The End of an Era

So on Sunday morning, my dad officially flew his last flight as a commercial pilot. He returned to Portland that afternoon. I was very sorry I was not there to see him walk off the plane for the last time. I wonder who has more mixed emotions about the whole thing - me or him.

The life of a pilot may seem glamorous and fun, but it is a life style that I think would be very hard and lonely. You are away from your family at week spans at a time and if you fly internationally, you have long spans on the plane with not a lot going on. I'm sure it is boring. I think my dads job was a bit harder since he flew for UPS and most flying gets done at night. He would always get home early in the morning and try to get a few hours sleep before starting his day. I know that if I were him, sleep would be top on the agenda for me in retirement. But when is sleep not on the top of my agenda?

We were very fortunate in that he came out twice while my mom was here for Christian's birth. The first time he left my mom and I were able to go to UPS here in St. Louis and get on the plane. It was really neat to see the huge aircraft he flew and what exactly the cockpit looked like. It was really all a foreign language to me. You really have to hand it to those guys for learning it all. He left the second time two days after I had Christian and that night Greg and Ellie went with him. I think she loved the experience.

So this post is dedicated to my dad and all the long hours he put in as a pilot for the company and providing for his family. If a picture is able to say anything, it looks like the torch has officially been passed.

You are cleared for take off Capt. Ellie! Love you Dad!