Metaphors For Meteors

Sunday, October 15, 2006

I’ve always enjoyed flying,… until I took my first international flight. I’m a very positive person, but long flights turn me into a Whiner. Remember the old Saturday Night Live skit? That’s me on the return flight from Turkey. Flying really long distances is just not fun. Legs cramp. Ankles swell. You can’t get comfortable. The seats don’t quite recline enough… I’m getting whiney just writing about it. Thank heaven for in-flight movies, snacks, beverages, and stewardesses who help with small comforts, and put up with whiners like me. Wouldn’t it be great if we could all fly first class? There’s a lot of room up there!

The flight over to Turkey was long, and we hit the ground running. The flight back to JFK felt like it was twice as long, and then the connection to Orlando seemed to take an eternity. It’s funny how fatigue can change your perspective. We departed Istanbul about 12:30 pm (remember that Istanbul is 7 hours ahead of us) and landed in New York at 2:30 Eastern Standard time. Then we sat in the JFK terminal until 7:30 pm, and on the runway until 8:30. Our plane finally landed at 11:30 pm. Grand total: 20 hours of travel. I needed to be at work at 8:30 the next morning to start catching up on things. Knowing that my whining would probably irritate those seated near me, I concentrated on whining internally. Miserable—that was me.

Hitching a ride home from the airport with Joe and Rita, we arrived home about 12:30, hugged our Sam, and settled our over-tired child into bed. She was glad to be home, and was thrilled to be under her soft covers.

I decided to unwind with a hot bath and then made it to bed around 2:30. Lying in bed, I could still feel the soaring movement of the airplane beneath me and visions of the last 10 days played in my head while I waited for sleep. What a trip! What an amazing opportunity! What marvelous people! Thank you Lord. I wasn’t feeling whiney anymore. I was feeling joyful, peaceful, and very grateful.

Here are a few of the things I smiled over as I drifted off to sleep.

Arriving at the Hotel SABA-- our first day in Istanbul.