There's only one problem, I'm terrified of getting on the plane!
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| my exact reaction when I realized I'd be flying!! |
I've only flown once in my life. Well, twice if you count the return flight.
My mom and I took a plane from Portland, Oregon to Chicago, Illinois to be there for Rob's Navy boot camp graduation. That was almost 13 years ago. I had no intention of actually flying to his graduation. I planned to ride half way across the country safely secured in a seat on the Amtrak train. Turns out riding a train is not the best idea when you're on a schedule. The passenger trains must yield to freight trains so much of the ride the Amtrak train spends parked waiting for other trains to pass. This puts you so far behind schedule that you must be shuttle bussed to your next train stop in order to make it on time. When riding the train it is important that you walk with "train legs" otherwise you will find yourself falling to some random person's lap (sorry dude, no one warned me). This means walking with your legs wide because the train rocks so much that you need to walk funny for balance. The Amtrak seats are far from comfortable but the bus seats are even worse! We rode the train through much of Oregon but the train was running late so we were bused to Union Station in Portland in order to catch our connecting train that would (eventually) take us to Chicago.
While sitting at the train station waiting for the next train my mom and I started to realize we might miss Rob's graduation because this whole train business was taking WAY longer than we thought. We decided to get a cab to the airport and try to catch a flight.
The shuttle guy picked us up and he was kind of annoying. He kept telling us about all the crime in Portland. He said we shouldn't worry though because we were safe with him, he wouldn't let anything happen to us. I wanted to punch him! I guess he assumed we were these two helpless girls that needed some loser to protect us, but my mom grew up in a horrible neighborhood and I grew up in one that was only slightly less horrible. The things he was talking about weren't anything that my mom and I hadn't already seen or been through before. Maybe I should have told him about the time my mom was driving at night with me and my baby brother in the car when two guys robbed her (at gunpoint, I'm pretty sure, I was only five or six years old). Or, the time when we were in the department store when that was being robbed and how the robbers drove around the parking lot mooning all the scared people outside, and how the get-away car was parked in our parking stall at the apartments we lived at. Or, about all the gang members that lived on our street and the crazy stuff that happened there. Maybe then he would have just shut up and drove the few miles to the airport!
We got to the airport and my mom went to a counter to try and get us some plane tickets. It was going to be super expensive, since we weren't booking two weeks in advance. My mom cried and pleaded with the counter worker and she gave my mom some sort of discount which made the tickets way more affordable. We were able to take the midnight flight to Chicago! We had to wait for about five hours before it was our flight time.
My mom had flown a few times in her life and kept telling me there was nothing to be afraid of. She said we'd be fine. I was terrified (which is why I had planned on taking the train!). It was finally time for our flight. We were so tired. My mom let me have the window seat because it had more leg room, I'm 5'10" and she's only barely 5'4" so she didn't need extra room. As soon as we sat down I buckled up and fell asleep. I vaguely remembered the announcements before the plane took off. I remember being woken up many times throughout the flight by these words: "OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!" and "It's okay, we're going to be okay". Um, thanks mom for freaking out and panicking over a little turbulence! I couldn't even feel it, I think I was still wobbly from the train ride. I thought it was a smooth flight but my mother spent the entire plane ride freaking out! So much for her being the strong one and making sure we get there without panicking!!
We made it in time to see Rob's graduation. We flew back home a few days after Rob left for his Navy training school. I wasn't scared, I got on the plane and the flight was easy. Mom even controlled her crazy freak outs! My mom will be flying out here alone to watch the girls while Rob and I go move everything. I hope she makes it here without any freak outs!
Now, thinking about flying to get our stuff is sort of freaking me out. My first time flying wasn't so bad but I have avoided doing it again for the last 13 years and if it weren't for the strong desire to get my stuff I wouldn't be flying anywhere anytime soon!
So, if anyone is at the Nashville airport and sees some crazy tall girl freaking out, it's just me! Terrified of getting on that giant flying machine!! :)
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