Near Death And Other Strange Experiences

It's been more than a week since my last post. I was in Detroit, visiting family. It should have been fun but honestly, from start to finish (and through no fault of any specific relative) it truly sucked.
Let's start off by saying that I had not been sick one day in 2009 and then my immune system finally cracked on Christmas eve. First the voice started going and I figured it was the typical start to an ordinary cold. I had the chills but no fever so I sucked it up and went through the Christmas festivities at my mother-in-law's house, even though all I wanted to do was curl up in a ball and drift into a blissful coma. That would have been nice.
The day after Christmas, fully minus a voice, I boarded a plane with my daughter for what we both thought would be a short, uneventful flight to Motown. However, thanks to some crackpot who flew out of Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas, life as an airline passenger took yet another crazy turn. Our flight was supposed to leave Baltimore at 7:55p.m. and land at 9:45. There was some delay with our plane in Tampa and we ended leaving at 11:15. By the time we landed, retrieved luggage, got the rental car and arrived at my brother's house it was almost three in the morning. This was not an added bonus to my physical well-being.
It quickly turned into Tamara's multi-colored mucus tour featuring a strep and sinus infection, and not one, but two, antibiotics and a variety of other pills, ear drops, and eye drops. By mid-week, my family was only semi-kidding when they referred to me as Typhoid Mary.
The good news is that I'm a quasi-germaphobe and thanks to regular hand-washing and keeping my distance from everyone, not one family member was infected (okay, one niece had a 24 viral mishap, but I'm certain it had nothing to do with me).
I'll spare you the boring details but most of the week was spent with me wrapped in a blanket, watching t.v. I did manage to venture out a few times once the drugs kicked in, and met up with old friends from high school and college. New Year's Eve, however, all I could manage was a festive evening on the couch, with my brother's German Shepard puppy by my side.
We left Detroit yesterday afternoon, and yes, the extra security presence was in full swing. TSA workers even stopped passengers who were standing in line ready to board our plane to do a double check to see if their I.D.'s matched their boarding passes.
But that wasn't even close to being the scary part of the voyage. It was a fairly uneventful flight, until it was time to land. We were making our initial descent and then we were heading back up in the air! The pilot came on the intercom to inform us we were in the midst of a wind shear warning and we'd have to take another angle into the airport. It was more than just bumpy, it was nausea inducing. I was in the aisle seat, my daughter by the window, and an elderly woman stuck in the middle between us. The old lady, looking like she was ready to poop herself, kept asking me what was happening.
"They're dealing with some very windy conditions and probably have to wait till they're cleared for landing," I said. "I'm sure everything's fine. This is pretty routine."
Really? Was it? How the hell would I have known. The last thing I needed, though, was an hysterical lady getting my child upset. When I peered over, however, the child was sleeping.
Obviously, we landed safely. We all clapped and cheered once the pilot had us on the ground.
Next year, I'm going someplace warm for the holidays...and I'll be driving.