take offs and landings

After dinner tonight, we were all wanting to 'get out', but didn't want to go shopping and we didn't have anything in particular in mind. The hubby mentioned the opening of a 'park' near the airport for observation. So we headed to the airport. It was a chilly, breezy evening. There were all types of people there. Men with big fancy cameras. People with binoculars. People with their small dogs. Families...and lots of kids. Everybody was doing the same thing. Watching planes.

It was a lot of fun. I haven't flown in a while and it reminded me of how it feels to hear the engines roar and know I'll be off the ground soon. Or to watch the ground beyond the wing until I feel the bumpy landing and the brakes locking down the plane.

It also reminded me of growing up. We always had a fascination with going on a plane, although we never traveled as a family in that manner. As I grew up,I went on one school trip by plane. And flew to visit my parents while they were on vacation once. And I've flown numerous times as an adult. And of course, our daughter is accustomed to Daddyman flying for business every now and then, too. We haven't flown as a family yet, though.

But the glamour and mystique seem to be over. I remember how people used to dress up to fly. Not so anymore. I also remember how my grandmother went on a long flight that was the first of its kind and she received a medallion and the red carpet was rolled out for her and the others on the plane when it landed. She felt so special. Now it's everyday.

As our daughter watched the planes, her heart was filled with the wonder of being shot into the sky and traveling to some far off place, much like mine did when I was her age. I watched her eyes glisten and listened to her day dreaming out loud about wanting to go places I wouldn't have even thought of at her age and it made me want to toss our schedule to the wind and plan a big trip *somewhere*. I guess the mystique isn't really gone, if we'll just let go of our too-grown-up hearts.