Kimberly Weis: Why I Want to Fly

Why I want to Fly

"I am just a normal person. I grew up in a suburb, graduated from college, got married, bought a home and had kids. I have the cookie cutter life, groomed to achieve the American dream by my hard working parents. Is it wrong to want more? To achieve something amazing that isn’t in the normal plans of regular people, a regular girl, and especially not in the plans of a regular mom? 

Maybe it was when I saw the Woman in Flight exhibit at the Museum of Flight. I saw those women taking on the roles of men because the men were fighting in wars. I saw the pictures and I wondered what it would be like to be alive back then, and if I would’ve been one of the ones who were selected to take to the air to help my country? How lucky they were to be able to achieve the challenge of flight. I was jealous of them. 

In my mind flying is something that rich young boys get to do, and the girls that do it must not have had brothers. To me becoming a pilot seems like something that you get to do if your father did it. I want my children to be interested in amazing things because their mom did it. My grandchildren can talk about their grandmother with great words and maybe I will be the topics of their school reports.

My education says I am a geographer, my business card says I am an on call computer technician. My husband is a teacher and his “teacher salary” is still the bread winner of the household. We’ve come to realize that our time is more valuable than dollars and learning new things is more valuable than acquiring new things. So we believe that we can fulfill our aspirations, but the high costs of raising young children with a modest income doesn’t allow for such costly goals without sacrifice. 

So I plan on putting off the challenge of flight till another time. But on a clear day I start doing the math and looking up the tuition costs and just daydream. I look up at the skies and wonder what the ground looks like. Rather than clouds I see holes in the sky. I can almost hear the whirl of the engine and imagine the smell of jet fuel. I realize that it’s up to me to fulfill my dreams. 

My husband supports and pushes me into the challenges that I present out loud which scares me. Usually my words are just thoughts, or subliminal suggestions that he’ll want to do so we can do it together. Girls usually take on the hobbies of their men, but I need to stop waiting for my husband to want to do something that I am interested in. I need to stop waiting around for a guy. I need to Fly."

Kimberly, call Galvin and schedule your free flight. Set an example for those kids! Their mom can do more than bring home the bacon and cook it up in the pan, she can fly! In a few days we will celebrate Mother's Day... do this for yourself.

Enjoy the Journey! 

~Karlene