The Patience Flight – A Travel Patience Story for Kids

Mike was very excited. He was about to take his very first airplane ride!

Mom had told him that airplanes were very fast. They would arrive at Grandma and Grandpa’s house in just three hours!

“Wow!” Mike thought.

“Sweetheart, are you ready? We need to board the plane. Let’s go,” Mom said.

“I’m super ready!” Mike replied.

Mom, Dad, Mike, and his little sister Anna stood in line, ready to board.

Mike tugged on Mom’s shirt.

“Mom, when are we getting on the plane?”

“Soon, sweetheart. Look, it’s our turn now.”

“Yaaay!” Mike shouted.

A few minutes later, Mike stepped onto the airplane. It was so… small! He had imagined it much bigger, like it looked from the outside.

He felt a little disappointed, but then he thought, “That’s okay.”

After a while, Mike saw a very tall man asking everyone if they had fastened their seatbelts.

“Mom, who is that? And why is he asking about seatbelts? And why is he dressed so funny?”

Mom laughed.

“That’s a flight attendant. He works on the airplane. He makes sure everyone is safe, helps people if they need anything, and—”

“And why is he dressed like that?” Mike interrupted.

“Sweetheart, you need to be patient and let people finish talking so they can explain everything. Those clothes are his uniform, just like the one you wear at school.”

“Oooh…” Mike replied.

Soon the airplane took off. But after just a short time…

“Are we there yet?” Mike asked.

“No, Mike. We just left a few minutes ago,” Dad answered.

Mike sighed.

A little later, he asked again,

“Are we there yet?”

This time, Mom replied, “No, Mike. It’s only been half an hour.”

But Mike didn’t stop.

“Are we there yet?”
“Are we there yet?”
“Are we there yet?”
“ARE WE THERE YET?”

He went on like that for most of the trip until Mom and Dad were losing their patience.

“Mike!” they said together.

“Now you need to stop. You have to be patient. You’ll see—if you stop checking the time, it will pass much faster,” Dad said.

“Your father is right, sweetheart,” Mom added. “See all these people around us? They can’t wait to arrive either, but they are calmly waiting for the plane to land.”

“But I don’t want to wait! I want to get there now!” Mike protested.

“Unfortunately, that’s not possible, my dear,” said a lady sitting behind him.

Mike turned around. She looked kind.

“What did you say?” he asked.

“You see, little one, being patient is difficult—but not impossible. It’s like when you really want to eat a slice of cake but have to wait for it to bake. Or when you go to the movies and have to wait for the commercials to end before the film starts. And just like your dad said, the best remedy is to distract yourself. What do you like to do at home?”

“I really like coloring,” Mike replied.

“That’s wonderful! I love coloring too. So why don’t you do that right now? You’ll see—the time will fly by!”

So Mike took out his coloring book and crayons. He had so much fun that, just like the lady said, time passed very quickly.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are preparing for landing,” a voice announced.

“Nooo! Already?” Mike exclaimed.

“Yes, sweetheart. See how patient you were while waiting for the plane to land?” Mom said.

“Yes! I loved coloring!” Mike replied.

“Very good! Now fasten your seatbelt,” Mom said.

“Why do I have to fasten my seatbelt? Are Grandma and Grandpa picking us up? What are we going to eat at Grandma’s house?” Mike asked.

“You need to fasten your seatbelt to stay safe during landing. Grandma and Grandpa are picking us up, and—”

“And what are we going to eat?” Mike interrupted again.

“Mike…” Mom said gently.

“I’m sorry. I promise I’ll pay more attention,” Mike said.

“Good job, my little boy.”