Watch and learn

Today at the park I watched The Bean race headlong down a grassy hill and pulled out my camera to record the inevitable tumble. She cried out for a moment (just in case anyone was listening) and then calmly picked herself up, dusted off her hands, and proceeded to repeat this sequence three more times. As I snapped away, I idly wondered if I was being a bad mother, or if I was, as I hoped, actually doing her good by letting her fall down and hopefully learn a thing or two about running down slopes?

On the right path

Graduation day for my Fearless Flyers course involved a return flight to Melbourne. The flight there was difficult to say the least, and also slightly embarrassing when upon landing the crew invited the rest of the passengers to give our group a round of applause (presumably for not freaking out and causing an incident). After a pretty incredible day visiting the air traffic control centre, the crew training centre, and spending some time in a flight simulator worth tens of millions of dollars, we flew home to enjoy a graduation ceremony of sorts involving champagne and an overwhelming sense of relief. 

Eyes on the prize

As a child and a teen I flew a lot taking overseas holidays with my family and, after my parents separated, visiting my dad in Manila where he had been posted for work. After my first panic attack, flying became extremely difficult for me and my anxiety grew with each and every flight. Over time, it wasn’t just the flight itself that made me anxious but everything to do with flying—airports, thinking about airports, seeing planes in the air or on TV, even thinking about a holiday or packing a suitcase.