Compensation.

My first blog post had this quote from Joseph B. Wirthlin in it:

"That which is taken away

from those who love the Lord

will be added unto them in His own way...

the faithful will know

that every tear today

will eventually be returned a hundredfold

with tears of rejoicing and gratitude."

He’s building me a house.

Like the Amish, it has become a community effort.  His family is amazingly involved and helpful. 

Thank you Chris, Barbara, and DeWin! 

Brian bought a house a few months ago.  He was just going to knock out a wall in the bathroom.  Then one day all of the walls were gone.  And the kitchen cabinets.  And the flooring.  And a ceiling.  And electrical stuff.   

The electrical is all back.  The walls are all up again.  They are textured and primed.  They are ready to be painted pretty colors—yellow, tan, green, gray.  I’m excited about the walls. 

I’m afraid my truest colors have come out in the process.  I’m amazed that Brian still loves me.  I picked bathroom schemes, then promptly change my mind…once everything had been picked out.  And I might have done some other fun tricks like that.  I was just testing him.  He passed.  

The house is going to beautiful! 

It isn’t quite finished though.

We may be living in a tent.

Or we may be lucky enough to live at his parents.

If they’ll have us.

Lucy in the sky…no longer.

Today I just finished my last flight as a flight attendant.  I loved being a flight attendant!

I loved it much more than I hated it.  But somehow my lists came out about equal in length.  Hmm.

I loved:

• the people—the idea that I can make people a little happier every day.  Sappy, but true.
• non-revenue (free) flying (being able to go home to CA  and seeing Brian almost every week!)
• clean sheets!
• not having to make my bed (I have to remind myself that the cleaning lady doesn’t come into my bedroom at home after I leave it…oh, how I wish!)
• looking out the small galley window of our airplanes at lightning storms, amazing clouds, lakes, rivers, mountains…loveliness. 
• telling my flight attendant co-workers my entire life story (and hearing theirs)…because you usually never see them again…or at least I hope I won’t.  Free therapy!  I made so many friends in 3 years.  Unfortunately, I rarely saw any of them more than a few times.
• forced relaxation time at hotels…ahh…I’m really going to miss the hotels.
• being in a different state and town every night—different license plates, different climates, different accents, different people.  I will miss the culture.

My lists of dislikes is far too long for how much I loved the job:

• the people—stupid people!-- the things they said and did…crazy. 
• non-revenue flying (waiting and waiting…then going home when I didn’t get on a flight)
• washing, cutting up, and bagging all of my vegetables before a 4-day trip—it took hours sometimes. 
• going into Canada and having to lie (overlook) to customs about  the massive amounts of vegetables I had packed in my bag.  (I’ll deny it, if customs ever reads this) and then not being able to use my cell phone, and having to be at the airport like an hour before our flight even leaves. 
• working very long days and only getting paid for half of it  (we only get paid once the airplane door is shut-- so we sit around at the airport just like you all do.  Our flights get delayed just like yours did…and we sit around and don’t get paid for it.  Really.)
• freezing.  Even in the middle of summer, the galley was cold, cold, cold. 

I never had an emergency in the 3+ years that I have been a flight attendant—not even scary turbulence.  I never had any unusually mean or crazy passengers.  I never had anyone complain about me (the girl I just finished flying with gets like 10 complaints a year…why she told me that, I’m not sure—probably something to do with bullet point 6 above.  I wasn’t surprised that she had so many complaints.  I had a passenger ask for her name our first day flying together— let’s just say she’s a bit abrasive.  All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed my time.  I would do it again in a heartbeat.  Maybe when my kids are all grown I will try it again….maybe with a different airline…one that treats it’s employees just a tad better …maybe an airline that hands out honey roasted peanut.