I’m fairly certain I was never courageous enough to randomly talk to strangers when I was traveling with my family as a child.

I remember the airports. I remember almost missing flights. I remember running through to the opposite terminal from where we had landed for an international flight. I remember having all seven of our gigantic travel trunks opened and dumped for checking on one of our adventures.

Do I remember talking to anyone other than my family? No. I mean, I’m pretty sure I was the child who sat there and played with toys. We didn’t have iPods and tablets and all that jazz. It was a deck of cards, a few books, and some precious items that I packed in my little backpack.

So, when the child sitting next to me in an airport during a layover began a conversation with me about the show he was watching on his tablet, and how a certain character was yellow because it was a certain type of creature, and why another character has wings because its power is such and such… – it reminds me how much I don’t enjoy talking to strangers, no matter their age.

Anyway, happy traveling. Oh, and if you (or your child) sees someone reading a book or playing on their phone – please, just let them be.