An on-time Departure

For those of you that have known me for years, you know that I've proudly identified myself as an "airline brat".  Since 1983, before my birth, my dad has devoted his life to working for American Airlines.  Over the past 28 years, he has endured multiple yearly nor'easters, countless upgrade requests, an insurmountable number of calls from friends to see if he could do anything about his delay, an overwhelming amount of "busiest days of the year", and of course the occasional "AA lost my bag" email or voicemail, as if he can solve all the problems of the airline.  He has gone from finance, to cargo, to opening terminals, to running airports and all airport services. And his job has brought him and my family from Chicago, to Orange County, to LA, to Dallas, to New York, and then back to Dallas again. My dad has worked through devastating events such as  the LA riots, 9/11, and tornadoes ripping through his terminals.


So now, after over 28 years, it has come time for my dad to retire from American Airlines.  Last week, Mike and I were lucky enough to be able to fly in for his big send off in Dallas.  We flew in just minutes before a major storm in time to make it to the celebration of his career with AA.  The party was at the C.R Smith Museum in Dallas, a great venue with tons of vintage artifacts collected from American Airlines over the years.  My grandmother also flew in from Connecticut to make it to the party as well, which was a treat for us.

It was great to see all the people who had worked with my dad over the years and hear them say such wonderful words about my pops.  We heard he was a man of integrity, that he was respected, that he had the most appropriate and timely sense of humor, that he made major and lasting contributions to the airline, and that his impact was timeless.  But the greatest part was the speeches.  As a kid, you're whole life, you want to try to make your parents proud, but as I

sat in that room with hundreds of people who love and support my dad....it was my turn to be proud.  I was a very proud daughter.  Of course my brother and I said a few words about my dad and had brief speeches for the room as well.  My dad has taught me a lot about loyalty and work ethic through his career at AA, and I owe my successes in my career to him.

His retirement from AA doesn't bring a retirement in his life, but for now he's enjoying life in a way that I've never seen before.  For the first time in 28 years, I've seen my dad RELAXED!  My parents just got back from a beautiful trip to Punta Cana, and I've never seen them both so happy and stress free.  

No conference calls while on vacation, no interruptions from naps by minor crises, no checking email or computers (except to skype with us!).  Just peace.  If anything, my mother would say he's getting a little TOO relaxed.  This is the most he's been home in years!!!  I'm excited to see where his next adventure will take him, and I'm proud of everything he has accomplished in his career at AA.  But most importantly, I'm glad that with his retirement, he still has the flight benefits to come see us whenever he wants!