Being blocked by a cold into my own space, surrounded by a cascade of wadded-up kleenex and cough drop wrappers, has done wonders for my patience with this trip. My resources are all directed at not sneezing on people, so most of the zillion irksome things that I re-discover about my family each time I visit just slid by me, as I don't have the energy to care. I got off the plane completely bedraggled, so no one expected much of me and my mom was happy to cancel our immediate trip to grandma's house (phew). For my first two days of travel I could only say a few sentences without breaking into a coughing fit, so no one minded if I didn't have much to add to a conversation. I'm clearly exhausted, so sleeping in is encouraged. My ears are clogged up too, so I can hear little of whatever nonsense my mom and grandma are babbling on about. Sitting quietly with water bottle in one hand and box of kleenex in the other, smiling politely, and nodding when addressed is about all I can muster. This is the perfect way to visit my family. It was so nice to clamber out of the plane to find my parents waiting for me, ready to take care of me.
The Detroit airport reached a new level of suckiness on Sunday by making us wait in line to board the plane, but then delaying boarding time for 45 minutes but still making us stand in line. I guess you could sit on the floor, but since we were in a single-file line in the middle of the hall, between stantions, there was nothing to lean against. However, it is only fair to inform everyone that the Detroit airport is also the only place other than a grocery store I have ever seen bottles of diet ginger ale. That is my all-time favorite travel beverage! The little magazine stand where I found this also had the circus-wagon boxes of animal crackers. Double numma. That was all I had to eat from 8:15 CST and 4:45 EST on Sunday. But with aforementioned cold, it didn't really matter.
