Let's not fall apart

It was a long flight, a very long flight..

We left for Orlando airport around 9 am. Traffic was cool and we got to the airport in time. Returning the rental car was no big deal. Checking in was a little different this time. Delta Airlines wanted us to use the Self Service check-in, meaning we had to do everything by ourselves. That's okay, if you're not in a hurry and if everything goes by the book. We were first asked to use our credit card to open the computer menu. The card was supposed to stay in the slot during the whole process. We then needed to scan all of the passports in order to be able to print the tickets. This computer we were working on, decided it didn't want to print one of the tickets. It kept spitting out blank forms for Eva. So we tried again.. and again.. until I gave up and asked an attendant to come help me. She couldn't print the tickets either and then the computer gave up as well. So she called another attendant to help out and print the one ticket we were still waiting for. We sighed when we finally got hold of all of our tickets, so we could hand over our luggage and move on to the gate.

We had lunch in the airport (The Outback Steakhouse was phenomenal) before we strolled over to Gate 73, where we had another hour and a half before our plane would start boarding. It was hot and we were thirsty and I got up to go find Starbuck's for another coffee and some soft drinks for the girls. I wanted to use my credit card to pay for the goodies. If I would have had a panic button, I probably would have pushed it right there! My Visa card was in my wallet, but I couldn't find my Master card. Think straight, think straight, was all that crossed my mind. When was the last time I had used my Master card??? I had used it to pay for the rental car, before we went to check in the luggage. Bingo! I had to use my Master card at the self service check-in. I let the process go through my memory and pushed the pause button right there: I used my Master card to print the tickets. When the computer blocked, it didn't give me back my credit card. Shoot.. Darn.. I delivered the coffee, ran over to the Delta customers service and asked for help. The lady present was very helpful. She made a couple of phonecalls and let me know that my credit card had been found. I had to go all the way back through customs to go get it. Orlando airport has a railway system to move around, so I was glad I didn't have to walk all the way back to the check-in point. I had to rush anyway, because there was like half an hour left before boarding. My heart was pounding in my body, but I got there in time. A very helpful assistant was waiting for me to hand over my credit card so I could race back to the gate. That was the intention.. until I saw the crowd waiting in line for customs.. No way I was gonna make it... The place was packed!!! I asked around and people showed me where to go to get into a priority lane. That lane had an X-ray body scan though. That's where they noticed my insulin pump. And they decided they needed to pat me down and perform drug tests on my pump and hands. Hurry up, hurry up! was all I could think of at the time! You have to keep your cool though, to make sure you don't upset security. The rest of the family was waiting for me at gate 73 and I was not prepared to take the next flight! So I put on my shoes while I was running, hopped on that train and made it in time to start boarding. What a relief..

We had a pleasant flight to Atlanta, Georgia and it didn't take long to get the connecting flight home. As I had predicted: I didn't get any sleep on the plane, and neither did the children. Hubby slept for a little while, but not enough to call it a good night. We arrived in Brussels half an hour early, despite the thunderstorms and terrible weather. Due to those weather circumstances, it took us over 45 min to get our luggage. But once we were set to go, we called a cab, picked up our car and drove home..

I hope tonight will be a better night. I hope tomorrow the sun will peep through the clouds. Life will be back to normal pretty soon..