Landings

My house is in the flight path of the Bluegrass Airport here in my hometown of Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.A.  There are many flights overhead every day; of most of them I'm unaware.  Someone asked me one time, "How can you stand it!?"  Oh, but I love it!  I see the most interesting of planes from time to time: small, sleek, military jets; huge, historic prop planes; a few small one-engine planes, and the usual array of commercial jets. I love them all!

Every time I'm in a plane landing at my airport, I look out the window at the horse farms below, right across the highway from the airport.  I always try to find my house which is close to a horse farm.  Once I found the lake that is about a half-mile from my house, but I was not quick enough, I could not trace the streets to my house.

At night, the planes' landing lights are extremely bright.  It's neat to see the flashing green light on the right wing tips of the planes and the flashing red light on the left wing tips.

Sometimes if I haven't 'flown' for a while, I wish I was flying when I see a plane overhead.

While growing up in Louisville, Kentucky, our house was also in the flight path of Staniford Field, the Louisville airport.  The military jets were so close above our house (or so it seemed!) we could almost shake hands with the pilots.  And the noise!  The jets were very noisy.  We couldn't talk when one was close.  I don't know the technicalities of how the sound is different now.  The overhead planes are definitely not noisy.

Since the horrible air crash disaster in 2006 here in Lexington, every time I see a plane in the air around our airport, whether ascending from a take-off, or gliding in to a landing, I always say a prayer for safety of that plane and all planes.

Thinking about landings, I feel that, in my retirement, I have actually 'landed.'  I mean that I really like my life very much, I love where I live, I love all my activities, being close to family here and traveling to see family as much as I can.  I love retirement!  I love the challenge of writing and re-learning how to knit. I like setting my own schedule, packing in as much as I dare!

For a church project, I've had to look back on my faith journey.  I've compiled a Health History of our family for my children and grandchildren as well as searching for ancestors.  What fun!  Not all has been happy, my whole life, just like everybody else; I have learned and grown.

Think about your landings.  Are you still en-route to where you want to be?  Plan.  Pray. Take life as it comes and do the best you can.  You will have a few regrets.  But if you learn, it's O.K.  Enjoy.  Relax.  The world is not on our shoulders, just our little piece of it!

Dear Lord, please protect all air travel passengers and all travelers!  Please help us in all the varied 'landings' of our lives!