November 20, 2008

Writing Assignment-I remember when

I remember when........I went on a plane for the first time.

It wasnt that long ago actually.

My first time was 8 years ago.

As a child, my family was not the kind of family to go on family vacations out of the country that we found so comfortable. It was just easier to pack up the car and two kids and take road trips. I am thinking this happened because my parents preferred to be close to home if we came down with a life threatening illness or needed some sort of emergency care. They loved us so much that the thought of us sick or hurt in another country made them freak out.

Or, they just didnt want to go through the trouble.

Either way I understand. Now that I have three little munchkins myself, the thought of packing for everyone, getting on a plane and sitting in a confined area with them for hours...without any way of getting away gives me the heebie jeebies. BUT, I vow to break the non-travelling cycle......eventually.

Anyways, back to my assignment.

I remember when I went on an airplane for the first time ever.

I was 26 years old.

It was for my honeymoon. We were going to Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

We left the morning after our wedding. After sleeping for less than 3 hours.

I dont recommend that to anyone.

In my mind I thought the plane ride would be fun. It was something new. People do it all of the time so it must be fabulous.

No.

I didnt enjoy it. I didnt enjoy being in a confined area so close to people I had never seen before in my life. I could smell their deodorant (if they were wearing it), I could smell their cologne/perfume. I could practically smell their morning breath. It WAS early in the morning and I am sure that most didnt bother to brush their teeth. Eww.....

Have I mentioned I didnt enjoy being in a confined area? I am claustrophobic. Being on a small plane with no means of escape confirmed this for me.

I also have "Safe Bathroom Syndrome". I am only comfortable when there is a bathroom closeby. A closet too small to even bend my knees while sitting down is not comfortable. I was terrified that during that 3 hour flight I would have to go to the bathroom.........lock the door and not be able to unlock it... OR, sit down to do my business and the door fling open on me. Luckily, I held it together and didnt use the closet during that flight. Phew.

We made it to Jamaica safely, thank goodness, but for the entire week I was trying to dream up ways on how to get home without getting on a plane. Drive. Not possible. Boat. It would take too long. Submarine. I am claustrophobic. Magic. No fairies with magic wands nearby. There was no escape.

Momma had to be brave.

I wish I thought of the perfect plan then.

Move to Jamaica. Perfect.


Go here for more writing assignment peeps.

10 comments:

Diane said...

This made me laugh. I fly a lot and I usually take 2 overseas flights (8+ hours) per year... I also have bathroom 'issues' (my aunt, who used to lie to me a lot when I was a kid) told me that a woman once got vacuumed sealed the the airplane toilet when they hit an air-pocket. OK, no friggin' way that's ever happening to ME! I can tell you it's on my mind, even if it's just niggling there at the back, the WHOLE flight... will I have to go? Can I hold it 'til we get there? UGH. I feel your pain ;)

Stacy said...

Well I am 29 and have still never flown. Maybe next year. We just drive everywhere with the kids. We are goign on a 12 hours trip to New York next week. Maybe I'll get to fly one day.

Sandra said...

We went to Montego Bay.Jamaice ...Sandals resort for our Honeymoon!

I have been flying my entire 40 years. My parents were big vacationers. We fly everywhere with our three kids too. I can see how scary it would be if it were a first time as an adult. Will you do it again?

Diane... Oh, don't you hate relatives that tell kids things like that?

Megan said...

I hate flying. The first time I was 15 so it was loads of fun, 2nd time, not so fun. I went to Tampa for my job and on the flight home we had to lay over in Atlanta. There was a monster storm and the plane slid and bounced off the runway. We had to lift back up and circle around to try again. I ended up sick as a freaking dog. I was 1 hr from home by car, but all the rental places were closed. We ended up having to wait almost 4 hours to take off again. Blah!

Angie said...

I can relate. I use to HATE to fly. HATE HATE HATE it!
But I've had to fly quite a bit over the past several years so I got use to it. Now, I'd way rather fly than drive, it's a lot quicker!

:0)

~angie~

Jen said...

We did that same thing got married and then the next morning at 4am left for the honey moon. It was not fun. But is was a great honey moon.

Elizabeth Byler Younts said...

great laughs! a friend of mine went on her first plane when she was over 50! she and her husband were actually trying to drive to the hangers b/c she really had NO CLUE! it was rather humerous! ...and scary...

KatBouska said...

I think Jamaica is probably worth a plane ride! I can't believe you were 26!!

Jenners said...

Hello -- stopping by on my tour of MamaKat's writing assignments. I would never fly with three children --especially if you are a nervous flier yourself! We do fly with my son (we have only one kid) but limit our vacation to places we can fly to direct within 2 hours. Anything longer than that scares me. Already, in a two hour flight we go through about 40 activities, 2 movies and an entire pack of Oreos. Hope you liked your honeymoon in Jamaica! My husband and I went there and had an awful, terrible time. It would be one of those trips that you laugh about if it hadn't cost so much!

Sometimes Sophia said...

I was on a flight where they had to shoo goats off the runway before the play could take off. Seats were assigned according to weight and, you're right, it wasn't much fun.