I know I promised more regular blog posts around these parts but I was hit but a bit of a bomb this week. A good bomb but a bomb none-the-less. As many of you may know my hubby is a pilot and has been flying for the last 7 1/2 years. He has spent the last 2 1/2 of those years as a Certified Flight Instructor teaching at our local airport. His original plan was to eventually go to the airlines and make that his career. Well long story short there have been some major speed bumps along the way. The largest bumps being my sons brain surgery and an airline hiring freeze for the last several years. Fast forward to the end of 2010. SkyWest Airlines opened some new pilot positions and posted a 1 week application window on their website. Hubby saw the opening and immediately applied. Now remember there has not been ANY movement or openings in the industry for more than 3 years, almost 5 years for pilots off the streets. That being said there are many, many pilots who have been waiting quite a while for their opportunity to make the jump. We expected that Rob would be waiting in line for his turn, quite possibly for a while longer. Fast forward again to December 23rd. Hubby gets a phone call from SkyWest airlines offering him an interview on January 6th. He spent the next 2+ weeks locking himself in our room and studying like it was life or death. Which in a way it was. Saying that airline interviews are intense is putting it VERY mildly. His specific interview lasted from 7:45am-5pm. He came home exhausted but feeling pretty good. Fast forward one more time to this last Monday January 10th. I am downstairs cutting hair (another of my many jobs) and the phone rings. Since I seem to be the only person in our house who answers it I was just hoping someone else would pick it up. I don't hear much for the first few minutes then several Thank You Very Much's and what sounded like a herd of elephants bounding down the stairs.
He got the job!!!!!!!! We were in absolute shock. We never expected it to happen that quickly. We've been waiting SO long that I guess I just always expected the worst. I knew that he would make it but with all the obstacles that have been in our way I didn't expect it to happen at the airline he'd been hoping for all along. So that was the first part of the bomb. Like I said it's a good thing but definitely a major change. Now comes the super crazy part. He starts January 31st and will be gone for training for 8 weeks. The first 3 weeks will be here in SLC so we figured he would at least be home at night. Since the universe seems to have a way of turning our lives upside down we should've known it wouldn't be that easy. Yes he will be in SLC but he is required to stay in a hotel with his training class the entire 3 weeks. No coming home & sleeping in his own bed. On the upside there will also be no distractions or outside influences.
Now comes the fun part. For Christmas we had promised our kiddos to take them to Disneyland the end of February. Well with hubby's January 31st class date that would be impossible so now we are going next week. Yes that's right folks, next week. We are leaving super early in the morning on Saturday January 22nd and won't be home until Friday January 28th. Needless to say I am scrambling. I'm the planned and organized Type A personality of this bunch so I'm just trying to take it all in and make it work. After spending 11-12 hours each way in the car with my crazy kids I just might be totally grey when I return. Or bald from pulling all my hair out. Not sure which is worse :)
I can honestly say that looking back over the last 7 1/2 years I am grateful for it all. Every crazy turn and detour in the road brought us closer together as a couple and as a family. I truly believe what they say when talk about "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger." This has been a tough road and there have been many times when I didn't think I would make it. I couldn't see how we could take one more thing. I felt broken and disheartened, unsure we were on the right track. Now that we can see the light at the end of the tunnel I can finally say it was worth it. This is Rob's dream and he has worked VERY hard to get here. The next several months and even years are going to be hard. I know that and he knows that. But I also know that we'll make it. After all look at what we've overcome so far! We're tough cookies and somehow we always manage to come out it with our heads still attached and our family intact. I am SO proud of Rob and all the sacrifices he has made to get to where he is now. You did it babe!!
Now to the part where I talk about photography :) Yes I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Yes my life is crazy and is just going to get crazier. But no that does not mean that I plan to slow down or let it change the way I do business. I am passionate about photography and capturing images that move me and make me feel something deep inside. My schedule might change a bit but the service and quality of my work will not. I have a fabulous support system around me and I can do this. I want to, it's part of who I am. Thanks for sticking by me, through this enormous blog post and through this crazy adventure we call life. Each one of you mean so much to me and I want to say Thank You from the bottom of my heart!
On to the next adventure...
Angela
