Reflection on Day 1- Travel Day

It started early and lasted a long time. No I mean a really long time as in it's still going on. The GPS which is mounted in the back of the seat in front of me, says we are 5565 miles before we land in Beijing. It also tells us it is -56F outside; I actually think the reason they would show us this "factoid" to us is it keeps everyone onboard on their best behavior. It's too cold outside to jump so we will remain in our airline "infant car seats" and do try and find that one elusive position I know will make the 15 hr sitting marathon doable. This is such a minor inconvenience compared to living the rest of your formative years in an orphanage, it is beyond silly. To quote my favorite preacher "God is about to bless my socks off " and I'm much too selfish to want to miss a blessing. As my Grandfather Na use to tell me as a kid when I would ride with him to Pawley's Island; when I would ask over and over and over again the proverbially question, "how much longer???" No matter if it was the first time I asked (Sptbg city limits) or the 50 time (probably Newberry), his answer was always the same; "As the monkey said when he got his tail caught in the fan, 'it won't be as long as it has been' ". I can remember laughing every single time and not knowing what in the world it meant. It obviously worked for both of us 40 years ago and it's what i'm telling myself today. T-minus 3 days till I get to see my new princess for the first time. I miss my Granddad. He loved children and his living it out for me to witness and experience personally, is why I do also.

I use to think when someone referred to a long hard day as "having a day and a half" it was long and hard but it was still a 24 hour time period. I'm wrong again, as we are flying backwards around the world, this day is shaping up to be about a  36 hour one. Thank goodness Kat is with me on this "Amazing Race" and all of us who know and love her know why she is the most excellent math teacher and teaching the Solar System was never a consideration in her career options.

To say we got the last seats on the fight today really has a double meaning. I feel certain by the seats we were assigned we had to be the last two to make a reservation.
In addition, our seats are so far back, first class folks have no clue we are even here. When we took off it took about 12 seconds for us to catch up. No joke, when we hit turbulance the on-board music system I'm listening to skips before I feel the bump! It's a great warning system, it gives me a second to know it's coming.

It has been a glorious, long, wonderful day and I think I'm going to try and take a nap now. As I sign off with 4787 miles to go before landing, the tempature over Greenland is currently  -61F at 32,999 ft. Who said science isn't fun!

From two of the most blessed people you will ever meet, we love you all,

David

Ps: quote of the day comes shortly after I make Kat look out the airplane window to see the Statue of Liberty upon final landing approach on a very windy day - "don't make me look again. When all those plastic pieces outside the plane are bouncing up and down it reminds me of a "Barbie Plane".
There may not be a quote of the day everyday but that was too good. It may actually hold us for a week or so..