Salekhard 406

My 56th birthday included:

Being with Deborah, David, Abigail and Selah.

Being with Bre and Andrew.

Being in Russia.

Staying overnight in Moscow.

Burger King at the airport twice.

Trust me, it was the best option.

Tastiest Burger King I have eaten.

Whopper for lunch,

grilled chicken sandwich for dinner.

Wisdom said skip Cinnabon.

After dinner we walked to the hotel.

It was not far and the evening was beautiful.

I wondered, but wasn’t sure,

and am happy to report-

Moscow gets dark at night!
That was an adjustment,

and dark is a relative term,

but after being in Salekhard 

where the days progressively got longer

and right now there is no sunrise

and there is no sunset for the rest of June,

even a hint of dark at night was different.

We left the hotel at 7 this morning.

We enjoyed an uneventful flight check-in.

Border patrol to leave Russia is serious business.

Security check was thorough.

We had no problems and had time to spare

before boarding our first flight at 8:35.

We stood and watched passengers run past us,

Bre and I agreed, we didn’t want to do that.

Moscow to Munich.

Cloudy again today.

Smooth flight.

Wonderful breakfast-

omelette, bread, cheese, turkey,

yogurt, coffee, tea, water,

and for dessert:

an apple turn over that looked like a cinnamon roll.

We landed at 11:08.

Our seats were about halfway back in the plane.

It takes a little time to de-board a plane.

Our boarding time for Munich- Chicago was 11:30.

We were very close to being runners.

We ended up going through two security checks.

I got frisked/ patted down at both of them.

I caught a glimpse of the image the second time-

I was lit up like a Christmas tree!

I thought the scan was to show metal.

I was confused.

After checking me and my bag,

I was cleared and we were able to board the plane.

As we were waiting for take off

Andrew said it is a thermal scanner-

it shows heat spots.

That made more sense. 

Between quickly taking three flights of stairs up,

hustling down the halls,

walking down the escalator three flights,

being concerned we would be late for boarding,

and being frisked the first time,

I was sweating like a man.

And now we know that in Munich they take security seriously.

I watched the map on the plane-

the one that tracks

where you started,

where you are,

where you are going.

It was all fun and games-

taking pictures of the map,

watching the distance travelled increasing,

taking pictures of the window view:

    Ireland,

    then the ocean below, sky above,

    Canada,

watching the distance to destination decreasing.

Seeing us getting closer and closer to Chicago

which puts us closer and closer to our last leg,

the flight from Chicago to Pittsburgh.

Then we drive from Pittsburgh to Grayson.

When I really looked at the map

and realized how much shorter the trip home would be 

if we could just veer to the south 

and go directly to Pittsburgh 

rather than going halfway across the US to Chicago 

(okay, maybe it is only a third of the way)

then backtracking,

it was a little depressing.

So, I turned the map off.

I drank the orange juice the stewardess offered.

I tried to nap.

My mind started wandering-

trips Bill and I thought about taking

or almost took and it didn’t work out.

Regret started to creep in.

Then thankfulness

for the trips I have been able to take

to visit Deborah and David.

Each of my trips have been about a month.

Bill was very much a part of them,

even though we never made one together.

Figuring out the best time to call him

so we could share what our days had held.

Hungary was the closest we came to flying together-

Bill joined me halfway through my 4 week visit

but since we came at different times,

our return flights were not the same.

But he and Sarah met me at the Chicago airport.

Kyrgyzstan- he couldn’t make that trip at all.

I remembered how excited I was to see him.

Huge Flashback-

arriving at the Chicago airport from Kyrgyzstan,

being met by my husband,

after not seeing him for four weeks,

being held by him.

Driving to Lexington after he went to Salekhard,

meeting him there,

being held after he had been gone three weeks.

I am returning from my first trip to see Deborah and David,

where Bill will not be there to greet me and hold me.

As I sat with my face toward the window,

the tears falling, 

it was comforting to have Bre beside me,

knowing I could grab her hand.

Knowing Andrew was across the aisle.

The flight from Munich to Chicago was bumpy.

Several occurrences of,

“Return to your seats and fasten your seat belts” bumpy.

Thankfully neither physical or emotional turbulence lasts forever.