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by Stacey

Here’s one thing we learned from the Dalai Lama’s visit last week to Seattle. Enlightened people do not glare at parents whose children are being fussy on airplanes. Enlightened people sympathize with such parents and offer respect and admiration.

According to this article in the Seattle Times, the Dalai Lama flew from Tokyo to Seattle sitting directly behind the Jeannie and Rob Livingston and their two kids, three-year old Madeline and 22-month old Will. The toddler spent the night “shouting, crying, and moving,” DL recounted in a speech while accepting an honorary degree at the University of Washington a few days later. Jeannie patiently comforted her toddler, keeping him occupied and walking with him.

“The whole time I thought if I was in that position, I may not have that sufficient patience,” the Dalai Lama told the crowd, laughing.

Livingston said her experience would be familiar to many parents.

“He’s an active boy,” she said. “We walked the aisle just hundreds of times. … In his car seat, he was fussy. I was trying to console him constantly with milk and water and food, and was always trying to keep him occupied.”

Oh mama, I feel your pain.

Livingston said she was trying to keep the noise down, figuring the Dalai Lama was “probably off to something very important.”

Can you imagine trying to keep your cranky kid quiet for nineteen hours because you don’t want him to disturb the Dalai Lama? Plus she had a cold.

“I was at my worst,” she said. “But even though Will was awake, I felt relatively calm the whole flight. I remember thinking, maybe his presence is putting a calm over me.”

And where was dad? Ummm, sleeping. And now the whole world knows it.

The Dalai Lama told the UW crowd that the father relaxed and slept. The family says that’s not entirely true, as Rob was charged with looking after the calmer Madeline.

“But I do remember craning my neck around when Will was in the throes of a tantrum to see what Rob was doing,” Jeannie Livingston said. “I saw him resting peacefully and Madeline resting peacefully, and I was thinking, ‘I can’t believe I have to deal with this alone.’ ”

Go dad.

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