"I've decided I need to give up looking at Facebook for a while. Why, you ask? Because it's June, and everywhere I look I see pictures or posts about all my friends' amazing vacations - to Europe, to Disneyland, to the mountains or the lake or the seashore. My own family members are at the top of that list. One sister just got back from New York City and is now in Colorado hanging out with our other sister. My parents and youngest sister are in New York for a different musical event. My brother and sister-in-law are on a cruise in Europe. And me? Want to know where I'm going this summer? Yep, that's right. Nowhere."
I didn't finish it because I couldn't figure out how to say what I wanted without sounding extremely self-centered and whiny and pathetic, which is exactly what I was at that moment, and I was ashamed of it. I had no idea at the time but my Heavenly and my earthly father had both been planning something amazing for me that made me even more ashamed of my self-pity. My dad had a business trip to London coming up, and he invited me (and Jules, of course) to come with him and spend a week there! I was completely floored.
I write this as much for my own benefit as anyone else's - so I can remember every second of that wonderful trip! Apologies if it is entirely too detailed.
Friday morning was spent trying to cram half my wardrobe, all of Julianna's clothing, a mountain of diapers, wipes, jackets, umbrellas, guidebooks, two extra pairs of shoes, and a myriad of other miscellaneous accouterments (most of which I didn't end up using) into a medium-size suitcase and enormous backpack. I was trying to keep my luggage to a minimum because I would be flying out by myself and had to navigate airplanes, airports, trains, taxis, and every other form of transportation alone. Dad had to be in London a few days before me, so I had to get myself, Jules, and all our stuff from the airplane to the hotel. Having never traveled alone in my life, I was a bit nervous. (Okay, truthfully, I was terrified!)
Saying goodbye to the kids was one of the hardest things I have ever done. They all drove off cheerily, smiling and waving and excited about getting a WHOLE WEEK of "sleepovers" at Grammie's house! I held it together and did NOT cry when they left, so it wouldn't worry them and they would be happy and not miss me too much. I was fine all the way up until Robert and I got to the airport, and then I realized I forgot something minor, and the tears started to come! BUT I managed to push them down and recover my calm, and even be excited for my trip! There was a brief moment of panic when I started to check in and they told me Jules was supposed to have a ticket, even though she was a "lap baby" for the trip, and they had theoretically mailed it to me, but I had never gotten such a thing. I saw my whole trip slipping away before my eyes and boy, would the tears have ever flowed then! But fortunately they were able to reprint her ticket there at the counter and then I was set! Robert and I hung out for a bit, had a coffee (a TERRIBLE coffee - possibly the worst coffee I've ever had! Don't ever drink the coffee at the Albuquerque Sunport!), and tried to evade for a few more moments the inevitable goodbye. A kiss, a smile, a few tears, and then I was facing my second great obstacle: Security. I am one of those people who, although I have always been a responsible law-abiding citizen, suddenly find my knees knocking together when faced with uniformed authority figures. Seriously. Every siren I ever hear has me convinced they're coming for me....although I'm not exactly sure why. Combined with the horror stories I've read about TSA searches....well, let's just say I dread those checkpoints for more than just the long line. But fortunately it was very painless. Then it was simply a matter of waiting for the plane to board. Unfortunately Jules took umbrage with the long wait and got extremely cranky and tired. I tried to calm her, but by the time we boarded, she was one big fuss. I boarded amid a few sympathetic looks from fellow passengers (and probably a few annoyed ones as well), and found my seat - a window seat, which was good from a privacy/nursing standpoint. And then anxiously waited to see who my fellow passenger would turn out to be. This may sound strange, but I had been praying ever since learning about my trip that I would be seated next to someone who liked babies; someone like an older grandma or a fellow mom, someone who would be kind and understanding and not get annoyed if Jules fussed the whole trip. So when it turned out to be a young, collage-age boy, I was quite disappointed. "Oh dear," I thought, "he's going to be the one who is annoyed most by us."
The next two hours I spent trying to get super tired, cranky Jules to go to sleep without kicking the poor boy next to us. I failed on both counts. He was pretty nice about it, though. He put in headphones and watched movies during the flight and responded with "no problem" to each apology for her kicking. And the silly baby just wouldn't sleep. We finally landed...and then a long long taxi to the gate and a wait. The landing part was interesting, though, because I had never been to Minnesota before and as we circled down, I could see setting sun reflecting off the "thousand lakes" below us. It was beautiful! Someday I would like to go back to Minnesota and see more than the airport for a four hour layover.
It was a long four hours. The airport was enormous - the biggest one I've ever seen, or at least navigated all by myself - so after finding my correct gate, I stuck to my own concourse. Got some dinner, bought some water and snacks for the plane, and then mostly just followed Jules around as she crawled around all the seats in the waiting area. I figured she should get as much "floor time" as possible before the flight, since she would be stuck on my lap for the next eight hours. There was a another mom with a little girl, about three years old, in the waiting area too, and she and Jules really hit it off. They were from England, returning on the same flight as us, so the little girl had the CUTEST British accent. She kept taking photos of Jules with her tablet and they chased each other all over the waiting area.
Jules "cruising" the seats in the waiting area. Sorry, it's the only picture I have from the first day
Finally, shortly before boarding, Jules got sleepy and went to sleep in my arms. It made boarding a little tough, but with some help from a kind gentleman, I was able to get my backpack stowed and settled myself and my sleeping baby into our seat - window seat again - and went through the same anxiety about my seat-mate, especially since this was a MUCH longer flight! Turned out to be a young woman, probably a few years younger than me, who hardly spoke a word to me the whole flight, but she wasn't unkind or anything. She just didn't really invite conversation. I had kind of been hoping that I would be seated next to someone from England and we could chat about our respective countries throughout the trip, Instead that was the person behind me, and he and the girl he was sitting next to had an interesting conversation (upon which I eavesdropped shamelessly) throughout the flight. So there we were - settled in and finally on our way! And then the most amazing thing happened. Jules slept for the ENTIRE flight. I couldn't believe it. I thought I would just let her sleep as long as possible, because she was sure to wake up and then I'd have to entertain her...but she just slept. And slept. And there I sat, for 8 hours, unwilling to get up or even move too much because I was afraid of waking her. I tried to sleep, but unfortunately the only part of me that was able to sleep was my lower extremities. It certainly wasn't a very comfortable flight but it was much better than I had expected or even dared to hope. I know it was God's grace that enabled her to sleep and give me such a (relatively) easy time; it was only the first of many such times I saw His grace demonstrated to me throughout the trip.
I will say this - transcontinental flight has gotten much nicer/more comfortable since my last trip overseas, which was about 12 years ago. The seats have more legroom than domestic flights, and each seat has its own entertainment system built into the back of the seat in front, with a selection of movies and music and tv shows and games...all kinds of stuff to pass the time. The stewardesses/flight attendants (not sure which they prefer to be called these days!) serve a seemingly constant stream of food and drink, it was all pretty good (the coffee was 10x better than that airport swill, surprisingly enough!), and they pass out hot towels to wipe one's hands. It is always a strange feeling to stay awake all night, without falling asleep at all, because one is never quite sure when one day has finished and the next began. But after that long, strange, quiet night of waiting and watching and trying not to wake Jules and failing to sleep....the sun finally rose and there, out the window, I could see it: "This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England!" (Richard II)
