The Big PCS Part 4 - Another Ocean Away

For the rest of the story: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

We had a wonderful week in my hometown after the Man was finished with his training. It was a VERY busy one, but so great to have our family all together again. It went by quickly and then it was time to start the next phase of our big PCS, and get ourselves across another ocean and into Europe.

We were SO happy to have the chance to stop and visit my brother and his wife for a few days on our way. That's them in the picture above. Aren't they cute? It was so nice to see them and the kids had so much fun with their aunt and uncle. They were probably relieved to see us go (they live in a one bedroom apartment that normally houses two people, and then we came along adding five more people, three large suitcases, three large carseats, a pack n' play, and five carry-on bags to the poor college student living space), but I think they were glad they got to meet the Aegi for the first time, and see the Girl and the Boy, who've both grown a lot since they last met. We are so thankful for the time we were able to spend with them.

After spending a few days there, it was time.

The dreaded time.

Time for the Man and I to drag ourselves, our kids and all of our luggage into a taxi, through an airport, find some relief after dropping off the horrendous load at the baggage check, continue on to our gate stopping to fill empty tummies and making several potty trips along the way, all the while having the anxiety of getting on the plane and traveling over the ocean for several hours building inside of me.

That's the dreaded part - being on a plane for so long. I always dread it, even though I'm so grateful that we have that convenience, and even though I'm excited for the adventures that are ahead, I always dread those flights. And I really can't complain. The kids are really good. They put up with a lot from us -dragging them through several time zones in less then a week, and living out of suitcases for months at a time and all. So, like I said, I can't complain, but oh how I loathe those flights.

Here's a summary of our flight to Germany.

After dropping off our luggage, we went to a sandwich place in the airport to get some dinner. While we were eating I took the Girl to the bathroom, which seemed to be about a mile away. We came back and were finishing our dinner when, out of nowhere, the Aegi threw-up his dinner. I figured he must have just downed his juice too fast or something because he wasn't acting sick at all. Nevertheless, the situation required a change of clothes, so I changed him into the only change of clothes I had brought for him, thinking to myself that I had hoped that these would not have to be used before at least half-way through the flight, certainly not before we even got on the plane.

Moving on, we went to our gate, and the Man took the Boy to the bathroom while we waited to board. I was suddenly feeling very sick to my stomach for some reason, and the Aegi had decided it was time to train for a marathon - a sprinted one.

At last, it was time to board the plane. I'm always relieved when the things I dread the most begin, because I just want to get them over with. Thankfully, my stomach was feeling better and they let us board early, so we got on and got settled and waited for the plane to take off.

A short time later the plane took off. Less than five minutes into the flight, the plane was still climbing and the seat-belt light was still on, and the Aegi threw-up. Again. All over the only clean clothes he had left. I'll spare you the details.

Jumping ahead to several hours later, the Aegi had fallen asleep (I was so glad about that). He woke up, had a few sips of water and threw-up again. I just wanted so much to have our feet on the ground again. Luckily, by this time we were almost there. The flight attendants brought out breakfast, and the Aegi really wanted to eat. I didn't want him to because I knew he'd probably throw-up again. But I ended up giving him a little bit of bread and a little bit to drink.

Finally,  it was time to land. I was so happy to have finally made it to this point in our journey, and thinking that maybe the Aegi had just eaten something that made him sick and he'd gotten it all out of his system. And then, he threw-up. He didn't get any clothes dirty this time (we had stripped him down to just his diaper after that first time after the plane took-off.)

Fortunately, the Boy hadn't needed his change of clothes, so we put them on the Aegi before getting off the plane. We found our way to baggage claim, claimed our load, and then went to talk to the Army guy that looked like he would tell us how we were supposed to get to the base. Turned out, we would be taking a bus in a couple of hours. At that point, a couple of hours sounded like an eternity.

The 'couple of hours' turned into more like four or five hours, but we finally got on the bus, and made it to the base, and part 4 of our big PCS was DONE!

Now we are in the final phase of our PCS, and then we will be done PCSing for a long while.

Halleluiah.