My brother, strong football player that he is, weighed my humongous suitcase in at 47 pounds. I was relieved and amazed that it was under the airlines weight requirements. My dad helped me carry my luggage out to his car the next afternoon. My heart tightened as I walked to the car, the uncertainty of when I would be back loomed in the air as we pulled out of the driveway.
Finally on my way back to my husband, I felt comfortable in that little car. But the realization that I would soon be in another form of transportation, surrounded by strangers, made my stomach drop. I did not want the car ride to end.
The airport was all too familiar, too many memories of goodbyes, tears shed, and hopeful anticipation of past journeys once ventured. Strangely enough, I found myself smiling at everyone I passed once I got down to security. I told myself not to get excited about my reuniting with Pieter until I was actually close. I was anxious for the security checks, bus rides, and boarding pass scans to all be over. All I wanted was to be in his arms again, but this is what I had to go through to get there.
My first flight went smoothly, I would not say it was enjoyable, but it was not unpleasant. The middle hour and the last hour are always the worst of any flight. Three and a half hours in I thought the flight would never end. At the seventh hour, the pilot announced that we would be landing soon and that all passengers needed to prepare, this was thirty minutes before landing. Those thirty minutes were the longest in my life and my facial expression showed it. I had run out of things to do to pass the time and I wanted to be off that plane.
I spent the majority of flight number two paranoid that I was on the wrong flight. The stewardesses were wearing strange uniforms I had never seen before and the static on the planes intercom made it difficult to hear flight details from the pilot. I had no idea where I would end up. No one around me spoke English and I felt foolish to ask anyways. After barely making this flight because I was in the bathroom and having lost six hours of my life while I was in the air, I think I was just delusional.
My arrival in Amsterdam simply could not come fast enough. I allowed myself to get excited the last twenty minutes of the flight and I reviewed all I needed to do upon landing and entering the third airport of the day. I was in my own little world as I dashed to baggage claim. As I waited to retrieve my 47 pound suitcase, I watched the belt go around with the same three suitcases nearly twenty times. After a bathroom break, I came back, spotted my luggage, and was on my way through those doors to my husband. I was thrilled and exhausted. My heart felt whole again as we embraced. Too much time had gone by without him by my side. I talked his ear off the whole way to Rotterdam. :)
I spent the majority of flight number two paranoid that I was on the wrong flight. The stewardesses were wearing strange uniforms I had never seen before and the static on the planes intercom made it difficult to hear flight details from the pilot. I had no idea where I would end up. No one around me spoke English and I felt foolish to ask anyways. After barely making this flight because I was in the bathroom and having lost six hours of my life while I was in the air, I think I was just delusional.
My arrival in Amsterdam simply could not come fast enough. I allowed myself to get excited the last twenty minutes of the flight and I reviewed all I needed to do upon landing and entering the third airport of the day. I was in my own little world as I dashed to baggage claim. As I waited to retrieve my 47 pound suitcase, I watched the belt go around with the same three suitcases nearly twenty times. After a bathroom break, I came back, spotted my luggage, and was on my way through those doors to my husband. I was thrilled and exhausted. My heart felt whole again as we embraced. Too much time had gone by without him by my side. I talked his ear off the whole way to Rotterdam. :)
Being back in America for five months, I had gotten comfortable. The bustle of Rotterdam greeted me with unfamiliar and unfriendly faces, dozens of strange foreign languages, and a reminder that things are very different here. It was overwhelming. Trudging through the city streets with my suitcases in tow was the highlight of my trip across the pond. I needed sleep in a comfy bed and a nice shower. Once we finally checked into our hotel, priorities had changed, that had turned into only needing sleep. Let the week of jetlag begin!
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| Date night to see 'Jurassic World' in Rotterdam |
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