It’s summertime. And as the song goes, “The living is easy”. Well, unless, of course, you are a Skytress like me. Then living is most definitely a mixed bag of calm and chaos. Egads! The uncertainty of summertime flying can make my head spin. One minute I’m in the most peaceful state of bliss. Then the next minute my nerves are frayed, and my cortisol levels are shooting up higher than Old Faithful on a summer’s day. I’ll admit. My disposition can change like the weather. Which is ironic, since the weather is usually the catalyst for so much of my angst in the summer. Yep. Thunderstorms have a remarkable way of making a Skytress’ life go sideways. Fortunately, I like to think of myself as the eternal optimist. So, for every black cloud Mother Nature sends my way….I know there is a beautiful rainbow out there, too. Summertime flying is unpredictable. Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. Then before you know it, summer is over. If you are a Skytress or Skyter flying in the summertime, this is definitely one for the win column.

The other week Mother Nature was in a surly mood. Yessiree. She decided everyone should have a good dose of thunderstorms. She didn’t care that I needed to get to work. I know. How rude of her! The evening of June 6th, I was heading to Atlanta. I was supposed to commute in the day of my trip on June 7th. However, my early morning flight was proactively canceled the week before. Sadly, our airline has been forced to proactively cancel flights because of staffing issues. Fortunately, it’s been ages since I had to commute in the day before my trip. Of course, my flight to Atlanta became delayed as the afternoon thunderstorms started to roll in. Thank you Mother Nature. When all was said and done my 7pm flight left at 10pm. I got to my hotel room at 1am. I could have deemed this commute as, “sometimes you lose”. Instead, I deemed it as, “sometimes you win”. I won when the delay enabled me to have dinner with my family. I won because I had a hotel room booked. I got a few hours of sleep and a shower before I headed back to the airport for my trip. One of the biggest wins came earlier in the day when I ultimately decided I didn’t care if I ever made it to Atlanta to do my trip. Mother Nature must have admired my moxie. She provided me with the best lighting show I’ve ever experienced outside my passenger window.

I could have swapped my trip so I didn’t have to commute to Atlanta a day early. Only I was looking forward to flying with my Skytress friend, Darnell. I was, also, looking forward to visiting with my friend Brad on my 30- hour Indianapolis layover. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to meet up with Brad. Ah, sometimes you lose. Brad’s boss came to town unexpectedly. I’m not sure if this was a win or loss for Brad. His boss decided to have several unannounced meetings. Unannounced meetings typically fall into the loss category. Well, at least they typically do for me. Brad is the President and COO of the company. Yessiree. It’s good to be President and COO. However, I’m quite positive Brad’s boss would say it’s better to be the CEO. I was curious about Brad’s boss. I knew a wee bit about him. Curiosity got the best of me. I googled Brad’s boss. I learned he has been on the reality TV show, “Below Deck” twice. Of course, I conducted a YouTube search and found some footage. I was mesmerized by what I saw. Yessiree. This was definitely a case of sometimes you win. Brad’s boss may have been on television several times. But, he isn’t a movie star. Mel Gibson is a movie star. And he just happened to be on our flight from Los Angeles to Atlanta the next day. Again, sometimes you win. Mel was sporting a gray beard and mustache. It made him look quite old. This was a loss for both of us! Fortunately for Mel and for me, we arrived early into Atlanta. Better yet. The earlier flight home to St. Louis was delayed. You guessed it. I made it on the earlier flight home. I made it by the skin of my teeth. Nonetheless, I made it. Thus, it was a huge win for me.

June has been a huge win for Skytresses and Skyters. We are now receiving boarding pay. Woo hoo! We do have to board the airplane a few minutes earlier than we did previously. But, most times the gate agents boarded the passengers early anyway. Ironically, with the onset of the boarding pay, we have gone back to serving on ground pre-departure drinks for the passengers. I’ll admit. Skytresses and Skyters find this timing quite humorous. The passengers covet their pre-departure drinks. So, they are over-the-moon delirious with this new development. Skytresses and Skyters loath the on-ground service. So, we are understandably disappointed. I tried extremely hard to appreciate not conducting a pre-departure service during the peak of Covid. Sadly, I can now confirm I did not appreciate it as much as I should have. Having to deliver drinks as passengers trudge past you with their over-size backpacks and suitcases is not ideal. Nonetheless, I try to remind myself we are returning to pre-pandemic life. I prayed for this normalcy for many months. Heck, I prayed for this for years! In the grand scheme of things, we all win with life getting back to normal.

This summer has been filled with an assortment of wins and losses. I won when I got to hang out in Montana. I lost when I got Covid following this trip. My Mom got really sick after I got Covid. Believe me, this was a loss for us all. Thankfully, she is slowly back on the road to better health. Yessiree. I could enjoy my Sioux Falls layover without the fear she would end up in the hospital. I celebrated this win by purchasing macarons from my favorite patisserie on my Sioux Falls layover. For dinner I selected an entree with made with seasonal huckleberries. You know my love for huckleberries. I was in paradise. Paradise means I won on many levels.

They say life is about balance. Most people would be elated if their perceived life wins equaled their life losses. However, I choose to see the abundance in life. I know my wins outweigh my losses exponentially. I wholeheartedly believe positive thoughts and positive energy attracts positive wins into our lives. Yes. Sometimes I lose in life. However, I try to remember during these difficult times, “That this, too, shall pass”. Interestingly, I catch myself saying this quote more times during the summer. Yessiree. Summertime flying is a daunting time to be a Skytress or Skyter. Still summertime is fleeting. Luckily, in a few months I will be hitting my multiple months of vacation. I simply adore my vacation time. Sadly, when I am on vacation the passengers don’t get to experience my quirky, endearing Skytress self. Like I said. Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose.