Don't Know Where to Start!

So many stories to tell about my trip to California that I hardly know where to begin. I think I'll start at the beginning and add to it as time permits.

The flight out with the children was not without problems. We were delayed an hour-and-a-half at our connecting flight in Denver, due to weather. We left the gate on time, but because of microbursts in the vicinity, spent the delay time in line on the runway. The seat belt lights were lit. Toward the end of the delay, Robin told me that she had to go to the bathroom and couldn't wait. I flagged down an attendant who talked to the cabin. The seat belt light went off and we were instructed that we could use the restrooms, but to do so quickly. Robin went in and didn't come out! I got concerned. Went to check on her once. She said she was "still going". The seat belt lights came on again and we were instructed to return to our seats. The attendant informed the captain that we still had "one in the restroom". A few minutes later, I left my seat (with the approval of the attendant who had noted that Robin hadn't locked the door). I said, "Robin, you have to come out NOW. They are holding up the whole flight for you!" I opened the door. By this time, she was washing her hands. I'm wondering if the attendant thought Robin was just playing...but the truth is that she'd had diarrhea and understood that she couldn't rush that job! Finally, we took off.

Then, on our approach to San Francisco, things started exploding in my head. Literally. I had pain that appeared suddenly...at the base of my skull, in my right temple, over my eyes...serious pain, from the sudden onset and waves of nausea, that reminded me of the ruptured brain aneurysm deal. I was scared to death. Thought I was having a stroke or another aneurysm or something. At that point, even the flight attendants were strapped in their seats so there was nothing anyone could have done for me. It was my worst nightmare, although I didn't say anything to anyone. I just kept praying that it would go away. I kept testing my ability to talk and move my arms and legs. By the time we actually landed, I was better but not good. I just wanted to get the children to their mother so that if I fell apart, they would be taken care of.

Megan and Denis were to greet us in the baggage claim area...in fact HAD been at the airport for almost the entire duration of our flight from Denver. It seems that the Internet had indicated that we had taken off on time. (Well...we left the gate on time, but spent the delay on the runway.) I can't think of anything more boring than waiting 3-4 hours for a delayed flight! I couldn't call to tell them because we were in the no-cell-phone phase of the trip. When the children and I got to the baggage claim, Denis and Megan were nowhere to be found. Apparently they had gone to the elevators to intercept us but we had somehow gotten by them. I called on the cell phone and they walked back. Happy reunion! (No tears this time.) All we had to do now was pick up the luggage and drive the 45 minutes/1 hour back to Sunnyvale, have supper and go to bed...right?

Wrong! The luggage carousel wasn't working. We waited and waited and waited for the bags to come around. Eventually, it was announced that there was luggage jammed in the works and they were making efforts to free it. All in all, that produced another 1 1/2 hour delay. In the process, Megan made a mistake: she introduced the children to a game on her iPhone to keep them entertained. For the entire rest of the trip, both Megan and Denis's phone games became big deals! FINALLY, the bags came around and we departed for Sunnyvale for a VERY late supper and bed. (Understand that we had no time to eat in Denver. Thank God I had packed a LOT of snacks for the trip!) It was easily 3:30 AM, Indiana time, when we finally put our heads down.

That night, the pain in my head abated but never really got back to normal. By the next day, I was perfectly okay. To this day, I don't know if the problem was with sinuses and cabin pressure or what. I had no pain on the flights back. (Believe me, I was worried about it!)