It's always far too long between posts! Posting is one of those things that I think of all the time but it gets pushed back due life... I can't believe the summer is nearly over! Summer camps are completed, school supplies are purchased, haircuts are scheduled and our long awaiting trip to the Kennedy Space Center is completed. Today we had school orientation and met some of the new teachers for the year. Our beloved daycare closed in early June and we scrambled to find a new one so all of our kids will have new schools and teachers for the new year. I'm not quite ready to give up the ki ..read more

So we have settled into the private charter lifestyle at this point. Trips come up short notice- sometimes just 24-48 hours, but they are rarely multi-day trips. A can request off any days he wants- no stress trying to bid a particular schedule or whether he'll be home for an event/holiday/birthday. I can't complain about those things. And since we never used our airline flight benefits, we aren't really missing those either. But now, all the airlines are hiring again, some at a nearly desperate pace. A gets calls regularly from former coworkers asking if he wants a recommendation to their air ..read more

 We had an amazing Spring Break this year!  We had previously been invited to stay at the home of a friend of A's in southern FL and finally made the opportunity to do so for a few days. It was the amazing, low key time we needed. A ended up having to fly so we delayed our trip by a day (which it turns out we needed to allow more time prep...) and I drove the 3.5 hours down with the kids and dog and we picked him up at the airport there. Since it was at a small airport, we were able to walk right up nearly to the tarmac and see his plane up close. It was the first time two of our thr ..read more

 So here we are. A year into a pandemic, a half year since A flew for an airline, a quarter year since his airline ceased operation. And we're still going. A fell into a gig that he is trying to make work. A local, long time friend of his bought up a part 135 charter operation in 2020 and A has been flying through that and is planned for moving up into a Chief Pilot position. It's still a small operation with irregular flying for A, but we're hoping that will change as the business continues to grow. A really enjoys being mostly home and not having the stress of commuting to base via plan ..read more

 So here it is- the final day of A's airline. It's a bit anti-climatic really since the company had their final flight yesterday and A hasn't even flown for them since June. And in a classy move by someone, the scheduled final flight was passed off to another contractor airline so it was a scramble for all the people who wanted to be there to see the final flight. It's sad to see that an airline that was so highly rated for on time service, customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction has gone out of business due to the race for the cheapest contractor. But what can one do?  A&nbs ..read more

 Aren’t we always a work in progress though? Things have been steady here. We had the opportunity to stay at a relatives house/ Air B&B for the Labor Day weekend and swim to our hearts content in their pool. We had great weather except for right after we got the fire going in the fire pit to make s’mores. That’s when we got caught in a downpour naturally. It was nice to get to a new locale for a few days.  I just feel like my heart is broken in so many ways right now. Not just because of this pandemic, but partially related. I hate that my baby girl is in a class full of boys wit ..read more

 I have transition fatigue. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, I can tell you that this is a real thing. I'm so tired of everything being up in the air. I'm a concrete girl. I like to plan ahead. I don't like surprises. I like to know what to expect and I like to get there early. And this year is just NOT shaping up that way. So far we've been through: a job change for me and the prospect of a significant raise for A, then the pandemic shut down, transition to home schooling for Kidzilla, then work cutbacks for both me and A, then furlough potential, then a while-I'm-furloughed job pro ..read more

 So it's finally come. A's airline is closing and he'll be out of a job. His airline has surely fallen victim to COVID, but in reality, it's never been the airline it was when he started. In the 14 years he's been there it's been in a slow, consistent decline in the number of planes and routes it's been flying. So we are panicked yes, but we've got some things worked out so it takes the edge off. In all reality, A probably would have flown his entire career there- he said recently that he had planned on never doing any interviews again. But then he was also talking about moving to a cargo ..read more

Things were starting to look up for us- the COVID cases seemed contained, the aviation industry had some recovery predictions, and we had a plan. And every time we think things are stabilizing in our lives, it gets turned upside down again. I am exhausted from the constant readjustment and uncertainty. Pretty much every day I count our blessing that we are stable for that day. A's job was stable, then he got downgraded. He's expected to get furloughed. Then he's not, he'll make the cut. Then he's going to get furloughed again, except for longer. Then maybe not. What are we going to do for inc ..read more

We were so close. So. Close. Now, it's back to the struggle. This year had the potential for so much until this pandemic. Everything was chugging along just fine. A was still at his regional airline, having made peace with the little hope of moving up to a major due to the college degree that just wasn't happening. He had completed training as a Check Airman (and had been labeled "a natural" by the training director) and was regularly getting training override pay to pad his paycheck. He still wasn't  high up the Captain seniority list, barely holding a line some months, but it was OK. He ..read more