Letting it unfold

I am very definitely a "destination" person rather than a "journey" person. I am goal-oriented and certain about what I want to achieve. I have been learning a lot lately about being in the present and letting the process unfold. More and more, I see how the letting go can lead to things I never expected.

Flying parallels life in so many ways and yesterday I saw this lesson in action yet again.

I had a plane booked for the afternoon and had arranged to fly with another pilot. The evening before, he messaged me to say that his schedule (he flies commercially) didn't work out after all for him to fly with me.

I started to ask other pilot friends if they wanted to come along and even posted an invitation on a Facebook group for fellow pilots at Cooking Lake. But all of them said they couldn't join me due to work and family events. Being a little nervous about flying on my own, I quietly hoped the weather, which was looking iffy, would lead to a cancellation and I'd be off the hook. But, lo and behold, the day turned out to be bright and sunny and the forecasted snow never materialized. It seemed I had no good reason to cancel, so I left for the airport.

There was a light crosswind at the airport so I was just that much more nervous thinking about heading off on my own. But honestly, I do know how to do it and practicing with a slight crosswind would be fine and good for me. So I climbed into the plane. The airport was crazy busy on such a nice day and I could hardly manoeuvre the plane around all the others on the ramp. As I slowly crept forward, I passed a fellow pilot, Aaron, who did his training around the same time as me, as he taxied in from his multi-engine lesson. We waved at each other.

I taxied down to the other end of the airport to do my run-up at the active end of the runway. While I was working through the checklist, Aaron came on the radio saying, "Hey, Sarah, don't go! Can I go with you?" I taxied back down to the hangar and saw him running across the apron. He hopped in and we got ourselves out of the traffic jam again and headed off.

Climbing out of Cooking Lake enroute to Vegreville

I hadn't flown with Aaron before, although we had said we wanted to go together sometime. This turned out to be a perfectly serendipitous opportunity that I never thought would happen and didn't see coming. I was almost about to take off alone and then everything changed! And we had a blast! We talked easily and laughed a lot. We talked about our own flight training and flight tests and our plans for flying careers in the future. When we landed in Vegreville, Aaron had arranged for a friend to meet him at the airport to say hi. I was introduced to him and the two of them climbed into the plane to have a look and take selfies. We were only on the ground for about 15 minutes (had to get back before dark) but it was one of those rare moments with friends or even strangers that just make you smile and feel like life is good.

The flight back was great, too, and as we neared our home airport, a friend of mine from commercial ground school recognized my voice on the radio as he was also approaching the airport. He said, "Is that Sarah?" I said yes! We cracked a few jokes as we also negotiated our position in the circuit. He landed just before me and then watched me land, broadcasting on the radio to everyone in the area that my landing was a good one. Back in the hangar as I filled out the paperwork, we talked with other students and instructors and had some good laughs.

This was such a great day! I was so pumped after it was over. I had begun by wishing the weather would interfere so I didn't have to fly alone. Yet, it unfolded to be a fabulous series of events that I never could have planned. I am so glad I took the first step and allowed such a wonderful day to unfold. If I had tried to control it and fear it, I would have ended up staying at home and missing it all. This is a great lesson for life. Take the first step and you might be amazed!