Up, Up In the Air …
September 3rd, 2007 by Sonja

UPDATED Sept. 3 to include photos from the slightly famous LightHusband.

Today was a momentous day in our family.

It was the 106th anniversary of my grandmother’s birthday. She’s been dead for seven years, but I still mark it.

Nooooo … that wasn’t it.

Today we took LightGirl to a local tiny airfield and she rode in a glider. She had a fabulous time. This was an early fourteenth birthday gift from her own grandmother, LightMom. Her cousin who just turned fourteen also had a glider ride to mark her fourteenth birthday. So to mark their coming of age and their great-grandmother’s birthday they flew up in the air with remarkable ease. They loved it.

We had a marvelous time watching and the weather couldn’t have been better.

There was something coming-of-agey about the whole event that I didn’t really anticipate. The glider is towed up into the air by tow-plane. Once the plane and glider are at a certain height and place (the two pilots know what the right place is) the tow-plane releases the glider and the glider then rides the thermals for a while.

I thought about that as LightGirl walked away with the glider pilot and nonchalantly got in. The tow plane and glider lifted off and she was gone for a while.

Taking off

That’s what college will be like. We’ll take her away to be under the tutelage of other older adults. They’ll tow her around for a while. Sometimes she’ll be in direct contact and they’ll be towing her. Sometimes she’ll be on her own. But she’ll be gone for a while. Then she’ll come home. Pretty soon the periods of time that she’s gone will grow longer and longer and then she’ll be gone and on her own. She won’t need that tow rope anymore. She won’t need an older pilot helping her either. She’ll be ready to fly all by herself.

It’s not too much longer now. I hope I’m ready.

Coming In

Landing


5 Responses  
  • Steve Hayes writes:
    September 3rd, 200712:02 amat

    I used to do gliding when i was at university — loved it, especially one day when riding around just in front of a storm front, didn’t even have to look for therma;s and stayed up over 2 & a half hours. And in an open-cockpit side-by-side gluider, not opne of those streamlined canopt jobs. It was like being a bird.

           
  • lyn writes:
    September 3rd, 20077:41 amat

    “Pretty soon the periods of time that she’s gone will grow longer and longer and then she’ll be gone and on her own. She won’t need that tow rope anymore. She won’t need an older pilot helping her either. She’ll be ready to fly all by herself.

    It’s not too much longer now. I hope I’m ready.”

    One of the hardest parts of parenting is letting go. I’m not sure if I’ll ever be ready! Lightgirl seemed to really enjoy the gliding – what a great gift.

           
  • Sonja writes:
    September 3rd, 20078:58 amat

    Hi Steve …

    LightGirl loved it too … she had a ball looking at the scenery and mountains. I’ll have to ask her if it felt like being a bird … but I’ll bet she says yes 😉

           
  • Sonja writes:
    September 3rd, 20079:00 amat

    Hi Lyn …

    I think we’re all ready when the time comes … after all we start practicing in baby steps from the time they are very small. And the steps just keep getting bigger and bigger. We’ll be ready … it looms large now because neither she nor I are there yet. But we will be in the right time. So will you. Inshalla … in God’s will.

           
  • Erin writes:
    September 3rd, 20075:51 pmat

    I’m just so jealous.

           


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