Aviation for Women is the flagship member publication of Women in Aviation International. Articles feature women who have made aviation history, professional development ideas, and current-topic articles.
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40 Aviation forWomen J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 I love the start of a new year. It always seems like a blank canvas. As much as I love having the house decorated from Halloween through New Year's Day, there is a certain sense of calm when the last decora- tion is packed away, the vacuum sucks up that last piece of glitter, and the recycling truck comes around to pick up the torn pieces of wrapping paper and broken-down cardboard gift boxes. FRESH STARTS J O D A M A T O , C A M T H E J U G G L I N G A C T For some reason it's always easier to set new goals on January 1 than it is on May 7, or October 3. My husband and I will take a fresh look at the budget, usually after cringing at how we didn't quite stick to our gift-giving budget. We'll talk about trips we might be able to take, places the boys have yet to see. We'll go for brisk walks to burn off those extra slices of pie and reignite our competitive spirit see- ing who can get the most steps that day on our activity trackers. The boys w i l l a lso be look i n g at the new year full of new possibilities. They'll try on their old cleats and we'll see how much they've grown and what we need to buy to get ready for spring baseball. They won't admit it, but they'll also be looking forward to going back to school because they miss their friends and their routine. Yes, those first few days of January will be so peaceful and optimistic and cleansing. Then we'll be hurtled back into reality. This is real life—it's not always that simple. We are an aviation family, so how likely is it really that we'll all be together on January 1? My work and travel schedule in January is always very busy and includes an eight-day an- nual work conference that I co-manage. I'll be distracted and stressed every day until I leave. My husband will work his fight schedule around my trip, so he'll likely be fying every day up until I have to leave, and leave for his next trip the day I get back. As I prep for the event I'll also be playing the role of single working parent. The kids will be back at school full time and all of the activities will have started up again. There is not one day Monday through Thursday that both of my children come home on the bus. Someone is always staying after school for something, so I get one kid off the bus and then head back to school to get the other. Or I work out an elaborate carpooling schedule with a few other moms that will have me even more stressed always wondering if it's my day for pickup. After noon activities give way to homework, dinner prep, and story time. By 9 p.m. on a school/work day I am ex- hausted. All I want is to crash on the couch and watch an hour of mindless TV before I drag myself up to bed. Then there is the act of actually pack- ing for my trip. Except I won't be pack- ing for my trip. I'll be prepping the house for my departure instead. I'll be washing every last bit of laundry so that when my husband gets in from his trip and I depart for mine I am leaving him with a fresh start. I'll be stocking the pan- try and the fridge for the same reason. I'll be sorting through all of the mail and paying all of the bills due while I'm away because we agreed 16 years ago that the non-fying spouse would man- age the daily fnances. Yes, when I leave town this house will be spotless and— for a moment—running better the night before I leave town than it ever does when I am in town for weeks at a time. It will be somewhere around 9 p.m. the day before I leave that I'll grab the big suitcase from the basement and start pil- ing all of my clothes in it. Around that time I'll realize that I never did fnd that 30-minute window to go and get a mani- cure. Around midnight my husband will arrive weary from the road. I'll show him the pages of notes I made to help him navigate the week. I'll point out all of the events I added to our shared iPhone calendar. We'll spend some time catching up because we won't have seen each other for a week, and it will be awhile until we will again. If I am lucky my fight will be late enough the next morning that I can kiss everyone goodbye. Thanks to TSA Pre-Check I'll hopefully get to my gate early enough that I can get a quick manicure in the terminal. Once I'm boarded my laptop comes out and I work until landing. I'll jump into my event thinking that the week ahead looks like it will last forever. Very quick- ly I'll have ceased identifying myself as Jo Damato, working Those frst few days of January will be so peaceful and optimistic and cleansing. Then we'll be hurtled back into reality. This is real life—it's not always that simple.