The Flight

Okay, so two years has gone by and I have been waiting for this day for so long. Now I am nervous and excited. Relocating from an overseas assignment back to the U.S. is a stressful transition that requires much stamina and patience.

First was the shipping of the van, which was at the end of April. Yes, that seemed early, but it takes about 8 weeks for it to swim across the Pacific! And, I wanted it waiting for me when I arrived in America. That was a very good decision!

Then the scheduling of packing up our household goods. The first big shipment was scheduled to go Monday, June 16. The movers were great and did a great job; at least on the front end, I will report again after our stuff arrives at our new house! My bestie, Dawn, came a sat with me that day, which made the day go by very fast. Thanks Dawn!

Stuff gone........reorganize and begin living out of the suitcases. My least favorite thing. So, on Tuesday I have dinner with the two remaining Ya-Yas and say good-bye; very painful and was one of the most difficult things that I have had to do and I knew it was coming and was so stressed and sick to my stomache every time I thought about it.

Departed Daegu on Wednesday on our way to Seoul to spend the night in the very nice Dragon Hill Lodge. We arrived in Seoul, put our three cats in the kennel and checked into the hotel. We just hung out and waited. We were going to have to get up very early to head to the airport. I was so tired and stressed out that after I got into my PJs, I just collapsed on the bed, it was only about 7:30 PM. I slept through the night and woke up rested, but had butterflies in my tummy. I wasn't nervous about traveling alone with my kids. I was more nervous about handing over my three kitties to a nice Korean man that didn't speak English. That whole process was stressful.

We arrived about 2 1/2 hours early to find out our flight was delayed abou 40 minutes. We finally got checked in, which took forever! You just can't imagine how many Koreans travel on the same day! We checked in the humans, now it was time for the animals, not an easy process people! I had to go to two different desks, one to start the paperwork and the second to pay. You would think that paying would be the easiest part...........NOT! That part took almost 40 minutes. I was getting nervous about making our flight and I'm sure I would have made the Korean news, Fox News and CNN if I didn't get on that flight! Anyway, I kept asking, "who will tell me if my animals are on the plane?" Lost in translation people.........."ahhhh.....Tuesday!" I had to cross my fingers. I had a plan to to talk to the flight attendants and make sure my babies were on the plane, otherwise I would have to talk to the pilot! Hence the news crew again. So, as we finished paying for the tickets for the kitties, we go to the security area, which thankfully wasn't crowded. Said a quick good-bye to Glenn and rushed to the gate. Yes, they were already boarding, yes, we were cutting it close. As we got in line, I looked out the window at the big Korean Airplane and took a big sign; at that moment I saw my kitties being loaded onto the plane. I could then relax a little.

We got on and it was a crowded flight........why are all of these people traveling on the same day as me? I really wanted a little space on the flight. We sat in the middle of plane and I was telling the kids that there seemed to be a little more space between the seats............then.......the very rude gentlemen in front of me slammed his back into my lap! Nice words didn't come out of my mouth and he didn't understand me!

The pilot gets on the microphone and says, the flight will take approximately 12 hours! Here we go people.........the moment I've been waiting for for 2 years. All of stress working up to THIS day. I am 12 hours away from America. The flight was pretty quiet, nothing stressful. I did partake in the free wine on international flights deal.

Okay, we are in our final descent and the last hour and I start to feel sick. Not a great feeling people. I didn't eat anything yucky, I wasn't sure what was going on. I was feeling nauseated and hot. I kept getting up to walk more laps, drank water, splashed water on my face and tried to keep composed. It wasn't getting any better. I had to ask the flight attendant for some anti-nausea medication, which they didn't have. I was feeling faint at this point. I told Sarah that if I fainted, not to be scared, I will be okay. The flight attendant asked if I needed a doctor. No, I don't need a doctor! I asked for some ice, which helped a lot! This was a long hour, but we finally landed. Then we had to make it through customs, collect bags and kitties. I didn't have enough arms and I was feeling weak, tired, a sick to my stomache. I should have asked for a wheel chair, then I could have gone to the front of the customs line!

Made it through customs. There are never enough agents! Three planes with 300+ people unload at approximately the same time and there are not enough agents! It took a little bit of time, but we made it. The greatest words to hear, "Welcome home." Brings a tear to my eye. Walked into the baggage area, saw the kitties and began to bark orders at the children. I hired a worker with a large push cart to help me through the rest of the area. I had to go through the kitty customs, which was fine, they just wanted to check the rabies paperwork. Then finally to the exit!!!!!! My parents were waiting for us and it was great to see them. I just wanted to sleep. Did I say that I didn't sleep on the plane at all?!

My parents picked up our van for us, so all we had to do was grab some lunch and drive for 3 hours to their house. I was numb. We got the kitties settled and tried to put luggage away. I took a shower and a Simply Sleep..........did I say that if you are already tired that the Simply Sleep really makes your drool? Well, it does. At 4:30 PM, I began to drool on myself and said, "I need to go to sleep." I went to bed and slept for 15 hours! The next day, I stayed in jammies and took three naps. What a trip!

It is fantabulous to be back home. I love America!