If you truly know me, you will know I pride myself on making my one week of vacation into at least 3 weeks off. I’ll admit. It’s definitely one of the perks of being a Skytress. Well, at least it is for me. The only downside of this system is that I eventually have to go back to work. I can’t explain it, but, the anxiety of going back to work starts to set in a few days before I have to fly. It’s been this way since I became a Skytress many years ago. Yessiree. My anxiety slowly increases as my vacation days decrease. Luckily, it’s never been as sky high as it was on my first trip as a Skytress. That anxiety was off the charts! Almost thirty – four years later I can still remember that anxious feeling. My first trip back from vacation I had a new Skyter on my crew. There was no doubt about it, he had sky high anxiety. Of course, he looked calm and collected. But, I could hear the first trip anxiety alarms going off. Fortunately for him, I have years of experience of successfully deactivating the Skytress-Skyter anxiety alarms.

You may be wondering why I would have anxiety going back to work after all these years. Heck. I wonder about this all the time. The crazy flying dreams I start to have days prior to flying could be a contributing factor. I’m certain my nonsensical flying dreams could unnerve the most stalwart crew member. I assure you the stress of commuting definitely plays havoc with my anxiety. This trip I had the added stress of knowing I would be the Skytress In-Charge. I used to fly this position all the time. These days, though, I just dabble in it. Fortunately, I would be the Skytress In-Charge on aircraft I regularly fly on. Unfortunately for everyone, especially me, I had never been the Skytress In-Charge once on these particular aircraft. Egads! In addition, I had first class meal services. Oh, boy. I haven’t had to serve meals on a plane since before Covid. Believe me….I take great pride in this statistic. I haven’t had the responsibility of counting meals and manifesting in a very long time. Counting meals and manifesting is a major pain in my backside. You would be amazed how upset passengers can get if you run out of the preferred meal choice. Yessiree. Watching adults pout over a meal can get on my last Skytress nerve. I did take comfort knowing my meal services were on my flights in and out of Bozeman, Montana. Most passengers are relatively happy going in and out of Bozeman. I did ease my meal manifesting anxiety before I left for my trip. I made a color-coded seat map of first class to make manifesting more enjoyable. It was the most artistic thing I created in my art room while I was on vacation. It wasn’t a Picasso, Rembrandt or Monet. No siree. It was an Eileen Gaffney original!

Thankfully, my elevated anxiety took a major dip when I arrived in Atlanta. I asked Ron for a penny from Heaven as I walked up the jetway. I knew a penny from Heaven would ease my anxiety. Well,…I found my penny when I walked into the gatehouse. Never underestimate the power of the Heavenly penny. Yessiree. My unsettling Skytress In-Charge stress was quickly evaporating thanks to the penny in my pocket. I, also, gave myself the ultimate pep talk as I walked to the crew lounge. I told myself I was an easygoing, effervescent Skytress In-Charge. I reminded myself I survived being in-charge on the L1011 numerous times. That airplane was a beast. More importantly, I reminded myself I was flying with a junior crew. I knew my junior crew would be ecstatic they weren’t flying in-charge. Heck. I could do almost anything and not have any one of them bat an eye.

I met Skyter J, Skyter Patrick and Skytress Akita at the gate. Skytress Akita was the one that informed me it was Skyter J’s first trip. I immediately started the process of deactivating Skyter J’s sky high anxiety. I asked him questions I knew he could answer. Confidence building is a huge deactivation tool. Next came the laughter. Laughter is an automatic anxiety reliever. I joked with Skyter J. I told him this was the perfect first trip to fly. After all, he was flying with me! I was going to be a great mentor. Yessiree. I would help ease him into his new career. Since he would be working up front with me, I told him to just greet the passengers at the boarding door. I would take care of everything else on the ground. Then I reminded him I was just coming off 24 days of vacation. Heck. The passengers would never know which one of us the was new person. Thankfully, this comment made him laugh….instead of terrifying him. Which I realize now could easily have happened.

I’ll admit. I tried my hardest to follow all the proper protocols they teach the new Skytresses and Skyters in training. Unfortunately, I reverted back to my old-set ways more than I would have liked Skyter J to see. It should be noted I actually had the PA announcement section open on my Skypro. I even started to read the announcements verbatim. Unfortunately, the printed announcement are too wordy. So, I did the old improvised Eileen announcements. They are short and sweet. They hit the high points in half the time. Heck. I am convinced the person that wrote the written announcements has never been a Skytress or Skyter……and quite possibly has never has been a passenger, either. Gee wiz. Some of the announcements are as long as some of our flights!

Mother Nature took great pity on me and Skyter J. She graciously provided us with the perfect amount of rough air. We had to start and stop our service several times. Fortunately, everyone eventually got a drink and snack. That’s all that really matters, right? The truth be told, Skyter J and I spent most of the flight strapped into our jumpseats talking. I did make an announcement when we landed in Syracuse that this was Skyter J’s first flight. I’m sure I embarrassed him. However, the Syracuse passengers couldn’t have been nicer as they deplaned and congratulated him. I hope when Skyter J reminisces about his first flight, he will remember this part of his trip most. Although, if he is anything like me, he will also remember the sky high anxiety he felt that day, too. I’m pretty sure on the scale of 1 to 10 most Skytresses and Skyters would say their first day anxiety rated an eleven. Later in the day when we were heading to Huntsville our Captain told us to remain seated the entire flight. I don’t know who was more relieved Skyter J or me. Skyter J was looking forward to our long Huntsville layover. He turned down offers to go to dinner the next day. His plan was to sleep the entire layover. He told me the last time he had felt this exhausted was when he was first in the military. Thankfully, Mother Nature once again took great pity on Skyter J. Yessiree. She provided us with severe storms for our layover. The only thing all of us could do was hunker down in our hotel rooms the entire layover.

The last day of our trip Skyter J worked in the back of the airplane. Fortunately for him, we don’t have a scheduled service in the main cabin from Huntsville to Atlanta. Of course, our flights in and out of Bozeman were considerably longer. I know Skyter J felt more comfortable knowing he didn’t have to rush through the in-flight service. I’ll admit. I felt more comfortable, too. Skyter Patrick was sitting up front with me on the last day of our trip. When I told Skyter Patrick I didn’t need any help with my first-class meal service, he enthusiastically headed back to the main cabin. I admit. I was a wee bit envious of Patrick. I wanted to enthusiastically head back there, too. Instead, I nonchalantly pulled out my my color-coded seat chart and went to work. I’m proud to report my color-coded seat chart was a game changer for me. I whipped those meals and drinks out in a flash. While the passengers were nibbling on their meals I got the galley and meal carts set up for our return flight. Alleluia! My Skytress In- Charge rhythm had finally returned in full swing. Yessiree. The passengers coming out of Bozeman would never know I had been dabbling in the Skytress In-Charge role.

The testament to a good trip is when the crew walks up the jetway laughing and chattering the entire time. I’m happy to report this was the case when we finished our trip. Skyter Patrick and Skytress Akita were going to make their commuter flights home. Skyter J had survived his first trip. His sky high anxiety was gone. Skyter J was happily talking about his next trip. He swapped his trip with Skyter Patrick and would be heading out to San Diego the next day. I was giddy. I survived being the Skytress In-Charge again. Yessiree. My pre-trip anxiety was a distant memory. I was heading to the hotel to get some sleep before my trip the next morning. I was excited for that trip. I was looking forward to the layovers. Plus, we barely had any beverage services in the main cabin. Ah yes, the main cabin. I wouldn’t be the Skytress In-Charge on that trip. Someone else would have that pleasure. Even better,….In three days I would be heading home to start another long vacation. I knew without a doubt as the vacation days dwindle my anxiety would return. However, I took solace in knowing that it wouldn’t be sky high anxiety. No siree. I’d leave the sky high anxiety for the new Skytresses and Skyters working their first official flights.

It’s time to celebrate! This is the 100th blog post of “The Rerouted Skytress”. Cue the confetti. Cue the Champagne. Cue the balloon. Cue the reroute story.

It’s fitting that the 100th blog post is a reroute story. I didn’t intend for it to be. But, somehow the Chinese government got involved and wham bam a reroute ensued.

Admittedly, my trip started off in a wonky fashion. I hung out for five hours in the crew lounge before I even signed in for my trip. Yessiree. This is the typical life of a commuter these days. Before my duty day started, I headed over to the C concourse to treat myself to a Starbucks chai tea latte. I enjoyed my tea at three gates. Without fail, every time I sat down to take a sip of my tea, the gate agent would announce a gate change for Columbus. I chuckled with each announcement. Nothing could bother me. No siree. I was going on vacation after this trip. And I would be off for 24 days.

I met the Skytress I would be flying with in the jetway. She was junior to me. As is customary to being the senior person, I got to pick whether I sat up front or in the back of the Boeing 717. I chose to start off in the front of the plane. A few minutes later our Skyter In-Charge boarded the airplane. I could immediately tell he wasn’t feeling well. I asked him if he was okay. He wasn’t. He told me he was calling scheduling to get off the trip. He thought he had food poisoning. While he was on the phone with scheduling, I informed the pilots our Skyter In-Charge was getting off the trip. They contacted the tower to let them know we had to hold off boarding passengers while we wait for a new crew member. I used the extra time to set up the galley for the beverage services and to make sure everything was in order for our new flight leader.

Our new Skytress In-Charge was frazzled when she showed up to the gate. She was moments away from finishing up her standby window when she got called to cover our trip. Yessiree. She was anticipating going home….not going on a three-day trip. Fortunately, she had a great sense of humor. We both laughed as she tried to settle herself into the Skytress In-Charge mode. A short time later we laughed even harder after I had to unstrap my jumpseat harness and stand up while we were in a steep ascent to close the cockpit door. Yep…the cockpit door unexpectedly flew open on takeoff. Skytress Lala and I tried feverishly to close the door while we were strapped into our harnesses. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get enough force to slam the reinforced door closed. So, I went with the next logical option. I stood up to get more momentum to close the door. Fortunately, it worked. Even more fortunate,…I didn’t end up with an OJI. There was no doubt about it. This trip was definitely starting off in a wonky fashion.

I was excited when we arrived at our hotel in Little Rock. How could I not be? This is the hotel with the nightlights that pop on when your feet touch the floor. As you know, ….It’s one of my favorite hotel room features ever! I did laugh when I entered my hotel room and discovered my automatic nightlights didn’t work. It was par for the day. I eventually settled down and watched a Dateline program about a murderous police chase in my hometown of Butte, MT. Then I stayed up and watched the news. The big news story was on the Chinese spy balloon. Ironically, the balloon had floated over Montana earlier in the day. Of course, the Chinese government said it was a weather balloon. No one believed them. Egads! It would have been more believable if the Chinese government said it was a great big “celebration” balloon they were sending over in anticipation of my 100th blog post. I mean, I would have believed it. The hundredth blog post is a pretty big deal.

The next day we flew back to Atlanta. The second day of our trip was humming along as scheduled. Yeah for us! We were getting ready to board the airplane to fly to Myrtle Beach when the Captain came out of the cockpit to inform us we were on a ground hold. Oh, no. Boo for us! The Chinese balloon was now over the coast of South Carolina and the U.S. military had been ordered to shoot it down. No commercial aircraft were allowed to be in the airspace while this operation was occurring. I was shocked when the Captain said the balloon had been spotted flying over St. louis during its travels. Heck. I was starting to think the balloon quite possibly could be a gift for my 100th blog post. The evidence was mounting that the Chinese government was really trying to find me. Let’s review, shall we? First it flew over Montana….my birth place. Then it flew over St. Louis….my home. Now it was over Myrtle Beach….where I was currently heading. Of course, I kept my balloon theory to myself. There was still a high probability the balloon was indeed a spy balloon. Anyway, I didn’t want to be the reason the U.S. military was now conducting a much anticipated military operation. No siree. I kept mum. Instead, I took advantage of the ground hold and went to get something to eat.

The ground hold to Myrtle Beach lasted so long our pilots timed out. Our new pilots arrived just prior to the ground hold being lifted. We Skytresses knew we wouldn’t make it back from Myrtle Beach in time to work our flight to Charlotte. We surmised we would have a domicile layover in Atlanta then pick up the remainder of our trip the following day. When we eventually landed in Myrtle Beach the agents told us about the ground hold on their end. They told us our airline’s flight from New York to Myrtle Beach touched down then immediately four military planes took off. I’ll admit. I was a wee bit envious I wasn’t sitting out the ground hold in Myrtle Beach. That would have been a sight to see four fighter jets taking off in tandem.

We had no longer started boarding the flight back to Atlanta when I noticed we had been rerouted. Instead of going to Charlotte, we were now going to sit for two hours in Atlanta then work a flight to Richmond. Unfortunately, we would be laying over in Richmond and not Atlanta as we had hoped. Then I noticed we were going to finish the last day of our trip eight hours past our original release time. Say, what? My crew and I were flabbergasted! I quickly searched our work rules. I didn’t like what I read. Unfortunately, it was perfectly legal for Crew Reroute to do this to us. Although, I’m sure the people in Crew Reroute would agree it was a nasty reroute, nonetheless. I’ll admit. I was not only mad at Crew Reroute, I was mad at the Chinese government and their spy balloon for putting us in this situation in the first place. Egads! I looked at our reroute again in disbelief. It was then I noticed we were scheduled to land back in Atlanta from Richmond at our original release time. I wondered aloud to my crew why we couldn’t be released then, instead of working an additional flight to Minneapolis and back. I told my crew I was going to reach out to Crew Assist and see if they could help us. I figured we had nothing to lose at that point. I quickly typed a message to them before we had to close the boarding door. I pleaded our case as best as I could. I was determined to think only positive thoughts as we took off. I received a response from Ben in Crew Assist after we reached our cruising altitude. He said he was looking at our rotation and would contact Crew Reroute. I continued to think positively. I’ll admit. I even imagined Ron sitting in reroute Heaven working his magic. We finished our beverage service and I still hadn’t received a response from Ben. Out of habit, I looked at our rotation on my airline phone. I stared at our rotation closely to make sure I was reading it properly. Alleluia! Ben and Ron had worked their magic. We had a new reroute! We would work the flight from Richmond to Atlanta the next afternoon. Then we would be released to go home. We were ecstatic. Minutes later I received a message from Ben confirming our updated rotation. I profusely thanked Ben again for his assistance on behalf of our crew. Then I happily returned to my Skytress duties. I walked through the cabin picking up trash with a huge smile on my face. When I got to the back of the airplane I looked out the window. I was in complete awe. I was looking at the most glorious sunset I have seen in a very long time. I pointed my camera out the window and took several photos. I smiled and chuckled to myself. The photos I took immediately reminded me of the photo Ron had texted me once. Yessiree. It’s the photograph I chose to use at the top of “The Rerouted Skytress” blog when I was setting up my first blog post.

I can’t believe I’ve written 100 blog posts. I know for many bloggers this number will seem minuscule. But, for me, it’s something to celebrate. I remember the day I posted my first blog. I had no idea what I was doing. If the truth be told, I still don’t. Still, I am proud of the fact that I decided I wanted to start a blog and actually did it. I’m fast approaching my three-year anniversary, too. I know I am not the typical blogger. I don’t promote by blog for the masses to read it. My publishing schedule is not typical, either. I post when I have time and when the spirit moves me. I’m sure it can be confusing at times for you my sweet readers. But, just think of it as my blog surprise from me to you. I know many of you started reading my blog from the get go. Those were the days of the weekly blog posts during the height of Covid. We all pretty much had nothing but time during those early days, didn’t we? I want to thank you for still reading as our lives have become more busy and more challenging. I’ll admit. Writing and posting my blog has become more challenging, too. However, I still absolutely enjoy writing it. I hope you all still enjoy reading it, too. I remember writing in my first blog that, “a flight without any passengers is still a flight. A blog without any readers is still a blog”. I know I’d write even if I was the only one reading it. However, I’m thrilled this isn’t always the case. Your support and encouragement fuels me. I cannot thank you all enough for this. I, also , cannot thank you enough for taking precious time out of your lives to read my little blog. It truly means the world to me. Reading a hundred blog posts is quite an accomplishment on your part. Kudos to us all for making it to this milestone. Let’s celebrate! Cue the confetti. Cue the champagne. Cue the balloon. Please don’t cue the Chinese government balloon though. I’ll admit. I may be The Rerouted Skytress …however, The Rerouted Skytress most definitely can do without the reroute stress for awhile.