I was about as stressed out about this trip back home as any. Flying really doesn't bother me because I can sleep pretty much anywhere. My son is old enough to be pretty responsible, my wife needs someone to keep a check on her, and the flights were mapped out. I really just hate packing and the airlines continue to restrict what and how much of what we can bring onto an airplane.
Not having a car to get to Nashville, we rent. Magically we got a good deal and it cost us $18 in gas to get to Nashville from Murray, Kentucky.
We had 8 GIANT suitcases between the 4 of us and a lot of carry on items. I still had my Medical Bracelet on and an IV line in my arm because I needed to do some therapy work during our layover in London once we got there.
As we get to the baggage check in at Nashville it is all going smoothly til one of our bags is 0.5 lbs overweight and the lady asks us to take some things out of it. We knew that we were only allowed 4 bags total and that we had 8 (so we were going to pay like crazy) but a 9th bag would set me over the line! While she is checking us in she informs us that my 7 year old son is not allowed to fly because he is an America and Citizen and not a Cyprus Citizen and there is no proof that he is the son of my wife or myself (except we all have the same last name, his birth certificate, etc...). My wife begins yelling at her, not helping the situation, so I actually had to get really REALLY straight with my wife and tell her to leave and go stand "over there".
After it was all said in done the woman had checked me in "medically", advised me that there could be trouble getting my son into Cyprus and that he may be deported back to The USA, she did not charge a single cent for a single bag and labeled the HEAVY bag as "medical equipment" and wished us on our way. My wife apologized.
We went right through security and I'm guessing I was now "flagged" as they tried to get me through as quickly as possible. If you ever meet me in person, ask me about everything that somehow just flew through customs! Here is not the place!
Flight from Nashville to Chicago goes smooth and I even get about a 20 minute nap maybe. We did have to rush because our next flight was only 45 minutes later but as we got off the plane the agent said that the next terminal was a 20 minute walk "but don't worry". As we ran there, we saw that our flight had been delayed by 8 hours! So we set up shop, got some free food coupons (enough to barely buy a couple of apples in Chicago) and sat down. I moved over to the floor and began setting up my IV line to run my meds while I got a lot of looks from people around me.
Meanwhile my son had met a boy from China that did not speak English but DID have his own iPad. Those two played for 2 hours in the floor while I ran my meds.
I'm also pretty sure I saw that guy from the video that is messed up on 20 kinds of drugs talking about love...maaaan...
Then they moved us again to another terminal...and off we go...to wait 2 more hours.
And then off to London! We get off the plane and we were told that we would have to run as there would only be about 90 minutes between flights only for people to meet us outside of our gate to hand us transfer tickets, to another airline and another 8 hour layover. I did not even attempt to head to the terminal as there were long padded chairs RIGHT THERE so I just laid down and slept for 4 hours straight. I woke up and my son had covered me with his blanket.
Off to check in, because we didn't have seats, only to find out that my wife didn't have a seat on the plane! The guy at the airline wasn't happy for a few reasons:
1) My wife isn't friendly
2) We were a transfer from another airline
3) We had 8 bags, 8 BAGS!!!!!
4) He just wanted to chill man....
In the end he got all of us on the plane, seated next to each other, and then quietly told me that our bags "should" arrive in Cyprus but he wasn't for sure or not.
It wasn't the most pleasant 4.5 hour flight I've been on...
Landed in Cyprus...HOT CYPRUS! Got to Customs and my wife asked the agent about my son's passport and immediately he say "OF COURSE IS IS CYPRIOT! WELCOME HOME STEPHANOS!" We all smiled!
...til we saw that not a single piece of our luggage arrived. So it took us an extra 18 hours to get home and we had no luggage and we had made special travel plans to have vehicles to handle all of our luggage.
My father in law drove us home, we dropped our thins off at our empty house and then went to visit my mother in law as it was 0630 and she was getting ready for work. Chino, my dog, had been living with them for the last 12 weeks and was now TOTALLY SPOILED and although he was happy to see my wife and son he went into panic mode and peed everywhere when he saw me. After a few minutes of using their wi-fi (our home internet and cell phones were cut off) we headed back home to attempt some sleep.
Hotter than a...(insert anything burning hot) in Cyprus we slept for a few hours and then we decided on what we had to do...
This IS our life, like it or not to The Rest of The World and it is the life that keeps me sane. I get to be alone with only my family, in my own house, in my own gym, and on the beach doing ONLY what we want to do. And just like that...all of the stress was washed away.
Time to get back to the gym.