Fly Away

I did it. I had booked a round trip flight to Boise today, a "practice" flight, to prepare my scaredy-ass self for this upcoming flight to Cancun. It wasn't too bad, really. I prepared in every way I could think of - I refreshed a "Fear of Flying" course I had taken about a year ago, I went to a hypnotherapist, I set up a progressive desensitization schedule before the flight and followed it - and I wasn't all that nervous. Until I stood in line at the gate, and almost turned around and came home! I was thinking "this is the dumbest idea I've ever had, what a waste of a day, why would I want to do this by myself, I'm too tired today, blah blah blah" and I remembered something from the book Fearless Flying that I've been reading (oh yeah, add that to the list above!). The author says that as you begin to do the things that cause you anxiety and phobias, your subconscious will try very hard to keep things the same, by causing thoughts such as *see my list*. It's like she wrote the book about me! So I decided to ignore those thoughts and get on the damn plane.

I chose a nice looking lady about my mom's age to sit by. Plus, she was sitting near the front of the plane. Flying Southwest is much easier as a solo passenger because there are plentiful single seats, so boarding just isn't an issue. Anyway, I chose this neighbor, and right away she started chatting with me and asking me about my trip, so I told her,"I have anxiety about flying, and I've been working on that and I'm taking this flight to practice." She chatted with me the whole way there, telling me about her grandchildren and asking about my family, and the time "flew" by (haha). On the way back, I spotted what I thought was two seats next to the aisle with a solo woman by the window so I aimed for that one. Turns out it was a mom and a toddler who I couldn't see, but that was ok too; we talked about our families and our travel plans a little bit and then just settled back and relaxed for the flight. I had waves of anxiety come and go, but they always passed and I regained a comfortable state.

The one hour flight seemed to go quickly, the Boise airport was quiet and relaxing, and I took a few pictures with my point and shoot camera while I waited. I think I like this picture of the cafe area; I like the way the opening in the trashcan frames the people across the room, and the can bisects the frame of the camera.