The Rerouted Skytress

Do you ever turn on your cell phone, see a waiting voicemail, and immediately get the intuition you are about to hear some bad news? This happened to me a couple weeks ago. I had just landed in Atlanta. I turned on my phone and I saw I had a voicemail from my sister. Usually, I know it’s nothing. This time I knew it was something. The pit in my stomach grew. One of the downsides of flying is being away from home when family matters arise. But, I’ve also learned that having a caring circle of family and friends to turn to in these times is what matters most. As you all know, family matters when it comes to family matters.

My sister called to tell me our Mom had fallen in the garage while she was trying to get into the car to go to her pulmonologist appointment. My sister had to call 911 to have the firemen help get my Mom up due to our Mom’s limited mobility. Since the firehouse is across from our subdivision, the firemen arrived very quickly and got my Mom back into the house. My sister subsequently canceled my Mom’s doctor appointment. I called my sister back as I was walking to the crew lounge. I was prepared to jump on the next flight home. I eventually stood in an alcove down by the concourse trains while I talked to my sister. I figured it was more private than talking in the crew lounge. Yessiree. Passengers are more worried about getting to their next flight than they are listening to phone conversations. I’ll admit. All conversations in the crew lounge are fair game for everyone to listen to. Heck. It’s just the nature of the beast. The crew lounge is usually filled with numerous Skyters and Skytresses. There are very few places to conduct a private phone call in our lounge. Some Skytresses try to conduct a private phone call in the women’s restroom. But, I can tell you all…there is not enough toilet flushing to keep a cell phone conversation private in the Skytress restroom. Egads!

When I arrived in the lounge I saw my fellow commuting buddy Jay. Jay and I had flown to Atlanta together. I told Jay my Mom had fallen that morning. Skyter Jay completely understood the complexities of being away from home when a family member is having a trying day. Jay offered me comforting words as we sat at the computers pulling up our trip rotations. I was extremely grateful. I had just walked away from Jay when my sister called again. She said our Mom’s blood sugars were extremely high. The doctor told my sister to call 911 immediately and have my Mom go to the ER. I felt sick. My Mom will soon be 83. My sister told me to sit tight and she would keep me updated on things. My mind was racing. I felt helpless waiting. I had no longer hung up with my sister when another St. Louis commuter walked by and inquired how I was doing. He was heading upstairs to catch his flight home. Normally I’m not too forthcoming with information about my Mom heading to the ER. But, St. Louis commuters are a tight-knit group. So, I filled Skyter Will in on what was transpiring back home. Skyter Will’s genuine compassion made me feel better. He then revealed to me his brother is dealing with an ongoing medical condition. My heart felt for Will, his brother and Will’s family. Although Skyter Will has only been flying with our airline since March, I knew he was familiar with the special nuances of flying when a family member was dealing with a medical issue. I’m positive if I asked each Skytress and Skyter in the lounge if they were worried about a family member while they were out flying, not one would tell me no. Of course, I’m sure this is true for all humans. There is a saying by Regina Brett I always remind myself of when I think about how difficult life can be….especially while I am out flying. The saying goes, “If we all threw our troubles into one pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.” I know this was the case when I thought about my Mom and Will’s brother. My Mom is older and medical issues are bound to happen. Skyter Will’s brother is extremely young. He should be living a life free of medical issues. Especially a life-threatening medical issue. After Will left to catch his flight home, I sat in my red lounge chair and I prayed for my Mom and Will’s brother. I knew God was listening.

There are several people I always reach out to when I need a comforting voice and an anchor to stabilize my anxiety when my Mom is experiencing a medical situation. The first person I called while I was waiting in the lounge for updates from my sister was my Aunt Cathy. My Aunt Cathy always has the perfect words to comfort me. More importantly, she can make me laugh. Yessiree. Laughter makes everything better in my world. Laughter and love are a powerful combination. My Aunt Cathy is an expert in weaving both of these into a conversation. Not surprisingly, I hung up from my Aunt Cathy feeling extremely calm. It was a refreshing feeling.

I then called our dear family friends, Penny and Rick Clatt. Penny, Rick and their sons have been our family friends for close to 50 years. Heck. We are officially family as far as our families are concerned. This particular day Penny and Rick were driving to St. Louis to visit. They planned to have dinner at our house on Thursday. Our plans, as they say, were now fluid. Nonetheless, Penny and Rick were going to be there for my Mom and our family. Whether that was visiting my Mom in the hospital….Or visiting my Mom at home. I felt like Penny and Rick were the Calvary heading to St. Louis. Everyone knows when the Calvary shows up there is very little to worry about. So, I breathed a sigh of relief. Yessiree. Once again….Family matters when it comes to family matters.

Whenever I need a compassionate ear and extra-powerful prayers I always turn to my two best friends, Tara and Shannon. They are experts in both of these departments. The three of us have been friends….well, I choose to believe….family….for over 50 years. Are you all noticing the fifty-year trend in this blog post? Yessiree. God sends some of his best people to be part of my life. Tara and Shannon are God’s gold standard when it comes to friends. Tara and Shannon replied quickly to my text. I may have been sitting by myself in the crew lounge. However, I no longer felt alone. Tara and Shannon made sure of this. Yessiree. Once again….Family matters when it comes to family matters.

My head was still swimming with a multitude of thoughts when I stepped on the airplane to brief with my crew. Fortunately, I was flying with two special members of my airline family….Skytress Kelly and Skytress Kim. The three of us flew together when we were all based in Cincinnati. I’ll admit. I’m absolutely biased when I say we had the best Skytresses and Skyters in Cincinnati. Our Cincinnati base was the perfect-sized base. It was big enough, so, we had a wonderful assortment of trips for everyone’s flying taste. Yet, it was small enough that we got to know everyone on a more personal level. Thus, we became a “base family” within our airline family. Flying is definitely a nomadic lifestyle. So, it should come as no surprise to you all that feeling like family truly matters within an airline family. After our Skyter In -Charge’s briefing, I informed my crew there was a good possibility that I would need to get off our trip and fly home. My crew completely comprehended my situation. Heck, they all had been in my situation at some point in their career. I’ll admit. I stayed on my trip because I knew I was flying with Skytress Kelly and Skytress Kim. I knew, without a doubt, that they had my back. I’ll admit. If I hadn’t been flying with them, I’m almost positive I would have returned home after I received my sister’s voicemail earlier in the day. Throughout our trip Skytress Kelly and Skytress Kim constantly asked about my Mom. This simple gesture meant the world to me. Yessiree. Once again….Family matters when it comes to family matters.

For three days I was in constant contact with my sister, Aunt Cathy, Penny, Rick, Shannon and Tara. Their constant communication with me eased my worried mind on multiple occasions. Thankfully, on day two of my trip I was finally able to speak with my Mom in the hospital. Talk about easing my mind. Hearing my Mom’s voice reassured me that everything was going to be okay. My Mom knew she had dodged another life-threatening bullet. Yessiree. If a cat has nine lives, my Mom obviously has twelve. Thankfully, my Mom has also been blessed throughout the years with superb medical doctors and medical teams. These medical angels have always gotten her upright after a medical situation tries to take her down. My Mom was confident that she would be out of the hospital by the time I finished my trip. Thankfully, the medical staff concurred with my Mom’s medical assessment.

I arrived home after midnight. I was mentally exhausted from my trip. However, seeing my Mom sleeping in her own bed was positively heartwarming. I woke up the next morning eager to start the day. Penny and Rick Clatt headed over to our house in the early afternoon. Seeing their beautiful faces was not only the best medicine for my Mom, it was the perfect cure-all for the entire family. The laughter that filled our house for the rest of the day was heavenly. We all felt the blessings God was bestowing upon us. My sister, Patti, and her family came for dinner. The laughter around the dinner table was non-stop. I silently wished for time to stand still. I knew it wouldn’t though. So, I drank in all the conversations, stories, hearty laughter and over abundance of love that filled our house. We were one joyful and thankful family. We all knew the only thing that mattered that evening was family. No doubt about it, my sweet friends,….Family matters.