The night before I left I was pretty much completely packed, but there was tons of last minute stuff that needed to be done. I didn't go to bed until 3 and what sleep I did get was very interrupted. I woke up at 5 to be out of the house by 6:15. 2 hours of sleep the night before a 26 or so hour journey is probably not the greatest way to start off, not to mention I was definitely getting sick. The morning went smoothly and I was out of the house on time with everything packed and nothing forgotten. Daniel drove me to the airport and we arrived right around 7:15.
I was already checked in so I really just needed to check in my luggage and get my boarding passes. I was prepared to pay the overweight fee on both of my large suitcases, because I just knew there was no way these were light enough to fall into the okay category. What I wasn't prepared for was the fact that my carry-on was overweight. I had to take all my bags back to a corner and take stuff out of my carry-on and stuff them into my already overweight luggage. Luckily, it only took one go for me to get it down to the right weight. I had to do some further arranging at the baggage counter, but the attendant helped me figure it out and get it down so I would be able to take both of my carry-on bags with me. She was so nice and patient during my frantic what had potential to be extremely stressful situation. I arrived at my gate right at boarding time, so I was very thankful for how early I got to the airport. I would like to say though, that the Melbourne airport has WAY too much shopping. Seriously, there should be a route for shoppers and a route for the nonshoppers. The distance required to walk to the gates simply because of all the shops is absolutely ridiculous. I go to the airport to catch a plane, not to shop. On the way to my gate I did get stopped not because of shopping, but I saw a young girl (about 10 or 12) sitting at a gate looking frantically down the nearby walkway with tears building and eventually spilling over. I didn't go to her right away, instead I stood back and watched from a distance to try and gather what was going on, but when she got up from the gate and started walking towards the walkway I went after her because I figured she was instructed not to leave the gate by whoever she was looking for. I kept a bit of distance between us when I got near her because I didn't want to scare her and I asked her if she was looking for or waiting for someone. She explained her parents had told her to meet them at this gate and that now they aren't coming. I asked her if she knew their phone number and offered her my phone to use to call them. Right after this exchange someone who worked at the airport or with the airline came over and asked if she was lost. I retold what she had told me and he told her that the managers were right over here (literally at the gate she was at) and they would find out where her parents were. Now, while I'm grateful to this man for helping her since I really needed to get to my gate... I'd like to know why in the world it took several minutes of her frantically searching and me approaching her for any of the 5 nearby employees at the gate to realize something was wrong.
I boarded the plane with my usual seat - window by the wing - and settled in. Because I've already flown on the Qantas A380 I knew what to expect, which was nice. I realized I hadn't called my mom yet. I wanted to call her in the car on the way in or something because I didn't want to get on a plane for 14 hours flying over the ocean and not tell my mom I love her. You just never know when your last opportunity to say that to someone will be. I called her as I was bent completely over in my seat trying to muffle the sounds around me. The call dropped and immediately the pilot came over the speakers with some announcement. All I could think was, "Dang God!! You are GOOD!!!" Had my mom heard that... the entire plan and surprise would have been ruined. I called her back and gave a quick how are you, I love you, talk to you later kind of thing. Shortly after it was time for take off.
Sitting on the plane I expected some kind of anticipation, nervousness, excitement, something, but honestly there was a whole lot of nothing. It all just felt completely and entirely normal. I've been thinking about this day since the day I left. I've been talking about this day with my friends and family (both in the US and Aus) for quite some time. I've been planning this surprise since I purchased the tickets in Jan/Feb. It just felt right, like this was part of the plan. As I was thinking about it I couldn't get myself to comprehend that I had just spent 10 months in Australia. It felt like I was just on the A380 out to Melbourne the day before. My heart and my mind have enough memories to fill 10 months, but for some reason I felt like I had only been on a week long holiday or something like that.
As usual, I got to work on my movie research since Qantas has free, awesome movies available on their international flights. I ended up choosing Taken 2 (I forgot to breathe for the entire movie pretty much), Safe Haven (the book is better), Silver Linings Playbook (very good movie that I knew nothing about before watching), Lincoln (very good movie, brought some interesting feelings about my country's history to the forefront), and Intouchables (Amazing movie!! I watched it at the theaters with Joan and Nikki and have been dying to see it again since and I purchased it as soon as I got home). I also spent some time playing the games available. The guy next to me was a rather big guy, but luckily the constant shoulder brushing didn't seem to really bother either of us. He was really nice, but probably only because I only needed to get up once during the flight (I got up a 2nd time, but only because he had already gotten out). About half way to three-quarters of the way through the flight the pressure in my sinuses, my headache, and my stuffy nose was starting to get to me. I asked for a warm, wet cloth which helped but only for the 45 seconds it stayed warm. Luckily, there were no kids in the immediate area and what kids were around were very very quiet. At some point I managed to get 1 hour of sleep on the flight (I'm now at a grand total of 3 hours of sleep in the past 41 hours).
When Qantas serves you a meal they serve you well. Unfortunately, this time around it didn't go so well. I knew I needed protein when they served lunch so I went with the chicken salad, however, I would have liked a bit more chicken and a bit less salad. The chicken I did have was very yummy though. The rest of the meal was good as well - orange, some red/pink orange look-a-like fruit, a roll and butter, chocolate moose, and a boost chocolate bar with appletiser and water to drink. For "dinner", which they didn't serve a proper meal for because most people were asleep (it wasn't a natural time to be sleeping for the night, but to get on to LA's time to decrease jet lag, this was when you were supposed to sleep) it was a hot pocket type pizza, which wasn't good at all but I ate because I was hungry. Breakfast was cereal (which tasted like flour, it was one of those overboard healthy cereals) so I didn't finish it with fresh fruit salad and orange juice and water to drink (I feel like there was something else on the tray but I can't remember). Throughout the flight I also snacked on the pretzels, lamingtons, grapes, apple, and scroll I had packed. They also served little snacks throughout the flight and I ate one that I can't remember what it was and I was going to eat the other (an ice cream mango bar) but didn't like it so I just held on to it until they came around with the bin to throw it away.
There wasn't much scenery on this flight since you are just flying over a blue expanse of ocean the whole time, but I did get to see the coast of Sydney as well as a beautiful sunset and sunrise.
I arrived at LAX and had the initial thought of, "Wow! I can't believe I'm back on US soil!!!" I was pretty excited to be honest, until I realized how very little time I had to make my connection. Qantas/American Airlines and the airport tried very hard to make it quick by providing those of us with quick connections an orange express connections pass, but you can only go so fast when you all have to go through customs and border control. For a country that has had issues with border control in the past and prides themselves on their security... You'd think they'd have a more efficient system in place. Now, I know I've only been through this in two other countries - Australia and New Zealand - but I'm pretty sure no where is as slow as LAX was. Aus and NZ spit people out like rapid fire through their border control and customs, LAX took forever to get anyone through. At that moment I was thankful that I was holding a US citizen passport, because the line for international visitors was wrapped around at least twice the amount ours was. It was slow enough to the point that I overheard quite a few "arguments" between the line attendants and the passengers. I was so stressing to be honest. I had very little time to make it to my gate and here we are just standing around moving at a sloth's pace.
In addition to all this, when the plane landed and I tried to use my US phone it didn't work and my Aus phone wasn't working either (even on roaming, which I thought it would since it worked when I was in New Zealand). I was in the US but had no contact with anyone - not my US people and not my Aus people - and this was honestly very unsettling. Luckily, LAX has free WiFi so I was able to use that to get on Viber and facebook to contact my dad and brothers about my US phone not working so they could get it fixed by the time I landed in Dallas.
Once I made it through border control I had to go through customs. I had to go collect my massively overweight bags off the carousel and wheel them UPHILL to re-check them. By now I was sweating and on the verge of tears. Then I had to walk outside and around some building and up some stairs, and around some hallway to get to security. The line was so long and the tears were literally at the edge of my eyes. An attendant saw me and I explained I had a connection to make and that border control had taken their dear, sweet time. She personally walked me to the front of the line, explained to that attendant, and they let me in. I went through security and luckily, because I know the American security system I knew to wear flip flops and no belt, which made the process faster. Except for the part where I had to stand in line for several minutes while 2 security attendants chatted loudly about nothing relevant to what was currently happening. And after I made it through another security guy needed to check my carry-on, but since he was polite with me I held back my bubbling anger at the LAX airport staff, smiled, joked, and was polite back. Once I was through security I had to go through another maze to get to my gate.
I made it to the gate with no time to spare. I boarded the plane, got in my seat (window, wing), made nice with the guy next to me (he and the woman next to him where both American Airlines crew members), put in my headphones, covered my head with my sweatshirt, and cried silently (one of those things I learned so well how to do while in Australia) until I fell asleep. By this point it had now been 48 hours with 3 hours sleep. And close to 24 hours with little protein, massive sinus pressure (NO FUN on a plane), serious headache, stuffy nose, and no contact with family or friends (I literally hadn't had a conversation with anyone since Daniel dropped me off at the Melbourne airport). With the added stress of trying to maneuver my way through the LA airport and make my connection on time... I was just done. I was miserable. I am not sure on time, but I think I got in about two hours of sleep on that flight.
When I landed at DFW I was delightfully surprised to find that my phone was working again. I called my dad just to update him and because I desperately needed to talk to someone, anyone really. I told him I was going to go find a proper meal with substantial protein and he told me to also go find medicine at one of those magazine stores. I got some meds for the congestion, sneezing, watery eyes and the headache. I also got a vanilla chai latte at Starbucks... which tasted like crap. Turned out they gave me a vanilla latte, instead of chai. So I bought another one making sure they got the chai part, because my vanilla chai lattes have the uncanny ability to make me happy from head to toe inside and out no matter what, but that one tasted like crap too - different crap, but still crap. I chucked them both in the bin and then told myself to never ever again take Melbourne's awesome cafes for granted. I went and got some food at TGIFs where I was able to connect to WiFi and kind of just kick back for a minute and recuperate.
I went to my gate, which was right near TGIFs and what most people would have seen is uncomfortable airport chairs with hard armrests, but what I saw was a comfy bed. I hooked my bags around my ankles, laid on my side facing the backs of the chairs, and bend my legs so my torso was on one chair with my head on the armrest, my hip was on the edge of the chair spooning the arm rest, and my legs where curled on the other chair. I put in my headphones and I was out for about an hour. When I woke up I spent some time on facebook and texting. Then I realized the boarding time had been pushed back and my phone battery was dying, so I moved to a charging station. I sat there for quite a while updating things on my phone (since it had been 10 months since I'd turned it on), e-mailing, etc. By the end of it, departure was pushed back an entire hour. I boarded the plane in a much better mood and physically feeling a bit better as well. I sat in my usual seat, window/wing, put in my headphones and listened to music and slept. Every time I fly, the clouds blow my mind. You forget when you're on the ground just how massive and intricate they are. They remind me of fairy floss (cotton candy) suspended in the air. All I could think about was the next time I get off a plane I'll be HOME!!! Flying into Raleigh with the twinkling city lights was such a nice way to come home and I was beyond excited.
We got off the plane, I snapped a few pics, then I B-lined for baggage claim because I knew someone with a huge hug would be waiting for me - my dad. We hugged, one of those massive squeezing hugs, for quite some time and a few tears were shed. I was just so excited to be home and with family. We chatted about this and that, got my bags, and went to the car. I managed to walk to the correct side of the car, Go Me!! On the way home my dad bluetooth called my mom in the car to let her know he was going to be a bit later than expected and that was so very brutal. My mom was on the phone and within 40 minutes driving distance and I couldn't make a sound. Being in the car with my dad, driving down the highway I have always driven down, chatting about everything just felt so normal. That, I've only been gone for a week feeling, was very present at this moment. He dropped me off at my friend Kaitlyn's house since that is where I was going to spend the night before the big surprise for my mom in the morning.
I walked into Kaitlyn's house and Sadie, her dog, greeted me as always with lick after lick and by leaning herself into me expecting me to support her big old body (she's a chocolate lab). This was a good sign that I was going to feel like nothing has changed, because this sure hasn't. Then I hear mommery (what I call Kaitlyn's mom) in her room mumbling groggily from having been asleep, "Is that really daughtery?" And as always the two of us got to running our mouths, chatting away in her room, while I ate some cereal. Next thing I know, Kaitlyn came home from work, she comes in, and we all start chatting and laughing again. Standing there leaning on Mommery's bed, Sadie leaning into me, listening/watching Mommery and Kaitlyn talking... through my exhaustion I couldn't help but smile as this scene is the exact scene (minus Kaitlyn being in scrubs with a super official name tag) that I have been a part of many a times before. Nothing major has changed - Mommery has gotten much stronger physically, Kaitlyn is now working as a CNA and moving on to be a student at UNCG, and I've had major life experiences and grown in ways some people wouldn't understand - but we all still love and care for each other and are interested in each other's lives and fully enjoy each other's company. This... this is what I had been hoping for when I returned home.
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| This picture was taken the following day after the surprise (notice the Melbourne shirt =] ) |
The awesomeness continued as Kaitlyn and I went up to her room to get ready for bed. If you heard the two of us you would have no idea we had just spent 10 months apart from each other. We chatted about this, that, and everything in between before eventually drifting off to sleep. For the first time in a while... I went to sleep completely and entirely 100% content. I wasn't even thinking about the big surprise in the morning.
