How
very strange that taking a plane trip should count as an act of courage! But
these are strange times. I got back on Friday from a plane trip! I considered
it a brave and daring act.
I
flew to DCA to visit my daughter's family. There were so many firsts on that
trips. Well, the firsts since last March anyway. On the way there, I had a
three hour layover in Detroit. I ate at the Longhorn Steakhouse in the airport --another
feat of bravery, and something I hadn’t done since March of 2020. It was odd
seeing all the bare naked unmasked faces. It felt like we were all looking
around at each other. That peach tea, loaded potato soup, and chicken Caesar
salad tasted a lot better that I ever thought they could.
When
I got there, my daughter met me and we had a big hug. Another first-for-the-year.
Then the grandkids! I hadn't seen those two grandsons in over a year. I got
lots of snuggles and hugs and they fed me TONS of food. I think I gained 10
pounds. I insisted they give me hugs, and snuggled were all them. We have a
couple of traditions which they had not forgotten one little bit. They crawl
into bed with me in the morning and the little one chatters on and on while we
huddle beneath the covers.
The
other tradition is something we call Birdies. I don’t remember exactly how it
started. I think I was trying to teach the older boy about birds, and what they
eat. Maybe we were on the blowup bed when we had the conversation. At any rate,
the “game” is that I’m the mama birdie and they are the babies. They hatch out
of their eggs and I forage in the blankets for worms for them, if we’re robins.
If we’re cardinals, I have to get bugs and seeds.
I
flew home on Friday, having a stressful time of almost-missed flights, but I
mad it. The next day Delta started filling the empty rows and middle seats that
were left vacant on my flights. It'll be a while before I attempt that again,
because of that. There are no requirements to be vaccinated or even test
negative to fly domestically. I’m very glad I squeaked that trip in.
I
feel like we’re traveling out of COVID, bit by bit!
Oh
yes, I did one hour of editing on the trip one afternoon.
**
late 16th
century: from late Middle English dorryng do ‘daring to do’, used by Chaucer,
and, in a passage by Lydgate based on Chaucer's work, misprinted in
16th-century editions as derrynge do ; this was misinterpreted by Spenser to
mean ‘manhood, chivalry’, and subsequently taken up and popularized by Sir
Walter Scott.
From https://languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-en/
All images from pixabay.com
It does seem as if we are all woolly bears venturing out of the cave after a long and stressful sleep, blinking in the new sunlight. I flew to Ohio last fall, and it was lovely. Short lines, unblocked aisles (no snack carts) and empty seats instead of sardines; I didn't care that there weren't snacks because I never eat them anyway. This June I'm flying back there, and not looking forward to it. Ah, well.
ReplyDeleteWhat a good description. Yes, it's like coming out of hibernation. The next time I fly will be different again, with all the seats available. I admit, I do love the biscotti cookies that Delta gives out. Good luck to all of us!
DeleteWhat a lovely trip, Kaye, and well worth the getting-out-of-Covid uneasiness. Aren't hugs wonderful?!
ReplyDeleteThey are! It was such good therapy.
DeleteI, too, feel so much better after finally seeing my kids and grandkids. It makes the past year like some bad dream. Enjoy, Kaye!
ReplyDeleteI know you got to do that, too. A year is a long time in their young lives and I thought they might be strange with me, but that was not the case at all. Happily!
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