Come Fly With Me

Working for Ozark Airlines was a blessing, a joy and afforded our family many opportunities we would not have had and it would change our life forever.
An airline job was a union job, at least in the 70's and 80's.  I saw many pro's and con's about working for a union in the time I was there but they were mostly pro's: great pay, flying privileges and good insurance, just to name a few.  Your shift, your days off and your vacations were all decided by seniority in the company.  Being low woman on the totem pole, I was working 4 to midnight with Tuesday and Wednesday off.  This actually worked out rather well with our family.
On Glen's 40th birthday I had ordered him a new suit because whenever we flew he was required to wear one.  It was the morning of his birthday and he asked what we were going to do today.  I told him we were going out for lunch and he would need to wear his new suit.  "Wow, where we eating?" he asked.   "Denver", I replied, and that's exactly what we did.  We drove to the airport, boarded a plane for Denver, had breakfast on the plane, landed in Denver, rented a car, drove to lunch, drove back to the airport, boarded the same plane we were on that morning with the same crew and flew back to Peoria.  It was a memorable birthday for both of us.
Earlier that same year our reservation office had received information that United Airlines was hosting a Women's Softball Tournament for all of the airline reservation offices in the United States.  All expenses were paid and it would be for four days in Hawaii.  Well we didn't have a softball team but we were about to get one.  I began to help organize a team and became the team manager.  Glen and a few of the other husbands  started coaching.  Our practices were hilarious.  Talk about The Bad News Bears!!  Nobody could catch however we did have a couple good pitchers. Fielding a ball....forget about it!  But we worked and worked.  None of us were too concerned because we knew the sooner we lost two games, the more free time we would have to play in Hawaii.
Soon it was time to go.  We flew out of Chicago on a direct flight.  We played ball the next morning and we won.  Trust me, no one was more surprised then us and we found out, we liked winning.  That afternoon we played again and lost.  It was double elimination so we would be playing at least one more game the next day.  We won again!!!! However, we lost our afternoon game and our time was through.  But hey, we had one more day left in Hawaii so who cares!  Well we cared.  We all cared and here's why.  There was a team from New York there who was out for blood.  They were mean and rude and only wanted one thing, to win.  No one liked them.  They had worked their way into the championship game on the last day against a little bitty airline from California.  Everyone wanted this team to lose so badly that we all showed up to cheer on the California team.  So we spent our last day in Hawaii going to a softball game.  But it payed off, California won.
United was so good to us.  Our flights, hotels, pool party and luau, breakfast and lunches were all payed for and they didn't skimp.  We had the best of everything.  So with a 4th place trophy, sunburned lips and a jelly fish sting, we were headed home.
Now when we flew to Hawaii, we all arrived on different flights and at different times.  But when we left, all the airlines were on the same United flight.  Even the mean girls.  The whole 747 was full of airline employees except for one little Japanese family which they moved up to first class.  Guess what, the mean girls weren't so mean after all.  We had a ball on that flight home.  We had made so many friends from all over the country and we all had so much in common, our jobs and our love for softball or Hawaii anyway.

What Do You See?

What do you see when you look at this picture?  I know many of you will say immediately that you see me.  In a way, you would be right but for those of you who don't know her, this is my mother.  This picture was taken when she was close to the age I am now and it has always been one of my favorites.

What I want to share with you today is what I see when I look at this picture.  I see 5'2", eyes of blue and oh what that 5'2" can do!!!!
First I see a wife of  65 years, standing by her man through thick and thin, in sickness and in health.
Next I see a daughter who loved, respected and cared for her parents in anyway she could.
I see a sister who remained devoted to her own sister till death and adores her younger brother even though some of their views are very different.
She is an aunt, great-aunt and great-great aunt who is loved by all her nieces and nephews.
Her life is full of grandchildren and great grandchildren who have many stories to tell about how she has impacted their lives.  Most of them, like myself, don't get to see her much but I guarantee you they never question her love for them.
She is a mother of four children, two boys and two girls.  Raising us was no picnic, I assure you.  We each came with our separate health issues but she encouraged us to overcome the physical challenges we were dealt.  She did everything she could to help us to grow up to be independent, responsible, loving adults.
Now let me share with you some other things about this amazing woman.
She has great inner and outer strength. She can play ball, fix a toilet, repel down the side of a mountain, paint a house, drive a forklift, shoot the rapids, ride a horse, park a trailer, fix the hand-controls on my car and beat cancer, just to name a few.
She is a nurse with no degree other then care-giver.  When I was a child she gave me many hours of physical therapy.  When my daddy had his tractor accident she had to learn how to care for him at home doing things that only a nurse should have to do. She never complained, she just did what had to be done.
She is so smart and is a hard worker.  She helped my aunt and uncle get their business started and then worked as a bookkeeper for them for many years.  Not finding it easy to retire she worked for their local Mission up until last year.
I see a wonderful friend.  Mom and Dad have many wonderful friends who I am proud to say are family because they have embraced them as one of their own.
I see a child of the King who loves her Lord Jesus with all her heart and who has done her best to serve Him  as best she could over the years.
She is classy, feminine, funny, dramatic, compassionate, talented, energetic and giving.  I could go on and on.
When I was in my 20's and 30's I thought I was a good mother.  In my 40's I began to question that and in my 50's, I had to come to the realization that I wasn't so good at it.  I think all mothers wish they could go back and change some things that we did or didn't do when we were raising our kids.  Good thing we have our adult children to tell us how, when and where we went wrong.  However, on this Mother's Day week, I want my mom to know that I love her and I am thankful for her and she did an amazing job.

Happy Mother's Day to all those who have chosen life!