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.
Issue link: https://afwdigital.epubxp.com/i/619020
42 Aviation forWomen J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 Some are lucky enough and senior enough to "hold" week- ends off, and those are the same people who are in the en- viable position of not worrying about where to go with their crew on New Year's Eve when their van is at 5 a.m. on New Year's Day. An even rarer breed is those who are not very senior, but somehow seem to have a mystical ability to get all of the days off that they want, all of the time. Even holidays. Even holidays that they neither celebrate nor care about. Not that I am jealous. There is some kind of sorcery in successful bidding. We're not talking about online auction bidding here, but about the airline scheduling kind of bidding. I don't care if your com- pany uses a line bidding system, a preferential bidding sys- tem, or a Magic 8 Ball. Some people simply seem to have a gift for knowing how to get the best out of any given type of scheduling method. My father had that gift, and during his en- tire career with Eastern, Pan Am, and Delta, I don't remember him ever missing a holiday. Not even once. He was home for Thanksgiving and Christmas, birthdays, and even managed to be a coach on my brother's Little League team. Apparently that particular gift is not genetic. At least a dozen times each (national) holiday, people ask you what fun and festive things you are planning to do. There is a moment of dismay when you say "working," possibly be- cause they feel sorry for you, or maybe because you have robbed them of the opportunity to share their own plans with- out feeling weird about it. As I personally have a face that has no mendacious skill whatever—a toddler could beat me at poker—I am sure that anyone who witnesses my facial response would immediately think of the Grinch rather than Santa and be on their way. It is not my intention to deny people their cheer, it is just hard to be happy when you envy them the things you believe you are missing. And we are not alone. There are millions of people working in all kinds of different jobs who are grind- ing away so that we can enjoy an excellent meal, be protected from those who mean us harm, or even just take our change at a toll booth so we can keep going up the road to our families. Although I often sulk a bit and grouse about being away from my family, the truth is that you carry the holiday with you. I have often heard that age is nothing but a number, and in all honesty a holiday is nothing but a date. Although I have missed weddings and birthdays, and will doubtless have more than a few Valentine's date nights on February 15, I have also had the pleasure of treating my crew to a wonderful Christmas din- ner, have run into friends I love dearly on Thanksgiving, and been surprised by my husband appearing at my overnight to bring me true joy to ring in the New Year. While I may not be gifted with the magic words (or key- strokes) that always get me the perfect schedule, I have al- most always been blessed by fnding myself in the company of people who are in the same boat—and are willing to make the best of it. Some of the most memorable times that I have had in recent years have not been those where I was where I thought I wanted to be; but it might be that I was where I was supposed to be. Some of those events—and yes, holidays and weekends included—have even given me stories, memories, and even friends that I will treasure for years to come. As a mildly Type A person, the inclination is always to try to control your own destiny—or at least where you will be over the weekend. While the efforts you put in each month to cre- ate the perfect parameters in your scheduling software may or may not be rewarded, sometimes it works out in your fa- vor either way. While I certainly wish I had the perfect sched- ule gene (and the great parking space gene—apparently that one is recessive too), I truly appreciate the experiences I have had that I wasn't anticipating. I may even quit grousing about missing out—at least until the next holiday season. ✈ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Devan A. Norris, WAI 13890, is an avid observer of people, and has had many wonderful opportunities to both watch and inter- act with them in her current roles: as a captain on the EMB145, and as an apprentice air show air boss. She and her husband live in a fy-in community in Florida, where they are proud airplane parents of an L8 named Sylvia. T here is a question that makes perfect sense if you have a Mon- day through Friday kind of workweek. "What are you doing this weekend?" Ask an airline crewmember that question and you are like- ly to get the response, "What day is it now?" While we are aware of the weekend as a concept, it is mostly just a time when restaurants and grocery stores are likely to be more crowded. WHAT ' S A WEEKEND? I N T H E P U S H D E V A N A . N O R R I S The truth is that you carry the holiday with you.