a "view from the top"

mom & me

i'm not sure what age i was when this picture was taken (maybe 2 or 3?), but it sums up my childhood.

airports.

i spent a lot of time in them.

my first flight, besides in utero (mom worked almost to delivery), was when i was 3 weeks old. didn't they know about rsv??!!??

we have an entire airport family.

that's where my parents met.

all of them;-)

it's a long story.

no, we're not flds polygamists.

no, i'm not adopted.

actually, half of my family is catholic.

that story's for another day.

so my mom flew for united airlines in all of its glory.

36 years by the time she retired.

in the third grade i wore her blue uniform, with the fancy hat.

they show the same uniform in that movie with Gweneth Paltrow about being a flight attendant.

you know the one?

view from the top, that's it!

the hat is the best part.

not b/c of it's classic, chic look.

but b/c Liberace was on mom's flight once, and he signed it on the inside.

she was working first class and he was riding.

true story.

an adventurous type she is.

you'd have to be with her job.

i grew up passing out headphones,

drinking coke, eating honey roasted peanuts & airplane lasagna,

watching movies on projectors, then personal tv's,

collecting the trash.

this doesn't sound very glamorous, but to a 9 yr old it was PURE BLISS!

really, give me a job, and i was in heaven.

that was when you could go up to the cockpit to see the pilots flying the plane.

it really put leo's "i'm the king of the world" speech to shame.

this was even cooler when i knew the pilots.

i remember drilling them about what each of the 2 thousand buttons were used for...

now i'd be gunned down.

i was at home on an airplane.

a room service/hotel connoisseur.

it came with the territory.

cheeseburgers, poolside.

and movies in the room.

i get nervous flying now.

i know, how is that possible???

i watch too much tv, that's how.

unlimited soda refills.

would you like the can?
no more.

getting to the airport 30 min. before departure and getting on.

security took 5 min. on a good day.

15 min. on a bad day.

not needing ID to fly.

wishing i could ride "jump seat."

getting mom's old travel pro roller board when she got the new one.

i used her garment bag to carry a dress with me last year.

as we came on board the steward said, "crew bag, hi! where are you based?"

DREAM COME TRUE.

i was "in" the club.

i smiled and said, "um, actually i'm not, it's my mom's, but she was based in sfo for a long time!"

don't worry, for 1/2 a second i considered answering that question with "dallas" and a smile;-)

sitting in vegas for 8 hours on standby, only to call it quits when the last flight took off without me on it.

there are and airports i've been that i don't even remember going to.

many airports i've been to i have not stepped outside of them.

heathrow, for instance.

i know, such a missed opportunity.

it was foggy.

i remember seeing the fog through the windows at security.

on our way to paris, they lost our luggage for 3 days.

no one cares about your lost bag when you're on standby.

i have flown on airplanes THOUSANDS of times.

really, i'm not exaggerating.

buddy passes.

so fun...at first.

"Rhapsody in Blue" by George Gershwin

it's on my iTunes.

walking down the jet way with the gate agent, hoping to get the last seat out.

getting first class to hawaii.

or denver.

it didn't matter.

the rush of getting a seat.

the exhilaration of first class.

OH first class!!!

warm towels on international flights.

"unaccompanied minor."

oh i LOATHED that red and white striped button/pin.

the wings were rockin' though.

then came the first time i was old enough to FLY ALONE.

the world was at my wings.

knowing ALL of the abbreviations for each major airport in the united states.

passes and getting to sign my name on them.

it made me feel so important:-)

i never appreciated the gift my mother gave me in her profession.

i've traveled the world.

surprisingly, not very much of the USA, but asia and i are tiiiiiiiight.

specifically Thailand and Taiwan.

i have these amazing memories from my childhood.

i'm sure all of my parents could tell you all of the things they did wrong as parents, but when i focus on the amazing parts, my childhood seems pretty flawless.

hopefully brennan will give me the same courtesy;-)

i love you mom.

...

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