Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Fear of Flying

I love aviation, watching planes take off and land, and generally being around aircraft.  Air shows were a staple of our summer weekend, even after the kiddies came along.  I have photos of me exiting a C-130 with Caitlin in her stroller.  Only one thing - I'm terrified of flying.

We had our pre-Rome meeting tonight and I'm sure it's going to be a spiritually enriching, truly enchanting adventure.  Best of all, a priest is flying over with us.  I asked Father to make sure he has a stole in his carry-on luggage.  He didn't pick up on the hint I was dropping.

"Joyce, Father Michael will have vestments I can use once we get over there.  No sense packing what I don't need, especially with baggage fees."

I shook my head.

Later, someone asked Father if we would he say a prayer for us before we leave to have a safe trip.  And then I asked him to bring his stole, in case, God forbid, we don't.

"Ohhhhh!" he said, when he finally got it.

That'd be something .  A priest hearing confessions on an airplane.

6 comments:

  1. You'll be fine! I read that your chances of even being in an airline incident, not even a crash, are something like 1 in over 11 million. Compare that to actually perishing in a car accident which is somewhere around 1 in 5,000. Glad you are getting to go to Rome!

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  2. I hate to say I understand, but I have only 2 emotions on a plane: Are we there yet and get me down from here. : ) I will pray for the Lord to show you how to enjoy the time you'll have in flight. +

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  3. Having confession on a plane!!! LOL!! That cracked me up. Don't worry Joyce. It's really safer than a car. It really is. If you're one of those people that have a physical fear of flying (not just scared but literally shaking and panicing) then there are some relaxants that you could get with a prescription.

    Rome is fabulous by the way. I was there ten years ago, roughly the same weeks you're going. We went three weeks after Sept 11th. We were actually kind of scared to fly because of the 9/11 but we couldn't return our tickets. So we chanced it. ;)

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  4. I have a similar fear, which is of heights. I loathe to be in high places. Oddly enough I don't fear planes, and in fact had applied to flight school before becoming a seminarian. During my many journeys up high buildings while in Europe I had to deal with my fear. I found that faith can alleviate the fear. I kept reminding myself that even if something does happen to me, it simply means that it is my time. It's the basic Christian idea of not fearing death, because it leads us to God. This of course can be tough, but God always provides the grace needed.

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  5. Flying in a larger plane, which you will since it's trans-Atlantic, is like sitting in a big room for a while. The felt motions of flying are minimal. Take off (I find) is quick and easy to weather if you've ever been on a fast amusement park ride. If you lay your head back on the seat rest, it is actually most relaxing. Landing, is slightly bumpy, and the feeling is similar to braking hard in a car, only more drawn out. My biggest difficulty with flying is that I have sensitive ears/sinuses. So I take a sudafed or some other drying agent, to ease the ear pain. I have yet to find anyone that goes through it to the degree I do, though. I think you will find it all quite pleasant! Take. Pictures. lol

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  6. I found out the flight there is 9 hours and the flight back is 10. 8 is the longest I've ever flown. I'm not a panicky flyer, I just secretly suffer in silence. Every noise I can't explain is a potential disaster in my warped mind. The flight to Panama two years ago was horrible. Tons of turbulence and an overly-warm cabin made me wonder if I was going to need a paper bag. I survived, and no one else was the worse for it because I kept it all to myself. Thanks for the advice! Joyce

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