Laura Steward Atchison's Blog, page 38

My Mom’s Birthday

Today, September 14th is the best day ever. It is my incredible Mom’s birthday. I have been blessed in my life to have a mom, and dad, who support me, encourage me and love me unconditionally. My mom has been adopted by so many of my friends I have lost count. She is one of those special people who growing up all the kids just wanted to be around. My friends still like hanging out with her today and I am 49!

My mom always encouraged me to never accept less than what I wanted and needed in my life even when she would always put her needs last. She is one of the strongest women I know and I am blessed to have her as a friend as well as a mom. Who I am as a person today is because my mom demonstrated what it meant to be a caring, loving, giving and strong independent woman.

Please join me in wishing my Mom a big happy birthday by posting what you love about your mom or just use this post as a place to say thank you and I love you to your mom! Mom I love you and treasure you. Thank you for raising me and guiding me but most of all thank you for loving me the way you do. Ok. I started it, now it’s your turn. Post now!

 

33 years and counting she told me

I was flying out to an event in San Jose the other day and had the fortune to be sitting in the First Class cabin (I highly recommend it if you have the opportunity) when I struck up a conversation with the flight attendant. For those of you who know me, you know that is actually a routine occurrence. I strike up conversations with basically anyone willing to converse.

What stood out for me this particular flight was that my flight attendant was a 33 year veteran of our air transportation system. It is rare to see someone in the flight cabin with that much experience so we starting talking about how things have changed. I am not referring to the changes in fees, baggage handling, food service or even the hub system. What we talked about was the changes in courtesies seen from both sides of the aisle.

My flight attendant started out in the industry when women wore hats and gloves, men wore suits and NO ONE carried a suitcase onto the plane. I still remember my mom putting me into a dress, patent leather shoes and white gloves whenever we flew as a family. Once on board the plane we were handed pens, paper, a deck of cards and our choice of magazines.

At some point during the flight, the captain took us into the cockpit for a tour and gave us wings and a little “passport” stamped with our flight. you could carry it from flight to flight and get it stamped by the pilots. Mine is gone now but I still remember it like it happened yesterday.

It all seemed so stress-free. Unlike today’s flights where everyone is in a hurry, sneaking on an extra oversized carry-on is almost expected and passengers in the back of the plane try to stow their carry-on bags in the front overhead bins to save themselves from having to lug it back to their seats thereby making the passengers in the front have to lug their bags to the back to stow them. Forget the mess this causes after the plane lands. And my favorite is the nose invader. You know who I mean, the person who carries on board the smelliest food they can find or who overloads on the perfume or aftershave. Or better yet, the seatmate who doesn’t bathe before flying.

I find it interesting that she didn’t bring up the reduction in basic courtesies. I did. Once I did it was like someone had opened the floodgates on the Hoover Dam. The few examples I listed above are just a small sampling of what has changed since she started flying the now not-so-friendly-skies.

Post-911 she commented, passengers reverted back to the courtesies of old; being patient, following safety rules, smiling at each other, respecting each other’s space and overall being kinder. It only lasted about six months she said before people forgot the lessons learned from 9/11, it can all change in an instant so be kind to those around you because they are human, just like you with feelings and worries.

My flight attendant is not planning on retiring any time soon but she misses the days when people smiled and respected people more and used the common courtesies of saying please and thank you when someone took care of them even if it was their job.

So I ask on this eve of 9/11, are you being kind to those around you or living your life like you are the only one who matters? Thank the people around you who serve you. I like to smile at random strangers and I try to always thank the person cleaning the bathrooms in the airport or hotel because most times people just walk right past them like they don’t exist. Who are you walking past? Are the basic courtesies gone? Let me know where you have found them and who you thanked today. Post your comments here so we can all share!

 

P.S. Thank you to all the 9/11 first responders. You went in when everyone else was running out. Words can never express my gratitude for all you did for people you did not know that day. I am honored to know some of you and call you friend.

 

 

 

 

Are the answers you are getting what you want or what you need?

How do you even know? Do you even know what you need or want? I started seriously thinking about those questions a number of years ago when several areas of my life did not seem to be satisfying me. What I learned was the areas of my life and business that were not satisfying to me were ones I had chosen to not ask very deep questions around.

That was when I realized that too often I stopped asking questions when I got the answer I wanted versus the answer I needed to move me forward. I stopped asking questions because it was easier to stay on the course I had set and the position I was in rather than consider an answer that would require me to move out of my comfort zone and move forward.

Sometimes moving forward requires moving backwards, sideways or in a direction we never imagined. Invariably, asking the extra questions or the questions we chose not to ask get asked down the road when uncomfortable dissatisfaction with the status quo kicked in. Wouldn’t it be nice to not waste that time and experience the challenges you had to face by staying put?

Try questioning your questions by looking at the answers you are getting. If the answers you are getting don’t move you forward towards where you need to be, ask different questions. If you are not sure what to ask, ask those around you, “Is there anything I am not asking about “XYZ” that I need to be asking?”

If you have surrounded yourself with people smarter than yourself, you should get some great questions and some even better answers! What do you think?