My (divorced) parents put me on a plane by myself for the first time at the age of six. It’s crazy for me to think of now, but I guess things were really different in the 80’s. Fortunately, I had already flown a lot, and I was very quiet. And a flight attendant walked me to my connection.

For the record, “thinking ahead” won’t always procure you three contiguous seats on an airplane. This happened to my husband and me MANY times when my son was little. We *always* bought a seat for him, never put him in our laps (because we wanted to be kind to our fellow passengers). Even when booking a couple months…

I have narcolepsy, autoimmune diseases, and autism, so I don’t get out much. But I like to refer to myself as a “conceptual artist” because it sounds way better than “shut-in.”

Ooh, I had/have it, too. I’m forty now and rarely experience it, except when extremely stressed. My son is autistic (and I am too, though never formally diagnosed). Everyone in my fam has had paradoxical reactions to something at some point. Mine aren’t even consistent. Sometimes a medicine will knock me out, and the…