I have this thing for posting what’s current & in the immediate now… so usually when I miss something that’s happened, even by a week or a couple days, I just skip. But I’m gonna back track for a change...as my friend Anj recently said “change is good”).
My flight was definitely eventful, so I’ll mention moments most noteworthy.
The most noteworthy part being that I flew the same day I booked & bought my ticket (talk about last minute) which was a miracle in itself—I’ve honestly never done that in my life.
For months I’d been preparing (22 months in prayer, knowledge, mental preparation—2 & a half months raising funds for my trip/ticketing etc.) for a family reunion on my Mom’s side that was to take place from the 26th to the 28th of September this year. Until the same day I flew out (2 days before the reunion—there’s that number again) I was banking on a donated ticket by a helpful chap who had helped bring about 3 donated tickets for our other volunteers earlier this year.
When I found out that from his side I wouldn’t be able to make the free flight the same week of the reunion, I immediately went & bought another ticket, which my solicited donations in the past 2 months just “happened” to cover.. Ha!--Another miracle. 3rd miracle was that originally there was no flight with the same airline from Abuja to Lagos for that day & I would’ve had to buy yet another flight with a different airline & paid yet another transfer fee for a taxi between domestic & international airports in Lagos. But there was a little 1 hour margin of time when I went back to the house to pick up the rest of the money to pay for my flight, and in that time, an economy class seat cleared on the 4:00 flight for the same airline that would connect me for free to the other airport & with which I’d fly to London (Virgin Atlantic).
My flight was uneventful for the most part. But then again-- …..There’s just something about the safety procedures before every international flight that are just so routine, but at the same time, I make a conscious effort to tune in each & every time. I will not even get into quoting all the safety regulations, as my fingers won’t allow..but basically a quick run-down on the seat belt, oxygen mask & in-seat button uses…then on to a little run-down of where the emergency exits are, as well as how to use them and the emergency slides, and how to adopt the brace position in case of a crash landing. Then a little more about how we can’t use any electronic…ok, you know the rest.
Back to my story.
I was glad that I was able to fully absorb for about the 120th time the repeated safety procedures before the flight, but when we hit a 10 minute turbulence so hard that I would’ve left my seat had my seatbelt been on (to put this in perspective, just imagine yourself on a night flight rocking & reeling about 8,000 feet in the air—pretty scary), I was sure glad that I had prayed a serious prayer for the whole flight, the pilot, every part of the plane claiming the keys & the help of any & all travel angels I knew. Wow! Came in handy!
Anyway, we made it in one piece…which was the good news..I landed at Gatwick by 6 in the morning, met up with my Mom & them by 10 & connected by bus to Breda (Holland) with Eurolines by 8 that evening after a quick jog in Kennington Park, a nap, and a haircut...
and that's the full run-down...
Reunion post next..stay tuned...
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