Can’t Stop Smiling

Tuesday…as I drove to work I could feel a silly grin pulling the corners of my mouth upward into a smirk of a smile. My entire being was still giggling with delight at the thought of my weekend adventure. The flight up to Lubbock, on Friday, took three hours due to a miserable headwind. And the clear skies allowed the West Texas sun to warm the plowed fields…causing strong thermals to push up and meet me at 10,500ft. While the ride was a bit rough I considered it a small price to pay in lieu of a nine-hour, five hundred mile drive. Besides I was excited to visit my dear sweet Mary after a three–month separation and a few bumps were of little concern. It was sort of a two-day date. We even went out to a very nice restaurant…the kind without a menu…the waiter just tells you what they are cooking and you don’t ask the price. It was fun…the food was great and the company was wonderful. I didn’t have to share “the company” with anyone else…it was just the two of us and it was as exciting and as intense as our first date over 44 years ago. Sunday afternoon came all to soon. I check the weather for the return flight and found that the wind had picked up. While the official weather was for Visual Flight Rules (VFR) they also reported winds 240 degrees, 30 knots gusting to 45 with blowing dust. That was a direct cross wind for the little grass strip I was to depart from. Not to worry my wife I tried to show no concern while vision from the show “Flying Wild Alaska” entered my head. I kissed her goodbye and climbed into the cockpit. The take off went rather well…in spite of my rusty piloting skills…thankfully the grass runway was very forgiving. As I climbed out the blowing dust became an issue. While officially it was Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC) I could not see the horizon…much less anything else in front of me. I instinctively went to my flight instruments and had to rely on my less that proficient instrument skills. Then there was that fuel stop with my less that stellar landing and the take-off…it was more across the runway than down the runway. After climbing over the dust storm into clear blue skies and smooth air the remainder of the flight was quite boring.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for a wonderful weekend, an exciting flight, and a fantastic visit. Thank you for a wife to share with my “going to be 105 year old” mother-in-law. Thank you for a smile I can’t get off my face.
Amen.