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.