Whoever said you should enjoy the journey must not dislike flying as much as I do. I wouldn’t say it is a fear as much as a general disdain for the entire process. I know it is safer than driving. I have a general understanding of the physics that keeps the plane in the sky. I understand all the science, but it still freaks me out. Basically, flying is a necessary evil to get me to where I want to be.

John loves the window seat and watches take-offs and landings, trying to identify buildings and landmarks. He points things out to me while I sit in the aisle seat, looking forward, saying a prayer, and turning my knuckles white. Once in the air, I calm down unless we hit turbulence, reminding myself that turbulence has never taken a plane down. I sound fun to travel with, huh?

In addition to the flight itself, I don’t enjoy getting to the airport, getting through security, waiting for our flight, and all the other hassle. However, I was getting much more comfortable with the entire process in 2019. We took a trip to China and had four flights within China during that adventure. We also took a trip to CA, which felt like a short flight after our 15-hour flight. I actually enjoyed getting through the airports and relaxed on the flights.

I was learning to go with the flow, enjoy the journey, and then hello, COVID. We canceled a trip we were supposed to take to California and decided to drive to Florida for our Disney World trips.

A few weeks ago, we found ourselves back in an airport for the first time in over two years. We took a flight to visit a college for admitted students day. The school is about a seven-hour car ride, so we decided to try flying there. Honestly, when you add up all the time spent from leaving the house to entering the hotel, it was almost 7 hours. But I’ll save that debate for another day.

It took me a minute to remember how to get through security efficiently, but I did it with minimal issues. The flight was on-time, and all was going well. Unfortunately, it was going too smoothly. It was a stormy night, and the entire flight was so turbulent that it triggered my motion sickness. I was so thankful for a short flight when the plane landed. It was not how I wanted my first flight in two years to go. I was ready to rent a car and drive home.

I am happy to report that the flight home was better. We still had turbulence, but it wasn’t the entire trip. We head out for another flight to California in a few weeks, and I am really hoping for a smoother ride. I want to enjoy the journey when we fly and change my relationship status with flying from “it’s complicated” to “in a relationship.”