Sandy Supposes....

Claustrophobia

Prompt: War Chest Wednesday! Write about your fears...Fears that you have overcome , and fears which still exist within you.

          Well, I just so happen to have an inexplicable fear, or more accurately, a phobia has me. Thank goodness I've rarely encountered and embattled my fear. For the most part I carry on and ignore it, but it is always waiting for an opportunity to re-surface and exert control . It's a stalker/lurker up to no good. When it first announced its insidious presence, I was Immobilized by heart palpitations, perspiration, and queasiness . I was completely gobsmacked and unprepared.

         Hubby and I had spontaneously decided to cruise the Trent - Severn Waterway in Ontario, Canada by boat. Travelling on water didn't faze me although it was a new experience. I found the system of locks that linked several waterways fascinating. Even the much larger floating luxury ships weren't intimidating. The fact that this entire water route was built long before the advent of heavy machinery and computers is mind-boggling . I liken it to a water elevator; you rise and sink on varying water levels. We also caught a lift on the Big Chute Railway....I know water, boats, and a railroad?

          For the entire voyage I feared nothing, but then we docked for the night. Obviously I hadn't put any thought into where we would be sleeping. My experience/background is one of camping on dry land. My new fear kicked in when I surveyed the teeny tiny cutty; a cute label for a crawl space. Rolling over would have been difficult and painful. I also considered lying down feet - first in the cubby hole, er, I mean the cutty. Nope, I just could not relax in that squeeze of a space, so hubby slept alone.

         After my dithering and refusal, a tremendous thunderstorm rolled in with booming thunder, flashing lightning, and pummeling rain. I was conscious of all of this because I elected to sleep on the boat's deck under a vinyl canopy. No, the storm was not my fear. Inexplicably, I had experienced/contracted claustrophobia. The sense of dread was intense. It's not as if I'd ever been buried alive, or locked in a cramped closet. Apparently, when I announce that I need my space, I really mean it.

         Strangely, sitting in squished airplane seating hurtling through the sky at both elevated height and speed doesn't qualify as claustrophobia..