Tick-Tock, Tick-Toc

Tick-Tock, Tick-Toc...


That is the sound of time counting down before Steve has to walk out the door for his show.  Us pilot wives have all been there: some shit kind of thing happens, and we are within minutes of our husband having to leave for work.

What brought this one?  We got home Christmas Day evening from traveling.  What did we notice in our family room, but water coming from our bow window.  In short, the incredibly inefficient window was causing the ice buildup on the roof to melt and drip.  What could be done outside at 8pm at night?  We weren't going to chance anything, so Steve wiped up the water and we figured we would deal in the morning.


On the 26th I ended up waking Steve up around 9am and told him this issue needed addressed...now.  I was in the family room with the kids and all I could hear was drip...drip...drip... He had a 2 something show, so we didn't have all the time in the world.  Tick-Tock, Tick-Toc

He spent probably a good hour out there trying to get the ice off the roof above the window.  All morning I was thinking about how I would be stuck with this window mess.  Yes, he would have worried about it on the road, but nothing he could do so far away. I was agitated all morning.  Steve leaving to go to far and exotic places...WARM, far, exotic places to boot, while I was going to have to deal with a freakin' leaky window.

Steve's fix worked for now.  The window is no longer leaking.  Steve didn't fall off the ladder, and he got to the airport in time. 


This whole Tick-Tock, Tick-Toc thing doesn't happen too often.  In fact, the last time it happened was when CC was just 3 months old.  She is now almost 18 months.

When she was just 4 weeks old she had a high fever, which prompted a MD visit, which led to a 48 hour stay in the hospital.  Diagnosis?  Viral meningitis.



Because of her hospital stay I was on super high alert of her wellness.  At 3 months she woke up with another fever.  I immediately tried to call the MD but they didn't open until 8:30am.  Steve was to report for a trip at 10:30am and in order to call off you need to give them a 2 hour notice, or something like that.  I was NOT comfortable with Steve leaving for 4 days when there was a possibility that CC would have to go back to the hospital with the fever.  How would I manage a 2-year-old with a 3-month-old baby in the hospital?  Tick-Tock  Make a decision...fast!

Steve ended up calling off the trip.  I really needed him home...with two young children, one of which was sick again, I needed him.  Steve is a husband and father first, a pilot second.

The first time the Tick-Toc factor happened with us was February 2003.  The flu that kicked both of our asses so hard we will forever remember it.  One evening I started getting sick around 11pm or so.  I was up all night.  Steve could hear me throughout the night and kept thinking "poor her...glad it isn't me."

He woke up with the alarm for an o'dark hundred show.  Tick-Tock...about 2 hours until his show. He went into the bathroom, turned on the shower and thought "gosh, I am going to get sick."  He made a pit stop at the toilet and I will leave it at that.

He called scheduling..  He got chewed out a bit on the phone since it was past that 2 hour window, but there was nothing he could do.  He was totally not in any condition, whatsoever, to fly a plane.  I am not sure if his chief pilot called him on that.  But again, there was nothing he could do.  It took a solid week to get over that flu.  Yuck!

Comments

  1. Your little newborn had viral meningitis? How scary. My goodness, I'm sure you were very nervous after that.

    I don't want to incite the fates by mentioning how long it's been since our last one, but we've had many of those tick-tock moments too. Like the time when our daughter was 4 weeks old and we realized the refrigerator was not working a couple hours before DH had to leave on a 4 day trip. Nothing more fun that running frozen breastmilk over to your neighbor's freezer at 6 in the morning, lol. More than once my mom's had to fly down spur-of-the-moment to help out when a stomach bug had me on the bathroom floor.

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  2. It was scary, but not as bad as it could have been. CC looked fine and the nurses were all reassuring that her coloring and behavior were good. That helped a lot. It is amazing how a scare like that sets your priorities straight.

    Ugh about running to the neighbors that early! All I have to say is thank the good Lord for nice, helpful neighbors. Ha, I bet we should all interview these people before buying houses..."do you promise to allow calls at all hours of the day to come over and assist in an emergency in the event that DH is out of town?"

    The good thing is that people usually think that pilots are cool...so helpful neighbors are willing.

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  3. I know all about those Tick-Tock moments too! And agree-good neighbors are the way to go.

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