I handed my daughter an emergency pad from my bag, and she rushed to the airplane bathroom, trying to hold it together. A few minutes later, a flight attendant told me she was asking for me. When I knocked gently on the door, her shaky voice said, “It leaked. On my jeans.” My heart sank. “It’s okay, sweetheart,” I said and offered her a hoodie to tie around her waist.

Her face was red with embarrassment, but she held my hand tightly as we walked back to our seats. A woman across the aisle mouthed, “Good job, Dad.” I needed that. Later, after landing for my cousin’s wedding, we went to Target for clean jeans and laughed through it all. A sweet, unexpected bonding moment. The next morning, while getting ready, panic hit again—Talia’s white dress was missing. I had taken it out to steam it and forgotten to pack it. We had three hours until the wedding.