TONY: Home Again

Returning home from ATL for my final 2 Reserve duty periods (3 days each), I'm reminded how capricious our vagabond life can be.  My intention was to remain in Atlanta with my Mom (eventhough we learned yesterday that she was "out of the woods" and well on her way to meaningful recovery) until my Dad's birthday on Monday.  Fate deems otherwise:  all flights ATL/IAH both Sunday and Monday are chockablock full on UA and DL.  Having been afforded the opportunity to fulfill my familial duties while on Reserve, I'm just not the sort to push the envelope and not make it home to fulfill my duty requirements which start again on Tuesday morning.  To put it in 21st century parlance, "that's just not how I roll."

Generationally, my current-day Reserve colleagues and I couldn't be more different, for the most part.    Generally speaking, we are at distinctly different "times of life", with a few exceptions.  I am at the age where aging parents are likely to fall seriously ill, suffer a serious accident, or worse.  Most of my Reserve peers are at the age where their parents are just approaching MY age!  It's a monumental difference that, I think, makes the Reserve Life a little less traumatic for the young ones (many likely relish the thought of escaping the proximity of their parents, at least for a while.)

To face the definitive conclusion of the definitive interpersonal relationship is life-altering.  To face it while attempting to navigate the vagaries of Reserve is incomprehensible, at least to me.  This trip home and the compromises required to make it while on Reserve, have convinced me that any long-term prospect of Reserve duty at this stage of my life would be a "deal-breaker", significant enough to make me consider other employment, even after 30 years of service.  But perhaps my relationship with my family is unique; I can only speak for myself.

I learned yesterday that I will be back to flying 3-day trips in March, to Amsterdam.  I'm already back to the old cycle of looking to add a trip here, deduct one there, just as though the reserve experiment weren't still in progress.  Interestingly, my first Amsterdam in March is on the 4th which is the 1st day of the March bid month.  I have a 3-day Reserve duty period 3/1, 2 & 3.  So, the potential for a month-to-month conflict is significant.

Beyond my schedule, I'm looking to bring my Mom to AMS with me next month, while the loads permit.  Big illnesses can be deflating, moreso to someone of an advanced age.   If they are fit enough, it's important to remind them that life isn't over until it's over.

Don't squander what you have.  Tomorrow may surprise you by taking it away.