Grateful Sunday – January 27, 2019

I’m grateful this week for my sim partner and our sim instructor. I had a block when it came to learning certain things in the sim. I believe this struggle was due to learning a new airplane (it’s been fifteen years) and also getting older. After further reflection, I think it has more to do with trying to get through training while also putting a lot of energy maintaining boundaries with my wife. I know this is important for my well-being and contact with her would most likely get me out of my studying mode. I have only studied harder to distract.

I’m so grateful that my sim partner has been supportive of me and helped me through the tough points. I’m also grateful that our sim instructor has taken a lot of his extra time to ensure we are understanding the material and will complete the training within the timeline given to us. The extra assistance these two have given me means more than words can say.

I’m grateful that sim training is only a few hours a day. I’m also grateful that the training is late in the evening. This allows the mornings for studying past lessons and to prepare myself for the next session. In addition, the later shows allow us more time in the sim if we fall behind. Since we are the last crew of the night, our sim instructor has stayed later, sometimes over an hour, to ensure that we are where we need to be before the next lesson.

I’m grateful that I’ll get to have a mock check ride prior to the actual test. This will help ease the tension about what to expect and help me find the areas that I need to polish on before the actual exam.

Childhood Grateful

I’m grateful for the summer cabin that my Grandparents owned. Growing up, this was our vacation spot where we’d meet with the rest of the family. We’d always visit the cabin during Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day. We’d also spend a week or two out of the year. I’m grateful for the getaway that was like a home away from home to me. My love of nature and the outdoors was due to growing up at the cabin.

I’m grateful for the traditions we made. We’d make homemade ice cream with my grandmother, cranking the cream for what seemed like hours with my two cousins, then licking the beater with my grandparent’s dog, Queenie. I’m grateful for BBQ’s and S’mores. My mother taught me the ART of roasting marshmallows. I’m grateful for walking the river with my cousins, the cold, rushing water, numbing my feet and lower legs. I’m grateful for stepping cautiously from rock to rock, making sure I don’t slip and maintaining perfect balance.

I’m grateful that river walking is a perfect metaphor to life; “The rocks are slippery, the water is rushing. Life is always trying to knock you down. Step cautiously and remember, to always maintain balance so you won’t fall down. And if you do fall down, get back up, and try, try, try again.”

I’m grateful for the heat and the sounds of the insects and birds in the trees. The mile hike to the local mini store, buying ice-cream sandwiches, and eating them on the walk back. I’m grateful for the tradition of stopping on the main bridge and embracing the beauty of Mt. Shasta in the distance as the Sacramento River rushed below us.

I’m grateful for picking blackberries and black berry cobbler made by a family friend who used to spend the summer living out of a trailer on the property. He would help keep up on the maintenance of the grounds. While he was only a friend of the family, he always felt like family to me.