Day 443 • Thursday • 22 Oct 15 • Today’s High 34º
… ok, not quite a giant leap for mankind but a pretty big leap for me. Because today, I had to face a fear head on and do something I haven’t done in about fifteen years – I boarded a flight solo. Yep, silly as it may sound, this little Diva who flew on planes before she could walk, studied overseas and has traveled for a good part of her life, has a fear of flying! A fear bad enough that I always have to have someone with me whenever I fly. And while I know that the person with me can’t technically “do” anything, being able to dig your fingernails into someone’s arm and squeeze so tight until they lose all feeling is quite calming indeed – well, maybe not for the person who belongs to the arm.
Flying never used to bother me but then I had a really bad experience on a flight and everything changed. Of course watching Air Crash Investigations hasn’t helped either (Yes, I’m a sucker for punishment but hey, you never know what you may learn to save yourself) I hate everything about flying – takeoffs, landings, cruising and of course turbulence has me reaching for that arm! Or my xanax – whichever comes first.
I’m so paranoid about flying, I watch the ‘Track your Flight’ channel like most people would watch a movie! Sometimes when the turbulence is really bad, I rock my body to try and trick my brain into thinking it’s me and not the plane that’s going ape shit! I’m never without my noise cancelling headphones, even if I’m not listening to anything and of course I pray, non stop – so many little things I do to keep me calm on flights. It wouldn’t be so bad if I could sleep on planes but I find it almost impossible – unlike Poss who can nod off before we even take off! It drives me barmy, so I often ‘accidentally’ nudge him awake – a lot! Yeah, that doesn’t go down so well.
Thankfully, this fear still has not stopped me from traveling the world. But when we moved to Dubai, I knew a time would come when I had to travel by myself. Amazingly, I managed to stretch out the inevitable solo trip to a year and a half (It’s all about planning and manipulation) Alas, there was no stretching it out any longer.
So today was the big day and I’m happy to report that I made it in one piece, no arm or xanax required. Ok, there may have been copious amounts of bubbles involved. At least there’s something to look forward to on the return leg!
Diva Does Domestic 