Can anybody fly this thing? Memoirs from seat 28F
01/02/08 02:05 Filed in: Deep Thought
If you're an MK you're no stranger to flying. Eoin,
our son, is not even four and has already been to the
USA (including Hawaii), Hungary, Germany, Austria,
France, Malta, Italy, Switzerland and of course,
Ireland! It's funny to have a passport before you can
walk. His passport photo is from his days as an
infant and already looks little like him. Hailey Moia
and myself have done our fair amount of traveling as
well. One of our favorite places in the States is
Chicago (not because of the weather). We spent our
first married years near there in the quiet suburb of
Wheaton. A few years back we travelled to visit with
frirends and our church out there. As we flew home I
had an epiphany and just wanted to share the thought
with you. Here's what I wrote:
"As I sit here on the plane (seat 28F – the way back ughh). I’m reminded of just how much flying I’ve done in my pretty short life (24 years). This has been Eoin’s first flight ever – he did well. It has been interesting flying with an infant. Luckily he's cried little. But as I sit here in seat 28F I’m reminded specifically of how comfortable I am with flying. What is more, I’m not convinced it is because of all the flying I’ve done over the years. That might be part of it but the real reason is that it is "no-man’s land." The seat I’m flying in is located just behind the right wing by the window. We are flying over huge areas of land - some forested, some mountains with snow, some lakes, some desert. Playing on the earphones is U2s “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for” which always makes for some epic moments.
"You see, growing up in Ireland I always felt American, punctuated by the fact that my family was American, I loved chocolate chip cookies and my nick name was “Yank” (despite the fact that I still haven’t been to New York). I always felt American, that is, until I returned to California for furlough at which point I was decidedly Irish, punctuated by my desire for Cadbury’s chocholate and a belief that public transport should be better in Ventura, California. Not to mention the nick name “Irish” to top it off. At these points I felt decidedly Irish. And this, as many of you know, is the plight of many a missionary kid – not fully American, not fully Irish we are a third culture all together (we're often referred to as Third Culture Kids). And it seems to me, sitting in 28F, that the airplane is a place where I oddly feel very comfortable. It is the in-between. These moments of flying are often the only times where I didn’t have to think about my identity as an American in Ireland or an Irishman in America. I'm just a traveler on these days and because I’ve done it so much, I can play the part well. Eoin travels well. It’s as though he was meant to be a GEM-K"
"As I sit here on the plane (seat 28F – the way back ughh). I’m reminded of just how much flying I’ve done in my pretty short life (24 years). This has been Eoin’s first flight ever – he did well. It has been interesting flying with an infant. Luckily he's cried little. But as I sit here in seat 28F I’m reminded specifically of how comfortable I am with flying. What is more, I’m not convinced it is because of all the flying I’ve done over the years. That might be part of it but the real reason is that it is "no-man’s land." The seat I’m flying in is located just behind the right wing by the window. We are flying over huge areas of land - some forested, some mountains with snow, some lakes, some desert. Playing on the earphones is U2s “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for” which always makes for some epic moments.
"You see, growing up in Ireland I always felt American, punctuated by the fact that my family was American, I loved chocolate chip cookies and my nick name was “Yank” (despite the fact that I still haven’t been to New York). I always felt American, that is, until I returned to California for furlough at which point I was decidedly Irish, punctuated by my desire for Cadbury’s chocholate and a belief that public transport should be better in Ventura, California. Not to mention the nick name “Irish” to top it off. At these points I felt decidedly Irish. And this, as many of you know, is the plight of many a missionary kid – not fully American, not fully Irish we are a third culture all together (we're often referred to as Third Culture Kids). And it seems to me, sitting in 28F, that the airplane is a place where I oddly feel very comfortable. It is the in-between. These moments of flying are often the only times where I didn’t have to think about my identity as an American in Ireland or an Irishman in America. I'm just a traveler on these days and because I’ve done it so much, I can play the part well. Eoin travels well. It’s as though he was meant to be a GEM-K"
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