It's raining airplanes

Seriously!? Why must this always happen right before I'm scheduled to leave on a long-haul flight? I try not to discuss my fear of flying too much - hoping that maybe if I don't admit it, it won't be so. But, inevitably, panic always begins to set in about a week before my scheduled departures. And that is why things like this do absolutely nothing to help matters! Like my good friend ajd, take-off and the part of the flight immediately following are usually the worst for me. After that, I can sufficiently distract myself. Something tells me that's no longer the case. From now on I will have to be diligently on the look out for any signs of a looming storm so as to warn the flight crew in case the idiot pilots get some cockamamie idea to try and fly through it. Not only that, but the "comforting" thoughts that I put on repeat in my head when feeling a bit of turbulence ("Turbulence is normal, this plane was built to handle stuff like this!") are likely to have little calming effect in the future. I better cross my fingers now for a 100% smooth flight next week, otherwise a mental breakdown is highly likely at the first hint of a rumble. If not for the promise of this on the other side of the Atlantic:

...I might seriously be considering canceling the trip!