I am wide eyed and ready for my last flight. I am now in Addis with a 2 hour layover…I have spent the better part of my 16 hour flight asleep. I fell asleep almost immediately when I left DC, was woken up by my lovely flight attendant 3 times for dinner, breakfast, and lunch. I recall a rather bad landing in Rome when we stayed on the plane and they switched crew members and yes, i slept through the whole thing.
I did have a crying, well screaming baby and a 4 year old sitting two seats away from me on both sides but i was so exhausted both physically and mentally from my last week of packing and goodbyes that i was able to sleep a deep sleep through most of their noise.
Kinda funny thing happened, hence the title of this post. When I got to Dulles this was this little girl, who reminded me of some of my heavy hitters at school, running around, mom chasing her, not listening, saying no, etc etc. I kept my teacher eye on her and kept thinking, her dad spoils her way too much! Turns out I sit next to her dad and the little girl, Mya and mom and baby sister sit in first class. Poor dad had a few rough spots throughout the flight and i just wanted to sit her little butt down and give her a talking to and a time out….
Thousands of miles and continents later we were getting ready to get off the plane and her dads hands are full and she starts whining about mommy and tries to take off. So I bend down look her in the face and give her the good choices speech and let me hold your hand, etc etc. So i take her hand, we get off the plane, into the bus, across the runaway, up the escalator (at one point dad held her hand too and she was making us swing her LOL), got to the top, walked down the hall and atlast Mommy was there. Said goodbyes and started to walk away.
And yes, I left my other bag on the plane that was in first class since there wasnt any room for it near me. So i had to walk back down, ask a guy if I could go back and look! Not how i wanted to start my trip but I was trying to help out a struggling dad. I got back on the bus, a ride all by myself, got off anf the cleaning crew was beginning to go in the plane. A guy yelled at them (have no idea what he said) but they all parted like the red sea and I walked up the steps onto the plane. A male flight attendant ask what I was doing back and I told him I was helping out a struggling dad and I forgot to get my second bag. He started to laugh and then we went and got my bag.
I was relieved it was still there but i figured good karma would allow it to be there and safe. When I got off the plane all the crew was there waiting for me and smiling and clapping and cheering that I had it….
I went back to the bus and here i am…..
Will be in Tanzania around 130am… still not really sunk in, i packed up my bags, left all that i know behind, to see about some animals and then to move to Erbil….
Hope to catch a bit of the matches tomorrow while deciding where to go first with Nora on our African Adventure.
Go Portugal!