This is the first in a three-part series about helicopter parenting and back-to-school tech shopping that I’m writing as Best Buy Canada‘s parenting spokesperson. Okay, so fine. This first part is mostly all about how I got to spend all day riding around in a helicopter.
“You’ve written about being a parent in the helicopter age before and also about kids and technology, and we think you’d be a great fit for Best Buy’s #permissiontohover campaign.”
“That sounds great.”
“And you’re cool with conducting TV interviews from a flying helicopter, right?”
” … ”
“Rebecca?”
“Uh, sorry. Sure, that should be fine.” ***
(*** Very loose paraphrasing of the actual conversation I had with Best Buy’s pr team.)
Take off!
So it was all set. I was going to be Best Buy Canada’s parent spokesperson for their back-to-school campaign and all I had to do keep it together on a helicopter ride. (Actually, it was eight helicopter rides and I had to be at Billy Bishop airport just after seven a.m., if you’re playing along at home.)
It’s important to follow your helicopter guide person so you don’t accidentally walk into the rear rotor which is practically invisible when it’s in motion. GULP!
Luckily, my first interview of the day was with the lovely Akheela from the blog Create With Mom. It was nice to warm up with a friendly conversation with a fellow mom blogger before meeting with the bigger media outlets. Akheela interviewed me first and then we went up in the helicopter together to enjoy the view.
Lifting off! Hello, Ontario Place. Long time, no see.
Hello, breathtaking view of the skyline and the islands. Holy cow.
It was amazing! I practically bounced off the helicopter. The view was spectacular and the entire experience was even bigger and better than I imagined it would be. And the best part was that I was totally fine for the entire ride: no vertigo, motion sickness, or sudden paralyzing fear of heights. (Not that I was worried. Ahem.) Bring it!
And bring it, they did. For my next interview Winston Sih from City TV, a cameraman, and myself all squeezed into the sweet little Best Buy chopper with the pilot and we talked helicopter parenting and tech while hovering above downtown Toronto. But it’s capital-L loud on a helicopter, so we also shot the interview from the ground just to be safe.
The next couple hours were a blur of on-ground interviews and in-air helicopter rides with a variety of print and digital media outlets. I was holding it together pretty well, I gotta say. In fact, five back-to-back helicopter rides on an empty stomach might be just the thing to shake off any pre-interview jitters. But that sixth ride. My goodness, that sixth ride puts the easy in queasy. (No? The sea in nausea? The ick in sick?) My stomach was finally, “All right, lady. I’ve been good to you all morning, but at some point you’re going to have to feed me.”
Luckily, it was time for lunch. Then a couple more interviews and rides later and we called it a day. I’ll say! Remember that my morning commute involves stopping at the coffee pot on my way down to my basement dungeon office. I could not have been further from the basement last week.
I’ll be posting a couple more posts on what helicopter parenting means to me and sharing my top picks for back-to-school tech in the next couple weeks. But, for now, I really just wanted to write about this once-in-a-lifetime experience. So lemme leave you with a few more pics.
Classic T.O.
Eastern waterfront. Sugar beach is down there somewhere.
Shadows over Toronto.
You can only get this shot from a helicopter, I’m pretty sure.
Highways and condos and baseball diamonds, oh my.
Ferries! Mini ferries!
I also shared a couple videos on Periscope, in case you just can’t get enough helicopter action.
Big thanks again to Best Buy Canada for bringing me on board. Next week we’ll be talking about why it’s okay to need #permissiontohover.