Chapter Five: The Big Jump

So, July 22 we departed for England. Our flight was scheduled for 6:00 pm. We spent the morning packing. And it really did take all morning. So we arrive at the Atlanta airport with no trouble. Of course the line to check in was the longest on the terminal. No worries though, Grandma walked the boys around until it was our turn. We checked our six suitcases and two boosters for the car and headed of to our departure gate. I grabbed some last minute fast food to have for dinner because we knew the kids would want to eat before the airplane food came around and because we figured they wouldn't eat the airplane food anyway.
I should have recognized the bad omen when "Mother Nature" showed up on my last minute potty trip. As we got on the plane I looked out the window for the first time in an hour or so and thought to myself Wow, the sky got really dark. And then I got on the plane. Then we were trapped. The flight attendant kept making announcements but he must have thought he was a librarian not a flight attendant, because I could not hear a word he was saying. Something about weather and not being able to take off. Well, we gathered that. The minutes ticked by, then the hours. We missed our connection in Frankfurt before we even left the ground. Three hours later, and yes, all of that was spent sitting on the tarmac, we finally took off. Only nine hours to Frankfurt!
Now, I had prepared myself for the worst for this flight. Don't get me wrong. I love my children dearly, but I do not believe that parents are meant to spend such long periods of time in such confined spaces with their children. If you have spent any time with our youngest, Jake, this may provide some insight as to why I believe this. Long story short, I was pleasantly surprised. Kyle tried the airplane food and may have even liked it. Jake did not eat, but after dinner, they both eventually fell asleep for at least five or six hours. I, on the other hand, slept for maybe 45 minutes. Add sleep deprivation to "Mother Nature" and you're setting up for a really good day. Let's not forget the added stress of moving to a foreign country. But, I was hanging in there. We made it to Frankfurt and figured out our new connections.
Three security stations later, we were at our gate. I think security in Germany was a little over the top. They checked my kids' handheld Leap Frog games for explosives, made me open up my backpack and gave Brandon the pat down! Hopefully the next time we're in Germany, we'll get to stay and see a few things. Frankfurt airport was nice, but it was just like any other airport. Once we got on the plane to London, my night with no sleep was catching up with me. I have almost no recollection of that flight. I vaguely remember taking off, and the only reason I remember landing is because I was jolted when we hit the ground. Never in my life have I fallen so completely asleep on an airplane. I'm glad I did, though. I was going to need the rest for what we had to face upon arriving in London.
Our first problem was, of course, that we were several hours later than anticipated. Second, we had arrived at a different terminal than we had expected. We were not sure if our sponsor had been able to get on the bus or not, but whether he had or not, neither he nor the bus would be at the terminal where we were. We passed through passport control with no difficulty, but hit another bump in the road at baggage claim when all of our suitcases did not arrive. And, naturally, it was the two we needed most that were't there. It turned out not being a problem, however, because we sat around the London airport long enough for them to arrive. We could not get in touch with our sponsor. We had a packet full of incorrect information about transport to the base. And, we were completely turned upside down after a full night of travel and arrival in a foreign country. I wish I had a picture of us with our luggage trolleys in the airport. We must have looked so pitiful. A kind British ex-patriot took pity on us and answered questions and kept us company while we tried to come up with a plan. She was the only thing that kept me from crying (in public, at least). We finally decided to stay the night in a London hotel and try to get hold of our sponsor from there.
This turned out to be a good idea. We finally made contact with our sponsor, got correct information about transport and made our way up to Lakenheath. I was still very dazed by it all, but our sponsor and his family have been amazing. I can't imagine doing this without them. They had so much already ready for us when we got here. And, they're the ones who took us to our first English village, so they are doing their best to get us acclimated.
Well, that pretty well has us caught up. We haven't done much since arriving except look for housing. The house hunt is now finished, more on that next time. Brandon's done lots of in-processing. He passed his motoring test and has been driving a rented left hand drive for a week now. I just passed my test this morning, but have yet to venture out on the road. Kyle will be attending and is already registered for school on base. We thought about using the English schools, but decided against it mostly because of Kyle's need for speech therapy. Base school means one less appointment to take him to. Jake will most likely attend a British nursery school just down the street from our house. I think that does it for the marathon posts. I'll try to keep the next few a little less wordy. Cheers!