Flying across the Atlantic is one of my favorite things to moan and gripe about, so one day last winter, I found myself moaning and griping about it to my dear friend Rosi. I’d just flown to Wisconsin from Jordan by myself, because my husband did not have a visa to enter the US at the time.

I didn’t want to go alone while he stayed in Jordan, but I also felt a near-desperate need to see my family and get a break from Amman, so I went.