LIFE AS IT IS

Air travel is rarely a pleasurable experience for me. I especially dread long flights. The idea of visiting Bangladesh excites me, but the number of hours to be spent inside an aircraft dampens my spirits. I am not that tall but even so, my 5'6" body frame cannot sit comfortably in an airplane seat. I turn and twitch during the entire duration of a flight, and wonder if plane seats are becoming smaller. I eye other passengers and feel a pang of envy -- many people enjoy long stretches of sleep on long flights, but I never can. My in-flight agony has doubled, or perhaps tripled, in the last two years. Flying in the air with a two-year-old is anything but enjoyable. My husband, who is my daughter's favorite parent, suffers endlessly when we travel. Watching his in-flight plight stresses me out even more. My toddler almost goes on a hunger strike when she is traveling. We returned completely untouched trays of meals to air hostesses in the past. When my child is awake...