This week felt different. Alice was with her dad, and even though those weeks are part of our rhythm now, they always leave the house feeling a bit too quiet. I try to fill the space, squeezing in as many flights as I can, catching up on everything I can’t usually fit in. It helps… but only for a while.
Flying has always been my way of feeling steady. There’s something about the structure, the checklist, the sound of the engines that grounds me, even when life on the ground feels uncertain. But this week, the turbulence wasn’t just in the air.
Between delayed slots, and long duty days, I found myself caught in a different kind of delay. Thoughts I thought had settled started resurfacing. Memories, emotions, the quiet “what ifs” that sneak in when you’re too tired to keep the guard up.
It reminded me that turbulence doesn’t only happen at 37,000 feet, it can show up in our minds too. And just like in the flight deck, all you can really do is ride it through. Stay steady, trust that it will pass, and remember that clear skies always follow.
So I let myself feel it this time. The longing for Alice, the exhaustion, even the questions about the past. And maybe that’s the real flight plan, learning to navigate both the skies and the quiet spaces inside of us, without losing the calm.
Happy landings x
