There are many aspects to our lives. There are many individuals we love and who we are responsible for. How do we move through our lives, loving others, and staying true to ourselves. Is it possible to juggle it all?
My aviation journey began almost seven years ago! I can’t believe it!! Time really does fly. It flies even faster when you’re doing things you love. There have been many additions, deletions, and lots of learning along the way.
My progression from flight training, to flyGIRL, to jet pilot has been well-documented. It’s hard to believe that I’m actually getting paid to fly, finally. I’ve really enjoyed sharing what it was like for me to go through training and to begin a new adventure in my mid-forties. My hope all along has been to demonstrate that any dream can be fulfilled, at any point in one’s life. We live in a world that praises youthfulness. After all, the most famous movie stars are not typically going to be over the age of forty, perhaps even younger. Aging is almost shameful and embarrassing. And yet, we will age (if we are lucky enough to live a long life). It is a fact that cannot be changed. Believe me, I fight it every day! I used to wonder why my mother spent so much money on face creams, masks, anti-aging serums. Now, I know. The older I get, the more like her I become. 😂 When you’re in your twenties, thirties, even forties, you may not necessarily see a remarkable decline in your youthfulness. Until one day. You look in the mirror and you say, “Shit, not only am I older, I actually look older! It’s happening!”
Perhaps this change becomes more noticeable as your children start to leave for college and begin their own lives. Maybe you actually start noticing because you have more time to stop and look in a mirror, as you get older! Believe me, young mothers, your children will leave one day. It may seem like it will never happen, but it does. It’s a shock to everything you’ve ever known. Your kids are your world and most of your adult life has either been spent starting a career, or raising a family.
I’d like to say that the whole reason I started flying at age forty-four was because I knew the day was coming when they would be gone. That’s not true. I had been told that it would happen but I didn’t comprehend what that would actually be and feel like. My flying journey mostly began because I was curious to find out if I could actually learn something new, something not at all related to parenting, marriage, or that had to be reliant on anyone other than myself. No one could complete the check ride for me. I didn’t want an activity that would require compromise or negotiation. My life was full of mediating and getting approval from someone else or making sure it wouldn’t be a burden to someone else. My desire was to be in charge of something that was my own. I had that need met with flying. I got to be the PIC, the ultimate decision maker when it came to this one thing. That was reason number one.
Reason number two was that I still had an inclination for adventure. Our family tried as much as possible to make sure our lives had adventure weaved into it. Personal adventure is not the same as family excursions on vacation, or with friends and family. God put a desire in me to have personal goals and excitement. Maybe that is best understood or described through the word independence. This would be my accomplishment. It was hard for me to fulfill personal achievements, mostly because of time constraints. Finding ways to attain some personal success has always been an aspiration and value of mine. There are times in our lives when realizing personal, distinctive goals are more challenging, and times when it’s easier. Timing is everything.
It was less complicated for me at age forty-four than it would’ve been at any time earlier. My children were older. There was more discretionary money for flight lessons. I can’t say that I should’ve started flying sooner because I believe the timing was perfect. I wanted to be available to my younger children as much as possible.
Knowing what I know now, there are all kinds of advice I would offer women, wives, girlfriends, and moms, of all ages! My experience can be helpful to men as well. How great would it be if I could help men understand what their moms, daughters, or wives were going through or feeling?? It feels as though I’ve reached a point in my life, and my career, that I can share insight and lessons learned.
The goal of flyGIRL going forward is to share ways I’ve found to be true to yourself, at any age. We will share how you can stay healthy, face fears, challenge yourself, and live a full, balanced life with contentment and excitement. Most of all, we want you to keep dreaming.