July 27, 2020 - 318 - "Leaving Things Up In The Air"

I've Been Putting Off This Choice...    The one thing I'm sure of:  Ella's gonna love this. 

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      The airlines are all facing cutbacks.  I figured we'd be offered more leaves of absence.  Figured I'd keep taking 3 or 6-month leaves until we get a vaccine to control the spread of this pandemic.

      But that wasn't offered.  We're faced with furloughing 9500 flight attendants.  To keep that from happening the airline is encouraging people to a) retire, or b) take long-term leaves.

      They offered a bridge to retirement to help offset the cost of medical care...but being 10 years from Medicare age, it's not enough of a bridge.  

       But I am taking a leave-the shortest one they're offering:  15 months.  (I'm hyperventilating a little bit just writing this.)  I keep telling myself that there's every chance if we get a vaccine, that we'll get recalled before the end date, but, if not, that puts me at flying next in February...of 2022!

Missing Weird Things

    I've read and reread the information about these leaves.  I've looked at my budget and savings, and the terms of this leave until I can recite the info in my sleep.   The strange thing is, there's only one thing I've gotten emotional over, and it's not something I would have predicted.

      Every time I read that I won't be going to yearly training next year I get freaked out.

     If you followed me when I was on Facebook you probably heard me complain about our training every year when it came back around.  It's about 35 hours of online training, and then a day and a half of detailed and intense testing and training.   We deal with all of the worst-case scenarios that could happen on a plane - all the things we hope we never need to know.  It's pretty much a drag from start to finish.  

     I dread it ahead of time, hate it when I'm in the middle of it, and am wildly relieved every year when it's over.  But, for reasons I can't quite identify, every time I read that I won't have training next year I start to cry.

     I guess it's the 'death and taxes' thing.  I suppose, the fact that we're not having it, makes it seem like we're neck-deep in the apocalypse.

     Which, come to think of it, is sort of the current vibe of things.  

Daily Hits of Happy

     -Knowing things change.  There's never perfect certainty.  Nothing is forever.  This too shall pass.  I'm lucky we can make this work.  Blah.  Blah.  Blah...
     -Pancakes for dinner!

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"Indecision may or may not be my problem."

-Jimmy Buffett

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