Coming Home

**Start at the beginning: Part 1 London, England

I left London, England on Saturday July 19, 2014 and I was ready. I really loved the city and I could picture myself living there one day. I joked with everyone how if I didn't have children I think I would have stayed, but my kids will grown in no time and I just might go abroad and live for a while.

In all my other posts I only mentioned once how I was off the grid. What I mean is that when I left Georgia I cut off the data on my phone. Nobody could reach me unless they called the "hotel" that I was staying at. My best friend called me early Thursday morning and told me "Don't think just because you fly half way across the world I can't find you"! It was great to hear her voice. I do admit by Thursday I was getting a bit homesick and the staff where I was staying helped me out by getting an international calling card and letting me use their personal cell phone.

It was fun being off the grid for a week. My family knew where I was, they had the phone numbers and my brother knows a few people that actually live in England. I felt safe where I was staying and London is the most surveilled city on the planet. There are CCTV signs everywhere.

On my way back to the states I sat beside a man that lived in Virginia but was originally from Australia. I can't remember his name, but he was very friendly and we chit chatted a little bit on the flight back to America. I kid you not, when that plane landed in Detroit, Michigan as soon as I got off the plane I cut the mobile data back on and my cell phone started going crazy......bing, bing, bing, bing, bing. It was the best sound in the world. Why everyone had tried to message me when they knew my data would be off is beyond me, but I could feel the love.

I went through customs in Detroit and that was interesting. One of the employees was barking at some woman to cut off her cell phone while she was in line. He was being a bit of an ass but that is just my opinion. Authority doesn't suit everyone. Anyway, I took my picture at one of those airport kiosk things and gave it to the person at customs when I went through and declared I had key chains and shot glasses. LOL. They said that was okay and let me through. I found my next gate and sat down and called a few people.

The first person I called was my estranged husband. I thanked him for sending me on the trip for my fortieth birthday. I told him something else that day......I told him I wish he could have been there with me, and he placated me with saying he wish he could have been there too. He was with me though, so were my family and so were my friends. I carried all of them in my heart.

By now, I am ready to board the flight to Raleigh, NC so I can go home.I get to sit by the emergency exit and I end up sitting with a man named Bill. The best part about talking with him is that I found out his daughter has Asperger's. For those of you that don't know, Asperger's is a form of autism. Please do not misunderstand me I am no expert on autism. But we bonded over this because my youngest son is on the autism spectrum. We talked about how it was when we heard the diagnosis, and how it is for our children now. He told me his daughter goes to college and still lives at home but she drives and she is moving towards being more independent by living on her own eventually. I told him how my son can pick up on the emotional undertones of what people are saying and how he builds these intricate toys  out of pipe cleaners. I found out that Bill works in the same town that I do and I told him he should stop by and we would have lunch sometime. I am so happy that I met him.

We finally made it to Raleigh and after getting off the plane I look through the crowd and spot my brother and my nephew and I hugged them and told them I was happy to see them. They asked me about my trip and asked me what I wanted to do first. I told them to take me to the store so I could buy a pack of Marlboro Lights and take me somewhere, anywhere to get a glass or glasses of sweet, iced tea. They took me to a pizza joint in Raleigh and the first thing I did was suck down 3 big glasses of sweet tea. I know, I know, I just left London and there was tea everywhere, but not like we make here at home in North Carolina.

London Part 2

**Start at the beginning: Part 1 London, England

As the plane began it's ascent I relaxed and chatted with James a bit. Not much though, I did not want to be one of those annoying airplane people that talked non-stop.

Before we could make it to Atlanta, the pilot announced there was bad weather so we had to fly around for a bit. So after about an hour of trying to avoid rain and some heavy wind, we had to land at some obscure airport in Georgia and refuel which took about an hour. James was laughing at me when I told him I was a first time flyer and he said "they were breaking me in right".

By the time I made it to Atlanta International, I had missed my flight and Delta had booked me on a flight to Paris to catch a connecting flight to London. Of course, being new to the intracacies of flying and navigating airports I was like a flounder out of water. I missed the flight and then had to run all the way across the airport only to miss the next flight also. So, I went up to the help desk of a flight that was leaving for London and had my brother calling Delta airlines to fix the problem.

After a lot of waiting around I finally was booked for a flight to Paris and was to leave Atlanta at 10 pm that night. Once again, I texted everyone and let them know before I got on the plane I was cutting off the data on my phone because I couldn't use it in Europe. I gave my family the number to where I would be staying and got on the plane.

I sat in the middle section of a Boeing 747. I wish I could draw a diagram. There are two window seats, then three seats in the middle, and then two more window seats in a row. I was in the middle on the outside, so it was like, person-emptyseat-me. If that makes any sense. This flight they were speaking in French over the PA system and English. The pilot on this flight was a woman to, which I thought was pretty cool. Being on this huge plane was a bit scary but I was excited to be getting a layover in Paris, France. 

On the flight to Paris I met a lady named Ms. Kim. She was Japanese and spoke fluent Japanese and German but very little English. She was the most interesting person that I met in my travels. There was a bit of a language barrier but I understood her to say she just left her daughter who had graduated from John Hopkins University and was now an oncologist at St. Jude's. She showed me pictures of the graduation and of her daughter and she was so proud. I told her my children were younger, and we chit chatted as best we could. She told me she was on her way back to Germany because that is where she lived. I told her I was going to London for vacation and to celebrate my birthday. When we landed in Paris, she actually hugged me goodbye and I told her it was nice meeting her. She restored my faith in humanity with her kindness.

Finally we landed in Paris, France at around lunchtime I think. I had to go through security and no one was speaking any English which was kind of disorienting because I wasn't sure what I was doing. I saw a lot of different cultures whilst going through security. The guy checking passports and stuff at the security check point was cute but he was being a bit of a jerk to some of the people. Like he got some kind of perverse pleasure out of harassing people for their passports and stuff. He made me feel kind of uncomfortable but maybe it was lack of sleep. It's hard to sleep on a big ass plane knowing you are flying over the Atlantic Ocean.

TO BE CONTINUED......................................London: Part 3

London, England

Last summer I traveled to Europe and it was the most amazing experience. I always wanted to visit England since I was a little girl and I finally got the chance. I had never been on a plane, never been out of the country and especially never thought I would take such a trip alone, but that is what I did. I was really out of my comfort zone, but I loved/lived every moment of it.

I figured this week I would give the people who read my blog posts through my friend Ginny's blog a break and talk about something upbeat and positive for a change.

On July 12, 2014 I turned 40 years old. The next day I left home at around 9 am and went to my parent's home, left my vehicle, and my brother Donnie drove me to the airport in Raleigh, N.C. Now, granted I had never been on a plane before and I was trying NOT to think about plane crashes, so I busied myself with making sure I had everything packed and I was texting friends and family letting them know that once I made it to Georgia, I would be cutting off my data on my phone and go off the grid for the entire week. I was going ghost and I was SO looking forward to that.

I had a slight case of the nerves, because my brother dropped me off and I was on my own. A woman on a mission......to conquer my fears and try something new. After waiting around for about an hour or so it was time to get on the plane. So, I made my way and found my window seat. I sat beside a man named James on this particular flight and I was secretly wondering if I looked like a first time flyer. We really only spoke small pleasantries before take-off, everyone seemed a bit on edge or maybe it was just me.

Before the plane took off I began to get a bit misty, thinking of family and friends, and of the pain I was trying to leave behind. Then the plane began to move down the runway and I felt invincible almost, like nothing could touch me. I could feel the hummmmm of the engine, the announcements from the flight attendants, the air from the air conditioning, and I was about to soar.....Do you know what I did? I put my nose to the glass and I had my eyes wide open.....I was thinking to myself ...BRING IT WORLD..... Nothing can touch me now.

A few tears did escape when we got up in the sky because it was the most beautiful scene my eyes have had the pleasure to see. My beloved North Carolina, my home, below me and it looked spectacular. Everything was a miniature version of itself. The vehicles looked like toy cars and the buildings did also. I began to relax and enjoy the ride, after all I was on my way to Georgia for my connecting flight.





TO BE CONTINUED.....................................London, England: Part 2