Flight home back to Cincinnati

Morning after the party, I woke up around 9:00 to pack and get ready to leave for the airport.  After my experience leaving Cincinnati and missing the flight, there was no way I was going to miss this flight home.  I was happy to be able to see my family and friends and sleep in my own bed, but damn was I going to miss New York City and the people in Team Lachey.  I tried to eat a small breakfast before getting on the van to take us to the Newark Airport.  There were 9 of us flying out of that airport.  This was the only crappy part about the trip.  All 20 of the choirmembers weren’t on the same flight back home to Cincinnati.  We were split onto 3 flights.  It would’ve been nice to be on the same plane and be able to say goodbye.  Then again, that would’ve been harder to say goodbye to everyone.  I was nervous to get on the plane back to Cinci.  Partly because I knew I was going to get emotional when we would land in Cinci.  Also because I hate flying.  A big thank you to Jordan, one of the guys in the choir.  He sat next to me on the flight back, and we talked the entire time.  The only time we weren’t talking is when John Scott (another choir guy) would give us his earbuds to his iPod to listen to a gospel song.  Jordan made that flight work for me.  We talked and talked about stuff back home, but mostly talked about the experience.  The main theme was how this experience was meant to be.  Everything worked out for a reason.  It all felt right.  I gained 19 new family members.  I couldn’t have scripted it any better. So we land in Cincinnati, head down the steps of the puddle jumper plane, onto a bus, back to the terminal, where we find the newsstand store.  I wanted to see if we were in the paper, and sure enough we were.  TOP STORY.  Front page.  Very cool.  I bought a paper then headed with everyone else on a shuttle to take us back to the main terminal.  We walk down the hall from the gate to baggage claim, and as we turn the corner, we start hearing cheers and screaming and TEAM LACHEY TEAM LACHEY.  We had a welcoming party.  There must’ve been 150 people there — many of them people who work at Children’s Hospital.  There were other family members.  Media.  David Pepper (county commissioner for Hamilton County).  I had never had a welcome like that.  I felt like a rock star.  Wait a second, WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS.  I posed for a few pictures, then headed up the escalator to baggage claim.  Got my bags, said my goodbyes to a few of the people, and left.  I knew we would see each other soon.  We had to.  We are family.  We are Team Lachey.