As a young teenager, I learned to whistle blades of grass as Blue Angels flew overhead. I paid more attention to the grass than the flying machines. A few years later I walked into an airport for the first time. I then flew alone all the way to Europe where I spent the best time of my life caring for two young children and bonding with my cousin and his in-laws.
Relationships and culture were explored and devoured that summer in France, thanks to a loving opportunity and the scientific delight of air travel. The trip simply blew my mind in so many ways, for which I am eternally changed and grateful. Seeing the world from a new angle, such as from an airplane, had so wonderfully altered my world that I wanted more. I dreamed of flight.
I later found myself taking flying lessons at a community college. My body wanted to stay on the ground, yet my heart simply wanted to soar. My flight instructor was 18 and loved stunts, so I was both terrified and thrilled to get off the ground each week.
While my heart was far above the earth, I saw a different angle of life back on the ground. I was the only woman in my flight classes, the only one without any flight experience, and radio controllers NOT ONCE responded to my radio communications. (If you'd like to learn more about this topic, my book club enjoyed The All-Girl Filling Station... or connect with Female WWII Pilots research.)
When the wet dark autumn arrived that year, my flight lessons were paused. Indefinitely. Life again filled with other awesome adventures. Opportunities were taken to fly as a passenger here and there. Once my children arrived, my desire to literally lift off into the sky was put aside. With my children I now learn to embrace flight in new ways. I take flight with my feet upon Mother Earth, my arms around my precious children, and my heart soaring high. Together we whistle with grass, watch clouds, talk with birds, and count our abundant blessings.
Relationships and culture were explored and devoured that summer in France, thanks to a loving opportunity and the scientific delight of air travel. The trip simply blew my mind in so many ways, for which I am eternally changed and grateful. Seeing the world from a new angle, such as from an airplane, had so wonderfully altered my world that I wanted more. I dreamed of flight.
I later found myself taking flying lessons at a community college. My body wanted to stay on the ground, yet my heart simply wanted to soar. My flight instructor was 18 and loved stunts, so I was both terrified and thrilled to get off the ground each week.
While my heart was far above the earth, I saw a different angle of life back on the ground. I was the only woman in my flight classes, the only one without any flight experience, and radio controllers NOT ONCE responded to my radio communications. (If you'd like to learn more about this topic, my book club enjoyed The All-Girl Filling Station... or connect with Female WWII Pilots research.)
When the wet dark autumn arrived that year, my flight lessons were paused. Indefinitely. Life again filled with other awesome adventures. Opportunities were taken to fly as a passenger here and there. Once my children arrived, my desire to literally lift off into the sky was put aside. With my children I now learn to embrace flight in new ways. I take flight with my feet upon Mother Earth, my arms around my precious children, and my heart soaring high. Together we whistle with grass, watch clouds, talk with birds, and count our abundant blessings.
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