My Sign

Did you know that 8 of the 10 deadliest snakes in the world live in Australia? I didn’t know that until it was time to move here. People loved sharing that tidbit of information with me. About the time I started to really worry about it, the weather began to warm in Clemson. I saw more copperhead snakes that spring/summer than I ever had before. I took it as a sign: Snakes are everywhere…Go have fun in Australia. Do you know (knock on wood), I have yet to see a snake in the wild over here.

In my last blog, I told you that we are headed to Houston. I am still dreading our move, but I got my sign that it is time to move on:

The first sign was my baby girl sobbing when Anna Catherine dropped us off at the airport. She could hardly catch her breath. Yep, it is time to get her back to the states. Not to worry, her tears were dried up when I told the man trying to cut through the security line that he could go on through if he sang me a song. When asked what song, I requested “Lady”. Kenny Rogers then sang us a couple of lines before scooting through security.  This tickled all three of us…not that my children had a clue about Kenny Rogers!

The second sign came after we had already flown 15 hours to Seoul, Korea. We had a short layover before boarding our plane to Brisbane for another 9 ½ hour flight. I did not want to get on another plane and seriously wanted to throw a tantrum, but I managed to control myself.  The three of us sat in a row of four. The fourth passenger in our row was a twelve year old boy from Korea.  We had a long conversation on how he goes to school in Australia and stays with his aunt and uncle. He broke my heart when he talked about missing his mom sometimes. Well into the flight, I woke up to Ellis leaning on my left shoulder and the little boy on my right shoulder. I wanted desperately to move, but decided it was best for them to both sleep. Here is where my sign comes in: Five hours left in the flight, the little Korean boy sat straight up and I knew what was about to happen. I tried to tell him to go to the bathroom, but I was too late. He vomited EVERYWHERE. I believe I almost broke the button as I pressed it to call the flight attendant. I then flailed my arms in the air, yelling as she almost passed our seat. I give kudos to those sweet flight attendants who cleaned up the mess and continually checked on him during the flight. They didn’t just check on him, they rubbed his arm and talked to him in such a sweet way. She was speaking Korean, so I don’t know what she said, but it sounded comforting.  Unfortunately, the plane was full, so there was no switching of seats. Not only did our row reek of vomit, but he continued to do so up until we landed. There was my sign. The last two times that I have flown from the states to Australia, I have been vomited on. It is time to go back to traveling via car.