Last Layover, New Chapter

It’s October, do you know what that means? Yes, all things pumpkin are out! But no, really, I’m writing because I’m officially on leave for a whole year! As I reflect back on the last 4.5 years of my flight attendant life, I realize how grateful I am for the job, the places it has taken me, and the friends I’ve made along the way. I’ll be missing so many things while taking a break from flying, but there is a lot of excitement in store for me over the next 12 months. 

Before I get into that in a future post, I’d like to share a recap of my last layover, which was a comical finale to a 4.5 year streak of flying, and grand entrance for the next chapter, so here goes:

My last layover was in a city that has steadily become one of my favorites. I planned to go on a scenic run to Kerry Park for an excellent view of Mt. Rainier and the city, assuming the clouds allowed for it. On my way back, I planned to window shop in Pike’s Place Market, stopping by my favorites, Pyroshky Pyroshky, Beecher’s Handmade Cheese, and of course, the flower market. Oh, and if you haven’t guessed it yet, I was in Seattle!

Well, as it turns out, none of those plans were possible due to the extremely poor air quality Seattle was dealing with, all due to the wildfires that have been devastating the west coast. Arriving at SEATAC and driving into the city was eerie: the sky looked foggy, but “dirty,” and objects in the not-so far distance were obscured by the opaque haze. The sky wasn’t orange like I’d seen in news articles, but smoke was undeniably present. 

I decided to stay inside the hotel, and I managed to get a workout in, which ended up giving me rug burn on my knees. Awesome. PRO TIP: Never ever do pushups on a rug with shorts on. I definitely don’t recommend that. LOL. As a treat to myself, after my “incident,” I decided to take a steaming hot shower, only to find out the water never really got hot. It was warm, but not the “it’s-so-hot-it’s-almost-burning-me-hot,” which is how I like it. “Not a problem,” I thought to myself, I was bummed, but wasn’t going to let any of this get me down. So I pivoted and broke out a gel face mask I had stashed in my bag, threw it on, began watching Netflix, and then, slowly and ever so slightly, the mask began to slide off my face. At this point, I couldn’t help but laugh at the situation. It seemed everything I tried to do ended in some sort of mishap. To top it off, this whole time I craved the indulgence of a celebratory drink and/or a special treat from Seattle (seafood anyone?), to commemorate my last trip for the next year. But, I resisted the temptation and didn’t allow myself that commodity as I need to save every last penny I can over the next several months for the Appalachian Trail (AT). I was proud of myself, but I also felt lacking; unable to properly celebrate my last layover, which ended up being a total bust. I was still able to enjoy it, but it certainly wasn’t what I was hoping for.

This disaster of a layover taught me a couple of little lessons, the first is that things aren’t always going to go as planned, and you’ll need to let it go (did you just sing this like in Frozen? Because I sure did haha), pivot, and change your attitude towards the situation, or your risk the unplanned ruining your day. The other lesson came as I consciously decided not to “celebrate” with an adult beverage or a delicious seafood meal. I realized that making decisions that prioritize a future goal over a craving in the present creates a sense of unfulfillment in the “now,” making it incredibly difficult to ignore. However, by telling yourself, “No,” you become stronger, more resistant to those cravings whatever they may be, and you inch that much closer to your goal. I look ahead to the months leading up to our hiking start date, and I predict many moments like these, and I invite them in, as it will prepare me for various obstacles on the hike, and for the rest of my life. The trail itself is a 6 month physical feat, but the biggest challenge is the mental strength required to complete the trail; to suffer rainy and cold days, to be hungry on the trail, to nurse several blisters and knowing you must continue walking or risk not finishing. 

Hiking the AT has been a dream of mine since I was in college. And now that I’m going, it all feels like a very romantic, blissful adventure. However, I accept the unforeseen challenges laying in wait, and I am excited to take them on. The countdown is on, 143 days to go!