There are so many sayings about time. Some days it flies by and we feel like we can't breathe, other days it's as slow as a snail and you can't wait for it to end. It has only been since April since the last time I was here, it feels like an eternity.  So much has happened in the last few months that we have been waiting for for what seems like forever, that is why time seems to have slowly crept by. We found out he was finally getting his break at big Delta in January, and then the other shoe fell and we realized they were not going to release him for a while because they were apparently "short-staffed." So as the months slowly past and he kept being delayed, it appeared as if we were going to have to wait the full year, which was the max they could "keep him." As we slowly crept closer to that time, he was finally released and started in November.
      So then starts the whirlwind of training and being back to low man on the seniority pole and having to commute, but I know the trade off in the end will be all worth it. This is what he's worked for for a very long time.  The best part for me is he was on reserve for such a short time compared to his previous career. To some that might not seem like a big deal, it's truly a huge deal. He spent the greater portion of his 12 years at his previous company on reserve, so those of us who live with that know we truly never know the schedule.  Most of us pilot wives know how to plan life, it still makes it easier. We know that our pilot may not get to go to the party, baseball game, or even the dinner with friends but it is so nice to also know when we can expect him at the dinner, the baseball tournament, or the family dinner. But truly the best part is actually getting to that point where we may be able to finally meet our pilot on a long overnight somewhere.  To see the full months schedule and be able to call grandma and say can you take the kids for the day, or weekend, and be able to hang with him for a while is truly a magical thing.
     I have heard many times recently how nice it must be to be to be able to fly off and meet him for a night. Most truly don't understand the reality of it all They don't take into account how we have spent the last decade, while they climb the flying ladder, to get to this point going solo. Then being a single parent post children.  And I say it that way to cover how in the beginning, before children, you would go to that party by yourself, that wedding by yourself, or that family dinner by yourself.   Then comes the children and you still go to the dinner by yourself, yet with your kids, the wedding by yourself yet with your kids, or the party by yourself, yet with your kids.  And it is always the same questions of where is he flying this time, where is he off to this time, when will he be home and you truly don't always know the where,  but you always know the when. You always anxiously await that return day knowing that you get a few precious days with them before they head off again.