Facing My Greatest Fear: Flying in an Airplane (Yes, I Did :-))

I've been afraid of airplanes ever since I can remember.  I flew to Florida once when I was a little kid, and the trip back to Boston was rough--turbulence-ridden, and the pilot thought he was being funny by referring to himself as "Bud Weiser" as he pretended to crash into Boston Harbor.

Yeah, my parents decided that it was easier to load three children into a station wagon and drive three days for subsequent trips to the Sunshine State.  It was easier than trying to force me onto an airplane.

Just to give you some idea ...

So I have flatly refused to fly throughout my life.  I missed out on a high school exchange program in Australia, spring break in Mexico, lots of visits, not seeing family members that I should have seen, one of Belle's modeling events (thank you, Mom and Addie, for bringing her), and so on and so forth.

I've gotten close a couple of times.  My mother bought me a ticket to go to Florida with her, but I'd had recent surgery and was concerned about that (the details would probably make it clearer as to why it was an area of concern, but I'm not going there).  I called the doctor about anxiety medication for flying, and he happily gave me some ... but I was so anxious about flying in the days leading up to flying that I took all of the anxiety medication before it was the day we were supposed to leave.

And then last weekend my sister needed me.

Evidently, being a big sister trumps lifelong fears.  Who knew?

I think part of why I was finally able to pull it off was because it came up so quickly.  I only had a day to be anxious, nauseous, petrified, and so on.  Mainly, though, my sister's need was significantly more ... well, significant than my being a baby over something people do every single day.

Addie (who has been to Europe twice, never mind all the flying she's done in the U.S.) walked me through the entire process step by step, telling me what I had to take out of my bags during the security check, comparing landing to being in a car that slams on its brakes, and so on.  It was a huge help :-)

Addie opined that the security check is the worst part of flying, my mother felt that when they drop the wheels just before landing is (yeah, I was sort of polling people), but the worst part for me is sitting on the airplane waiting for it to take off.

Thank God for Valium and Stephen King books you've read so many times they're like old friends ...

Anyway, the flight down was fine.  A single mother and her 18-month-old asked if they could sit with me (Southwest Airlines has kind of a "cattle call" seating deal ... it's unofficial tagline is "When you can't afford anything else ..."), and that turned out to be a good thing.  I was pretty sure I would not totally lose it in front of a little kid, and I was right.

So I spent the weekend in Baltimore (lowlighted by the fact that I put my wallet on the back of a car then drove off with it), and that was all good.

The flight home, though ...

I should probably mention at this point that I have three serious fears--flying, thunderstorms, and snakes.

Well, there was a thunderstorm shaking its fist at Baltimore as my sister drove me to the airport.  In fact, there were severe thunderstorms up and down the entire eastern seaboard, to the degree that my flight was delayed.

So, yeah, the flight home was more like I'd pictured flying to be in my nightmares.  It was dark outside, you could see lightning all around, and it was bumpy and scary and not fun.  I took extra Valium.

And then, when I finally landed, Henry was late picking me up so I was very grouchy to him.

It's a male/female thing, I think.

He knew what time I left at since I texted him just before we took off, and he's also one of those ridiculous techies that has an app for everything.  I figured he'd be flight tracking me and would be waiting when I deplaned.  Probably with flowers.  At the very least, he'd be at the cell phone lot, reading a book.

Nope, he hadn't left his house yet.  So I had to wait for him to get there after being on the flight from hell, then lightning started flashing in the sky, and ...

Well, he spent this past weekend on a mini-vacation to Bangor, Maine with me, so I assume he's forgiven me, but I was pretty unpleasant.

Anyway, people keep asking me if I'd fly again.  The answer, by the way, is yes.  I'd still dope myself up pretty well and probably be on a hair trigger, but I would.  There is just so much to see and do, and I could Gibbs-smack myself for missing out on so much.

I've also learned from numerous unimpeachable sources that the flight home is by far the exception rather than the rule.

So, yeah, I faced my greatest fear, and the irony is that it took my sister being in distress to make me do it, which makes me feel like kind of a jerk.

But then I got thinking about it ... two years ago, I think I would have taken a train or driven to Baltimore.  I would be there if she needed me, but it would be on my terms because flying was just ... well, just too much.

And I've gotten a lot better about thunderstorms, too, in large part because my golden retriever is even more scared than I am, so trying to comfort her makes me less afraid.

Snakes?  Dear God!  I don't think I'll ever get over that one ;-)

So what are you most afraid of?  Have you ever overcome major fears?  How did you accomplish that?  

And here is a pic of Mary and my nephew Eddie, just so you can see how amazing my family is and why I had to go <3 nbsp="nbsp" p="p">

The Quasi-Agoraphobic Homebody Traveled Thrice in the Past Week

Yup, it's true, I traveled three times during the past week.  I know, I can't believe it either ;-)

Each trip is worthy of (and will be receiving) its own post, but I hate when I go too long without posting, so I figured I'd give you a taste ...

1.  Baltimore, MD
I flew in an airplane (this is huge ... flying is probably my greatest fear) to visit my sister and help her and the family move (and experienced the great wallet adventure).

2.  Nashua, NH
I went to an education conference.  This might sound boring (education conferences often are, sadly), but it was really pretty amazing :-)

3.  Bangor, ME
I visited my aunts in what was my first real vacation in eons.  It was relaxing, fun, enlightening, and just remarkable in a zillion ways I'll elucidate on later.

Ironically, I slept like a baby throughout my voyages but tonight, despite Ambien, insomnia has set in.

Hey, at least you got a(n albeit pathetic) post out of it ;-)

Also, I'm trying to encourage guest posts from other bloggers, so go here for more information if you're so inclined (I hope you are :-))

Oh, and here's a pic of Henry and I in front of Stephen King's house ... many adventures over the past week, guys, seriously :-)

Good People in the World: The Lost Wallet Saga of 2012

I had a reminder this past weekend that there are good people in the world while I was in Baltimore visiting my sister (she's going through a tough time, and it's right in the midst of moving into a new house, so I went to help out, along with my brother-in-law's parents and brother).

When we went to Mary's work to print my boarding pass, my nephew Eddie had a little urinary incident on the stairs (he told us he had to go, and we were trying to reach the bathroom as fast as we could, but when a three-year-old has to go, he has to go).  On our way out, we stopped to clean up the stairs, then we tried to get Eddie changed and into his carseat.

Now, Eddie is very much like a male version of his cousin, Belle--in other words, he knows his own mind.  He was not happy that we had my brother-in-law's car (a very small sedan with roll-down windows that's sort of a family joke) instead of Mary's far roomier vehicle.  He wasn't happy about that, he was wet, and ... well, his mood wasn't awesome.  I put my wallet and boarding pass on the back of the car to do what I could to help out, and ... well, I forgot about it.

We were about halfway to the aquarium when I realized I didn't have my boarding pass.  I started looking frantically for it, then realized I had an even bigger problem: my wallet was likewise MIA.

Needless to say, I started freaking out.  I wouldn't be able to fly home without my license, it had a fair amount of cash plus my debit card and credit cards, and ... well, yeah, I was freaking out.

Mary was really chill about it, and we started backtracking our way to her work, on the lookout for a red wallet on the side of the road.  The same conversation kept going on in the car, meanwhile.  Repeatedly.

EDDIE: Why did you lose your wallet, Auntie Katie?
ME: Because I forgot and put it on the car.
EDDIE: Why did you put it on the car?
ME: Because I'm an idiot.
EDDIE: But why did you lose your wallet, Auntie Katie?
MARY: Why don't we just focus on finding Auntie Katie's wallet, Eddie?

We got back to Mary's work, and no wallet.  I was on the verge of freaking out in earnest ... I had to teach summer school the next morning, and Mary offered to drive me home, but, I mean, Baltimore to New Hampshire and back?  That would have been cruel and unusual to do to my poor sister.  And so the freak-out was building ...

And then my cell phone rang.

It was Capitol One, and the very nice Capitol One dude told me that he had a caller on the line who had found my wallet.  Suffice it to say, I started crying.  The woman gave us directions to her house, and that was that.

We got to the house, and the couple came right out.  The woman was very apologetic about calling via Capitol One because it meant she'd gone through my credit cards, but she hadn't been able to get a phone number through the online white pages using my name and address, and she didn't know what else to do.  I started crying again because I'm a dork like that, and I thought about offering them money, but they lived in a beautiful brick house with a BMW in the driveway, so I figured that was superfluous.  I have no doubt they knew how very grateful I was, and I sent them a thank-you  note in the mail.

So then we went to the aquarium (which Eddie calls "the a-QUAH-rium", with almost like a British accent), and life was good.  My wallet had obviously been run over (the tire tracks are kind of entertaining) and my license and credit cards are oddly bent and warped, but everything works.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the whole venture was that the couple found the wallet on Church Street.  Mary, who has lived in Baltimore for two years, had never heard of Church Street and was confident that we had certainly not driven on a road called Church Street...isn't that wild?

Anyway, that couple could have taken the cash and returned the wallet, saying it was empty when they found it.  They could have kept the whole kit and caboodle.  Instead, they went WAAAAAAY out of their way to ensure that I got it back as soon as possible.

It's really easy to forget sometimes that most people are inherently good, and that there must be some sort of higher power watching out for us.

I have been praying a lot the last couple of weeks, largely for Mary, and the fact that this experience happened not just when I was visiting her but when I was with her is not lost on me.  Mary received some kind of promising news on her front, and I know that many people are praying for her and sending good thoughts her way.  I can't help but believe that it is helping.

So if you could spare a prayer or positive vibe for my baby sister, who is truly one of the good ones, I would much appreciate it.

I would also be remiss if I didn't emphasize the goodness of my brother-in-law (I'm going to call him Harrison--he knows why), his incredible parents, and his wonderful brother for being such amazing people.

I am so blessed to have family, friends, and total strangers that have had such a positive impact on my life.  I'm glad that I am in a position to recognize that, and you'd better believe I'm going to pay it forward whenever I can.

So do you have a heartwarming tale?  Share it in the comments or leave a link.  Let's keep the positive vibes rocking :-)

Oh, and Eddie did in fact make it to the a-QUAH-rium ... I adore this little guy <3 p="p">