Blocked and Stuffed!

No, I'm not talking about Basketball!

For the past week, I have been sick. It all started when I left Atlanta Friday morning on the 16th of January. It was a bitter 9 degrees at my house. I arrive at the airport and park in the economy lot... which was over 1/2 a mile's walk to the terminal. In those frigid temps, it felt like 3.

I get to security... OF COURSE, my carry-on needs to be searched. Could this get any worse? Ha! Never ask yourself that question. On board the plane, the captain comes on the intercom and says we'll be departing later than scheduled; the plane needs de-icing. To a normal person, this might be nothing. To me, a white-knuckle flier, it was torture. Not to mention, just one day before my trip, Captain Sulley placed his plane gingerly down in the Hudson River in NY, saving the lives of all his passengers. He's a true hero! But I'm now staring at my captain, who's on the phone in the center cabin of the plane, and I'm thinking, "It's 6:50 a.m., did he get enough sleep?"

The plane is packed. No empty seats. A little girl and what could be her older brother, dad, uncle or a kidnapper sat down next to me. She looked like she hadn't bathed in a few days. She was wearing ragged clothing. Whoever it was that she was with had just pulled the tray down and fallen asleep and, despite a few attempts by our flight attendant, he would not wake up and put his tray up for departure. We take off anyway.

I am going to Miami to see 2 of my sisters. I'm looking forward to warmer weather and the best company money can buy. I just need to get there first! After what seemed like 5 minutes of flight, (it was a 1/2-hour into the flight) we're at 37,000 feet and the plane begins to bump and shake. Prayers begins. Every muscle tenses. I talk to the little girl next to me for the next 30 minutes until she fell asleep. This was her first flight, she had no clue that these turbulents weren't out of the ordinary. OH, to be a child again! (I'm still waiting on an amber alert with her photo on it!)

I arrive in Miami and it's 72 degrees. "Aaaaaah!" I'm thinking to myself! It felt great to be on land.. oh, yea and warm!

Lots of laughing, talking, consuming beverages, watching a horrible movie (Bride Wars-don't go see it or rent it!) later and, what do you know, two days have passed. (I'll save my Conchfritter story for another time!) It's now Sunday morning. I wake up with what feels like 2 cats fought overnight in my throat. Perfect! I have a 2 o'clock massage and I'm sick. I will be dead by nightfall. Wrong! I just wished I was dead by nightfall. The masseuse nearly broke my cervical fusion and I felt like I had just biked up to the summit of Mt. Everest. Every muscle ached in my poor body. Thank God for watching Twilight (for the hmmm.. 8th? 9th? time) or the day would have been a complete loss!

But, I digress. Late Monday afternoon, I board my plane back to Atlanta, sick, congested, fevering and sitting on the aisle seat of the plane. All I have to say is that I was NOT at all happy with this seating arrangement. Nearly 20 minutes into this flight -- there was no "the captain has now turned off the fasten seatbelt sign, you are free to move around the cabin" coming from Barbie, the all-too perky flight attendant. Instead, we hear "Ladies and gentlemen, we are going to be experiencing some choppy air ahead, please remain in your seat with your seatbelts fastened as a precaution." LOL. Choppy air.

After ascending and decending for the next hour to find an altitude that was less "choppy," my ears were now popped and I could barely hear a thing. Great.. just great! The girl sitting next to me asked me why I wasn't drinking or why I didn't take a valium before flying. I guess it wasn't hard to tell that I was having panick attacks!!

We make it to Atlanta by some miracle!!!! -- it's 19 degrees. I am freezing again and am now more determined to drive wherever I go next. Call me a baby if you want.

It took a week for my ears to pop. I now have a greater understanding and appreciation of what the hearing impaired have to deal with. My sinuses were completely blocked. My lungs heavily congested. Blocked and stuffed - the not-so-perfect ending to a wonderful weekend with my sisters!