Flying

Ten Happy Things

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Happy 101 Award

I may go into sugar shock just looking at the wee cupcakes (or maybe I’ll be inspired to give into temptation and walk to the doughnut shop for something with sprinkles), but I still want to thank fellow Navy wife Mrs. Somarriba (of The Somarribas fame) for thinking of me when bestowing this sugary award.

As with most sweet things in life, there are still some rules attached:

  1. Thank the person you received the award from.
  2. Name 10 things that make you happy.
  3. Pass it on and contact the lucky winners!

Ten things that make me happy, huh?  Various and sundry things bring a smile to my face, and I find that being easily amused is a trait that leads to a more pleasant stroll through life.  Selected at random and in no particular order, my ten happy-making things of the day are:

  1. Cracking open a new book, especially if it’s hardcover.
  2. Baking bread, particularly challah for Shabbat.
  3. Hanging out with my younger brother, who is a pretty cool guy.
  4. Yummy-smelling handmade bar soaps, such as those here.
  5. Seeing my cats curled up on the chair next to me; bonus points if they’re entwined such that I can’t tell whose paws/tails/what-have-you are whose.
  6. Doing crosswords with my husband.
  7. Tea.  All kinds: white, green, black, spiced, herbal (yes, I know herbal “teas” aren’t actually Camellia sinensis and should rather be termed tisanes), you name it.  It’s a sad day when I can’t brew myself a cuppa.
  8. General aviation.  I love flying in small airplanes, and I look forward to proving myself competent to take the controls myself.
  9. Taking pictures at the local botanical garden.  No matter the season, there is always something to see.
  10. Building LEGO sets.  Who says you have to wait ’til you have kids to play with the cool toys again?

The eleventh thing that makes me happy is getting to chatter cheerfully with fellow MilSpouseBloggers such as the ladies linked to here.  I love reading your blogs and chatting with you on Twitter, and if you’re inclined to share ten things that bring a smile to your face, consider yourself invited to snag a little sugar for your blog and list away.

I Miss Flying

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With my husband flying again and loving life as he learns to wrestle “the beast” that is the mighty War Pig C-2A Greyhound into compliance, I find that with my excitement for him comes a certain green-eyed envy.  It’s been months since I’ve been up in the air in anything other than a commercial jet, and it’s giving me the shakes, man.  I can almost feel those perishable skills withering from lack of use; I need to get myself in the right seat again before I really do forget everything I learned about conducting a SAR mission and dazzling everyone with my G1000 mastery (okay, okay, my G1000 competency, at the very least).  Time to start poking at pilots in my CAP squadron for a proficiency flight or three — preferably funded by our estimable patron in blue, the United States Air Force.  Gotta stay in practice if we’re going to be of any use in an emergency, after all… oh, who am I kidding?  While I absolutely do care about being as proficient as possible as a Mission Observer, I love any excuse to get up in the air.

I would be thrilled if stars aligned this year such that I could start work on my own private pilot certificate.  The sticking point for me is that I want to have the time and resources to fly frequently enough (more than once a week, if at all possible) that I can progress along that learning curve without a lot of retracing my steps due to time out of the cockpit.  I hear of so many people hitting the proverbial wall before they get their certificates simply because they are unable to fly regularly, whether due to scheduling conflicts or running out of ready cash.  There are scholarships available through several organizations, including a few devoted to women in aviation, but most seem to require that one has at least reached a certain milestone in the training process.  There’s no way I can even start until after we are settled wherever we are going to be for my husband’s first fleet squadron, and I’ll have to wait even longer if we wind up in Japan.

It will happen someday, though, even if we have to wrench those stars into alignment by force.  How else will I be able to fully enjoy the kit plane we intend to build someday off in the misty future after my husband retires?