A was cleared by his doctor to return to flying after the 1st of the year! Three weeks ago I wouldn't have thought it possible, but with the help of some great physical therapists, he's ready to go. So good-bye weekends and days off that we actually want. His first trip is at the end of the week. He's going back as a lineholder too, which is a nice bonus. No more reserve days or relief lines for us- we'll actually get a schedule 3 weeks ahead of time, not 3 days.
I think he's a little nervous about getting back into the plane after so much time off, but I know it will come back as soon as he slips into that seat. He'll have a few chart revisions to wade through before he can even get into the cockpit though. A is seriously the most random accident prone person I have ever known. I give it a few months before it's something else. And I say that with love, I really do.
Now that I've finally gotten used to A being home and we've settled into a routine, it's going to be hard to give it up again. It's so easy to be able to pawn off chores that I hate like vacuuming and grocery shopping onto someone else... And so nice to have someone to roll my eyes at when something crazy happens. A and Kidzilla have spent extended time together since school is out for the holidays and it's been really great for their relationship. And for A to see what it's like for me to spend day after day with Kidzilla with no reprieve. This break has been a learning experience for all of us, mostly in good ways.
Kidzilla and I are also taking to the skies soon; in an attempt to fly cross country solely on A's regional. Barring any weather problems, we'll be touring the country via New Orleans, Austin and Oklahoma City, before our final destination in CA. Once we land, we'll still have a 1.5 hour drive to get where we need to be. It will be a great adventure for us and probably much more fun than the court hearing we have to go out there for (which should be a victory in my favor though). The 5 hour layover in the tiny Austin, TX airport will probably be the least exciting part.
The new year is bringing new opportunities and challenges to us already. We have been working and planning for what this new year will bring and are ready to make the jump. We are expecting another roller-coaster year of changes and ups and downs, this time mainly self-imposed, as we finally get settled in to a new life. The unexpected is what makes life fun right?
Monday, December 31, 2007
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Small victories
Hooray for Christmas, it's almost here! Gifts have been ordered, shopping lists have been made, and it's 80 degrees outside today. Feels like Christmas is on it's way.
We passed our anniversary. 3 years since our first date and 1 year married. It was pretty anticlimatic really since we lack the funds to do anything more than go to dinner. But A promised me that one day I would get my second honeymoon complete with either a heart shaped in room swimming pool or a champagne glass bathtub. If those two super cheesy attractions exist, I must experience them.
A's arm is healing. He went for a follow up apt yesterday and now has to go for some physical therapy. Seems the break was in a bad spot and there is some scar tissue building up that is inhibiting his mobility. Or something like that. He continues to walk around with his arm frozen in a weird Bob Dole like bend. I keep offering him a pen for his hand and he keeps telling me what I can do with said pen... Last night we had a good laugh over whether he could pass off his oddly angled chicken wing as healed and fly again. We're still unsure if he'll be ready to fly by the start of the new year.
A is headed out to ONT to tie up some loose ends he left due to his unexpected month long vacation. So for one night, I get the bed back to myself again. It's been over 2 full weeks since I've had any time alone, without either A or Kidzilla around. These past two weeks have not been without incident as we've worked to assimilate A into our full time lives. One day I caught myself wondering when he was going to leave again already b/c I was getting annoyed with him interfering with some kitchen related activity. It was his 4th day home. Then there was the Christmas Tree Debacle which involved the return of all of our newly purchased tree decorations until we could work things out. I sent him shopping and was unhappy with his choice of toilet paper. I'm sure it's been just as difficult for him trying to get used to the incessent noise of a kid in the house and the lack of restaurant quality dinner selections every evening.
There is a lot of time that I feel really happy with the life I have chosen and feel that it works really well for us- I'm much to independant and headstrong to live with A on a full time basis. He would go crazy having to deal with me all the time. But at the same time, it sure is nice to have him home.
We passed our anniversary. 3 years since our first date and 1 year married. It was pretty anticlimatic really since we lack the funds to do anything more than go to dinner. But A promised me that one day I would get my second honeymoon complete with either a heart shaped in room swimming pool or a champagne glass bathtub. If those two super cheesy attractions exist, I must experience them.
A's arm is healing. He went for a follow up apt yesterday and now has to go for some physical therapy. Seems the break was in a bad spot and there is some scar tissue building up that is inhibiting his mobility. Or something like that. He continues to walk around with his arm frozen in a weird Bob Dole like bend. I keep offering him a pen for his hand and he keeps telling me what I can do with said pen... Last night we had a good laugh over whether he could pass off his oddly angled chicken wing as healed and fly again. We're still unsure if he'll be ready to fly by the start of the new year.
A is headed out to ONT to tie up some loose ends he left due to his unexpected month long vacation. So for one night, I get the bed back to myself again. It's been over 2 full weeks since I've had any time alone, without either A or Kidzilla around. These past two weeks have not been without incident as we've worked to assimilate A into our full time lives. One day I caught myself wondering when he was going to leave again already b/c I was getting annoyed with him interfering with some kitchen related activity. It was his 4th day home. Then there was the Christmas Tree Debacle which involved the return of all of our newly purchased tree decorations until we could work things out. I sent him shopping and was unhappy with his choice of toilet paper. I'm sure it's been just as difficult for him trying to get used to the incessent noise of a kid in the house and the lack of restaurant quality dinner selections every evening.
There is a lot of time that I feel really happy with the life I have chosen and feel that it works really well for us- I'm much to independant and headstrong to live with A on a full time basis. He would go crazy having to deal with me all the time. But at the same time, it sure is nice to have him home.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
How to get out of working the holidays when you have low seniority
Fall while playing with your kid and break your elbow.
Yep, A was outside doing dad things with Kidzilla when he fell and broke his elbow. He saw the specialist today and was given a 4 week reprieve from work. It could have been much worse, this break didn't require pins or an actual cast- just a splint and a sling.
It's a heck of a length to go to to get the holidays off, but it seems to have worked.
Yep, A was outside doing dad things with Kidzilla when he fell and broke his elbow. He saw the specialist today and was given a 4 week reprieve from work. It could have been much worse, this break didn't require pins or an actual cast- just a splint and a sling.
It's a heck of a length to go to to get the holidays off, but it seems to have worked.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
What I give thanks for
Happy Thanksgiving!
For those of us who, like me, who are spending it away from our partners, I feel for you. Hopefully you've found some replacement family or friends to keep you occupied on one of the biggest family holidays. I'll be spending the day with friends, while A spends it on a long overnight in Tucson, AZ.
This year, I'm thankful for a lot of things:
For those of us who, like me, who are spending it away from our partners, I feel for you. Hopefully you've found some replacement family or friends to keep you occupied on one of the biggest family holidays. I'll be spending the day with friends, while A spends it on a long overnight in Tucson, AZ.
This year, I'm thankful for a lot of things:
- My son and his omnipresent love for life and his Mama.
- My husband and his ever tolerant love of me depsite some of my more charming flaws, my compulsion to air our dirty laundry online, and for humoring me about my crush on "the landscaper dad" at Kidzilla's school (affectionally known as "Someday's back-up plan").
- That I was the one who was able to help my husband attain his dream job. Seeing the light in his eyes when he talks about flying and knowing the gratitude he feels to me for all of the encouragement and sacrifice makes it all worth it.
- That my parents are alive, healthy and live on the other side of the U.S. from us.
- That we have shelter and food, b/c there have been times that I felt like we were on the verge of losing one or the other.
- For all my friends (virtual and real life) who have helped me through the last few years of my life by giving me encouragement and/or advice, lending an ear and sometimes just saying "I hear ya Sister".
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
All about time
been meaning to write this for a while, but have been super busy at work, my prime writing time, and compulsively watching Sex and the City series DVD's at home
Sometimes I feel like our life is ruled by time. It's an all encompassing master. And sometimes the master orders me and A to be on different times. Which can be hard to reconcile.
We live in different time zones. 4 hours apart. When I want to call him, I have to stop and think about how early it is there (b/c hey, despite what crew scheduling thinks, no one appreciates a 4am call). When he gets in from his last flight, he has to stop and think what time it is here before he calls to tell me he's done and safe. He spends most of his time in the Pacific and Mountain time zones here, which makes it easy for him to adjust when he's flying on trips and is in a different place every night. It makes it hard though, when he comes home to the east coast. He wants me to stay up with him, but I'm tired and have to work in the morning. I want him to wake up and go to breakfast on Saturday, but it's 3 hours earlier than he is used to. It has caused a lot of arguments for us, but once I stopped taking his tiredness personally, it's getting better.
I have no idea what A does with his time. Sometimes he doesn't know either. I know what I would LIKE him to be doing with his time (mostly paying bills, looking for a new crashpad or base trade, doing his prm's and finding new routes home), but I can only make suggestions. It frustrates me when I hear that he and the CA went out and did XYZ, but that he hasn't had time to do what I asked him to take care of. From here, it SEEMS like he has plenty of time to be taking care of small thing while he's on the road. I can't say that time management has ever been his strong point though, that's always been relegated to me. But we're working on it.
A gets a lot more days off than I do. It's hard not to be jealous. When he's home from a trip, he wants to be off duty, with no responsibilities. BUT when he's home, I want help with MY responsibilities. It's a fine line to walk. Is it fair for him to not have to do anything because he's "off"? I don't ever get a chance to be off, especially not for a few days weekly. I consider his time away from us as his time off from having childcare and housekeeping responsibilities. So when he comes home, he's on again. Because that's when I MIGHT get my time off. It is frustrating to no end to have things that I need/want him to take care of on his days off and have him not do it. Some girlfriend long ago must have told him that his helplessness was cute, but it just doesn't fly with me.
Spending time apart doesn't faze us much. Today A is starting another 4 day trip. He didn't have enough time to come home after his last one (damn CAL employees hogging all the seats on their own flights!) so he's in the middle of a 11 day stretch gone. I'm looking forward to having him home again next week, but all the same, it's not that big of a deal to me. I was commended this morning (by A) for the feigned enthusiasm in my voice telling him how much I missed him. "Why of course I miss you baby, I'm counting the minutes until you are home again!". It's disappointing to have 4 days off work and not be able to spend them with him, but missing the actually holiday isn't that big of a deal.
In less than 2 weeks is our anniversary- 3 years together and 1 year married. The time is flying and I can't believe everything we've been through. It's hard to say which was harder, year #2- when we moved to FL and tackled school and instructing or year #3 when we took on getting hired, training and early life with a regional. Both have had their challenges but also their sweet moments as well. Hopefully the next year will being many more good times.
Sometimes I feel like our life is ruled by time. It's an all encompassing master. And sometimes the master orders me and A to be on different times. Which can be hard to reconcile.
We live in different time zones. 4 hours apart. When I want to call him, I have to stop and think about how early it is there (b/c hey, despite what crew scheduling thinks, no one appreciates a 4am call). When he gets in from his last flight, he has to stop and think what time it is here before he calls to tell me he's done and safe. He spends most of his time in the Pacific and Mountain time zones here, which makes it easy for him to adjust when he's flying on trips and is in a different place every night. It makes it hard though, when he comes home to the east coast. He wants me to stay up with him, but I'm tired and have to work in the morning. I want him to wake up and go to breakfast on Saturday, but it's 3 hours earlier than he is used to. It has caused a lot of arguments for us, but once I stopped taking his tiredness personally, it's getting better.
I have no idea what A does with his time. Sometimes he doesn't know either. I know what I would LIKE him to be doing with his time (mostly paying bills, looking for a new crashpad or base trade, doing his prm's and finding new routes home), but I can only make suggestions. It frustrates me when I hear that he and the CA went out and did XYZ, but that he hasn't had time to do what I asked him to take care of. From here, it SEEMS like he has plenty of time to be taking care of small thing while he's on the road. I can't say that time management has ever been his strong point though, that's always been relegated to me. But we're working on it.
A gets a lot more days off than I do. It's hard not to be jealous. When he's home from a trip, he wants to be off duty, with no responsibilities. BUT when he's home, I want help with MY responsibilities. It's a fine line to walk. Is it fair for him to not have to do anything because he's "off"? I don't ever get a chance to be off, especially not for a few days weekly. I consider his time away from us as his time off from having childcare and housekeeping responsibilities. So when he comes home, he's on again. Because that's when I MIGHT get my time off. It is frustrating to no end to have things that I need/want him to take care of on his days off and have him not do it. Some girlfriend long ago must have told him that his helplessness was cute, but it just doesn't fly with me.
Spending time apart doesn't faze us much. Today A is starting another 4 day trip. He didn't have enough time to come home after his last one (damn CAL employees hogging all the seats on their own flights!) so he's in the middle of a 11 day stretch gone. I'm looking forward to having him home again next week, but all the same, it's not that big of a deal to me. I was commended this morning (by A) for the feigned enthusiasm in my voice telling him how much I missed him. "Why of course I miss you baby, I'm counting the minutes until you are home again!". It's disappointing to have 4 days off work and not be able to spend them with him, but missing the actually holiday isn't that big of a deal.
In less than 2 weeks is our anniversary- 3 years together and 1 year married. The time is flying and I can't believe everything we've been through. It's hard to say which was harder, year #2- when we moved to FL and tackled school and instructing or year #3 when we took on getting hired, training and early life with a regional. Both have had their challenges but also their sweet moments as well. Hopefully the next year will being many more good times.
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