Posts Tagged ‘safety instructions’

I remember my first flight with my mom like it was yesterday. We had it all figured out, mom would buy a window seat, me an aisle seat. We were seated early, magazines ready, shoes off with warm cushy socks, snacks, and no one sitting between us. We were the plenipotentiary of our row, and had full authority of the empty seat that separated us. Between life, the juicy gossip in US weekly, and new fashions from Elle, we had a lot to talk about.   However, as soon as the cabin door closed, so did my mom’s eyes. Wait, “wake up mom…mom, for real?” “Wake up, mom, don’t close your eyes all of the way, mom? “OK, don’t close your other eye, mom…mom, at least listen to the safety instructions!!” She doesn’t even move her head, or open her eyes, but out of her mouth, she says, “if this plane crashes, we all are going to die, so it doesn’t matter”. She doesn’t open her eyes for the next 4.5 hours. Ugh! So at this point, I realized that I would not have any conversations with my mom! Sadly, with no distractions from my mom, I actually paid attention to what the flight attendant was saying.

“…. In the event of a decompression, an oxygen mask will automatically drop from a compartment above your seat. To start the flow of oxygen, pull the mask towards you. Place it firmly over your nose and mouth, secure the elastic band behind your head, and breathe normally…… If you are travelling with a child or someone who requires assistance, secure your mask on first, and then assist the other person….”

This made me think about life and how we, especially as women, have tendencies to help people. If we can’t breathe, how can we help someone else breathe? In my past, I’ve always had a tendency to help the person I was dating at the time. I genuinely felt in my heart that I could help him or change him into a better person. When, in fact, I wasn’t in the position to help anyone. How could I help someone if I didn’t have it together myself? If I didn’t understand myself, take care of myself, know how to have me time, love myself, how could I share “love” with someone else? The answer is I couldn’t.  Like the flight attendant tells us, secure your own mask first before you can help someone secure theirs.

love,

the christianista