Say Hello to My Little Friend!

All good things must come to an end, and so my girls-only trip to Florida ended yesterday...

I'm so fortunate that it was JUST the trip that ended; for awhile last night, I thought it would be my life.

I'm an anxious flier.

I don't like planes.

I don't trust them; I don't trust the mechanics who work on them; and I have a hard time trusting un-seen pilots who are flying them. I mean, who ARE these pilots? Were they good students in flight school? Are they having a rotten day? Did they eat their Wheaties this morning? And did they get enough sleep the night before?

Hmmmm??????

I've been doing pretty good lately with flying, as I seem to be doing a lot of it. And I've been very lucky - the flights have all gone very smoothly, which has most certainly increased my confidence and trust.

And then came last night.

I boarded the plane in Ft. Myers around 3:30 p.m. EST. I had to fly to St. Louis for a brief stop (I wasn't even de-planing there), and then a quick hop-and-jump to Kansas City. I was scheduled to land in KC around 6:55 p.m. CST.

Checking the weather channel before leaving Florida, I was a little unnerved to see that severe storms were moving across the midwest - meaning high winds, strong rain and horrendous hail. Lovely.

Just what a nervous flier wants to hear.

The flight from Ft. Myers to St. Louis was, for the most part, smooth. It got a little bumpy as we got to St. Louis - but I did fine. I've been in worse turbulence, so this was manageable.

Once we landed in SL, however, the flight attendants told us that we were now "grounded" for awhile, due to storms in Kansas City. Uh-oh.

"Houston, we have a problem."

I'm not a rocket scientist by any means, but I CAN figure out basic meteorology and geography.

Storms are heading east. We'll be heading west.

Inevitably, we will meet in the middle somewhere. And I know it won't be pretty.

And it wasn't.

We eventually took off, and although the pilot tried his best to fly south of the storms, there was only so much he could do.

The bumps, rocks, and rolls started pretty much immediately - and they were bad enough that NO ONE was allowed up out of their seats the entire flight. Not even the flight attendants.

"No drinks for YOU!" was the motto last night - as it was just too dangerous to have anyone up, trying to serve drinks.

But I sure could have used one, believe me. A double, I think.

It was a white-knuckle flight for pretty much everyone on board. Lightening flashing; the plane dropping and rocking and tipping from side-to-side.

I kept thinking that Disney would pay big bucks to simulate this ride, as it would be a hit with the thrill-seekers.

I survived only because of the incredible skills of the pilot...and my little friend, Ativan.

It became my very BEST friend last night, so that by the time we landed in KC, I was still in the clouds somewhere over middle-Missouri.

Once I snapped out of it and realized that I really WAS standing on solid ground, I kissed it. The ground, that is.

And then I kissed my Hubby. But the ground came first.

Hubby understood.

Peace.

P.S. I checked out okay today with the dermatologist - although I did have a basal cell removed from my neck. The fact that it was only 2" away from the melanoma I had removed in July gives one pause. There is definitely something going on with the right side of my neck - I will remember to slather EXTRA sunscreen there in the future.