Final Days in Texas

For our final days in Texas, we planned to stay in the Dallas area to see our close family and friends for a quick "see ya later!" I was quite proud of myself for arranging the logistics and managing to squeeze time in with all of our favorite people in north Texas. Of course, things don't always go according to plan...

We drove our rental car into Dallas on a Saturday evening, right after dropping Jeff off at the Houston airport for his return flight to Dubai. We only gave quick hugs and kisses because we would see him in a couple of days. I had booked a hotel room in the Lewisville area because we planned to meet family at my Aunt Tina's home in Corinth the following morning. The hotel I booked turned out to be underwhelming (the kids referred to it as a "dump") but thankfully we were only there to sleep and shower. We arrived at my Aunt's home early Sunday and were thrilled to see many of our Morgan cousins and family. The plan was to just hang out for most of the day and let the cousins play while the adults caught up and visited. Then around 3:00 pm, I was planning to leave with the kids for another visit in Prosper with my closest friends and their families, also in the Dallas area.

We noticed that Connor wasn't acting his normal energetic self, and his mood/energy levels declined throughout the day. He was also complaining of a sore throat and cough, and his coloring didn't look right. We thought he felt a bit warm but nothing overly concerning. But then my Uncle Mackey brought out his old-school mercury thermometer (I didn't realize how much I missed those!) and sure enough, Connor's temp was 101.8. Let me just say -- he did NOT feel that warm! My kids rarely feel warm and their temps never register on digital thermometers. (Odd!) Thank goodness for Uncle Mackey's thermometer, because then we knew Connor was sick and I immediately suspected the flu. I drove him to a nearby urgent care, and sure enough, it was the flu. Noooooooo!

So much for my carefully planned final days in Texas! We had to cancel our plans with friends on Sunday night, and our plans for the remaining days had to be altered a bit. We stayed in Dallas one more day so that we could spend a couple of hours with my sister's family (making sure to keep a good buffer of space between Connor and everyone else!) We had a nice outdoor lunch together and even had a quick hello from Uncle Chris! Then we were surprised with a farewell dessert designed by my sister -- one of the coolest design I've ever seen on a cookie cake! What a fun and special way to spend some time with cousins before our departure.

After our cookie celebration, we decided to go home with my parents for a couple of days to let Connor recuperate a little. Needless to say, we had to postpone our flights to Dubai until Connor was well enough to travel. We were hoping for only a 2-day delay.

What started as a huge disappointment with having a very sick kid and not being able to follow through with our plans turned into somewhat of a blessing in disguise. We had some much-needed extra time with MeMe and Granddaddy, which I wasn't counting on but definitely did my heart good! The kids enjoyed playing games with Granddaddy, Mom and I had some fun mother-daughter time, and the kids even got an early Christmas present -- cash to spend in the form of UAE dirhams!

Connor was fever-free and feeling better by Wednesday, so we asked Jeff's company to rebook our tickets to Dubai for Thursday flying out of DFW airport. We drove to Dallas Wednesday night and stayed close to the airport to make sure we were ready for the flight. It was that night when I think the reality of the move was sinking in for the kids. They were both feeling some jitters and saying, "I can't believe we're moving to Dubai tomorrow!" and "I can't believe we're going on a 15-hour flight tomorrow!"

We left the hotel the following morning and headed straight for the airport. You could feel the nervous energy and excitement in the air. The kids were soaking it all in.

Finally on the plane, the kids were impressed by the amenities offered by the airline. We were flying coach, but Emirates Airlines makes flying coach more than bearable. The endless entertainment, meals/snacks, and other amenities all make the experience so much better. For this particular flight, it was completely FULL, so we didn't have much flexibility or space. But most of the flights usually have quite a few empty seats so you can spread out.

I was anticipating a long but uneventful flight. I was mostly right. The kids did great with the flight, even though neither was able to rest much. They enjoyed the movies and games and even tolerated the meals served (my picky eaters, ugh). Unfortunately, the uneventful part of the flight ended with about 4 hours to go. I was watching a movie when all of a sudden, Connor tapped me and said, "I need a bag!" But before I could grab one, Connor threw up all over his dinner tray. I was still scrambling for a bag and Connor kept throwing up over and over. It was every parent's worst nightmare and then some. That scenario played out again and again for the entire last 4 hours of the flight, with some small breaks in between. It was AWFUL!! Connor felt miserable and just kept getting sick again and again. I felt terrible for him, and I felt even worse for the passenger sitting next to Connor. He deserved some sort of medal for not only enduring the sight/sound/smell of the situation but also for comforting Connor when he was feeling bad.

We couldn't land soon enough. But we finally touched down and made the long trek through the Dubai airport for customs and baggage claim. When we finally reunited with Jeff, we were so happy to see him but still reeling from our flight experience. It still hadn't sunk in that we were in this foreign land that we would now call home.