said we would go home. But… we had to get his father on board. We got a hold of him via cell phone, and he said he didn’t want to leave because he wanted to watch the Thunderbirds and the show wouldn’t start for another hour. We agreed and decided to just try to entertain the kids meanwhile.

My son liked the huge airplane on the photo above and kept saying it was broken. He was very concerned, you could tell. It was very hot, so we just sat inside the plane trying to entertain him. Meanwhile, our daughter was doing entertaining of her own. I looked to my left and she was dancing for a group of people. She likes an audience and attention. I’m telling you, she’ll be a blogger someday!

Finally, we just went to the car, where we waited for another hour till my father-in-law finally showed up, happy and entertained from the day of activities. Yes, I’m being a bit sarcastic. So, what are the lessons from this story?

First, try to take a spouse with you whenever possible when going to these types of events. Second, bring tons of kids’  favorite snacks (I didn’t). Third, don’t take the children when they are getting over a sickness, especially when they are small. And the last one, bring your own car if at all possible!