Planes

I spent last weekend in Minneapolis, my family flew to Seattle today, I'm flying to San Francisco on Sunday, and I'm planning to cross paths with Ruth, Arabelle, and Beatrice in DEN as they return. I think it goes without saying that it's unsustainable for a family to be flying around all the time. We're trying to reduce our trips and make up for them as much as we can, but this is a period of fairly intense stratospheric presence for my clan.

Arabelle is flying to LA for a week on Catalina Island with a school group in November, her first trip in a plane without me or Ruth. There is at least one kid on the trip who will be flying for their first time at age 13. My kids, who have been flying all their lives, to France multiple times, almost get it, but that first-time plane traveler is a lot like me. When I was a kid, my parents could barely afford to fly us around at all. I boarded my first domestic flight at 15 (Salt Lake City -> Dallas -> Detroit) and didn't make my first international flight (Miami to Caracas, Venezuela) until I was 25.

Air travel is both amazing (the speed, the views out the window!) and terrible (the pollution, the lines). I'm certain that it is going to be more limited in the future. Make the most of it, and give back as much as you can.