Our trip to Dubai began with an overnight red-eye flight on Emirates. It was our first time and we were all excited about the drip and weren’t able to sleep. Being nestled in a middle seat in economy probably didn’t help for the projected 11 hour flight.

In my search of the in vast flight entertainment, I stumbled upon the ‘classics’ section. There, “Lawrence of Arabia” caught my eye. A movie about the desert felt like the perfect pick, given our destination and the adventure that awaited.

As I watched, captivated by the storyline, I began to feel a strange kinship with the characters. Their struggle with dehydration in the harsh desert environment resonated deeply with me.

Then it hit me. Just as the characters on screen faced their own struggle, my mouth was dry and I was parched. I had been so enthralled with the movie I had ignored the beverage service and of course we didn’t remember to bring our own water bottles! Luckily, the flight’s meal service was about to begin. The tray came with water, which I drank iin one large gulp. I also “stole” the water from both of my boys and drank it just as quickly as the beverage service was following quickly.

I guess I learned that when going to a desert location, watching a movie about a desert might not be the best thing. Or maybe I just shouldn’t ignore the beverage service on long flights! Bringing our own water on board wouldn’t hurt, either.

Luckily this didn’t cause any issues with the rest of the trip where we had a blast with our own desert adventures.