Out of Africa

Out of Africa


March 7th still…. (with the time change, etc)

When we flew out of intense humidity and heat in Africa, we were looking forward to the rumoured snow and cool weather of London.

After an uneventful and quick 8 hour flight (thanks to the makers of Benadryl), we landed in London and were met by a shocking cold. We marveled at how different weather can be from locale to locale. All of us Americans were looking forward to a Starbucks at the international terminal so we were disappointed to see that it was closed for remodeling or repairs. We went to Pret’s instead and had coffee and chocolate crossaints. They were AWESOME!

We all visted in the terminal waiting for our connecting flights. Some were L.A. bound, some Oregon and Colorado. Time seemed to fly by and next thing you know, it was time to board our respective flights. We made a huge circle holding hands and prayed and thanked God for the people he brought together and the incredible experiences He allowed us to share. A lot of hugs, a few tears and exchanges of emails later, we boarded our flights.

I spent the better part of the 10 hour flight back with the head of the inconsiderate man sitting in front of me on my lap. Once, he forcefully pushed his back seat back even further, so I said to him, “Sir, you are too far back, please!” He said something about me bumping into him every 5 minutes. I told him it was impossible because I’ve had to lay sideways in order to have room for my legs (which are not very long!).

The longer I sat there, the more ways of telling him off I came up with in my head. So I decided, it would probably be better for me to move to another seat. Luckily it wasn’t a full flight.

People, my appeal to you is – if you go on a flight, whether it is long or short, remember there is a person behind you with limited space. Don’t make it worse by forcing your seat to recline horizontally. If you want to lay flat, spend the money and fly first class. And if the person behind you bumps into you a few times, it’s because there is limited space to move around in. They are not intentionally trying to make you insane. Thank you!

Once we landed at LAX, the 4 of us (Bonnie, Me, Eric and Tim) were thrilled to be home. We all found our bags and also saw Sharon Osbourne at our baggage claim. Appearantly, she was on our flight from London. Customs was a breeze although the line was long.

Then we made our way up the ramp and were met by our families, smiles, welcome home signs, hugs and kisses. The boys both looked bigger but Joey has noticeably changed a lot in the last 2 weeks. I couldn’t stop hugging and kissing them. It was good to be home.

Once we reached our house, I walked in to more welcome home signs and tulips (my favorite) and hyacinths (I also love those). Then I knelt down and kissed my kitchen floor. Thank you God for giving us this amazing place to live in!

I took a much needed and anticipated shower and then we went out with the Jones’ family for a quick bite to eat. Although, I ended up not eating too much. I looked at my hubby and boys…and was full.

My cup runeth over!