South Carolina has proven to be a great place for us to live.  It’s close to my husband’s base.  It has mountains, something we’ve never lived near before.  And if you drive a few hours, you can be on the coast.  I am definitely familiar with the coast, having grown up in the Deep South.  Honestly, in my humble opinion, there are no prettier beaches than the Emerald Coast.   I used to play along the shoreline as a child.  There’s nothing like saltwater hair and sand as white as sugar.

But this story is not about the Gulf Coast; it’s about finding our home in South Carolina.  South Carolina became the backdrop for one of the biggest transitions of our lives, the season when Jeff stepped into something he’d dreamed of since childhood.

I left you last week with the discovery that he was ready to become a Captain. 

It was a big deal for him. 

He’d been a First Officer for many years, long enough to enjoy the good schedules that come with seniority.  Becoming a Captain would move him from the right seat to the left and drop him to the bottom of the Captain Seniority list. 

I still remember exactly where we were when Jeff found out the company had approved his “bid” for Captain.  It was late fall of 2022.  The leaves were changing color, and the world was starting to feel a bit more normal after the pandemic.  It was a tender time for all.  So this good news brought much-needed joy into our lives. 

It was Grimaldi’s Pizza. They’ve since closed, unfortunately. We were sitting out on the patio when Jeff checked his company email.  And there it was, the congratulatory notice that he’d been accepted and would be assigned a training date. 

We were so excited!

But also nervous.

Being a Captain would be such a serious job.  First Officer is not easy, but you always know the Captain has things under control should an issue arise.  It would be such a change.  Now, the buck would stop with him.

It didn’t take long for Jeff to be assigned a training date. 

January, 2023.

We prayed so much over the days and weeks leading up to training.  It was going to be hard, as it should be when you take on something that involves the lives of others.   Training would be in Dallas at the AMR headquarters and would last a month.   It would include intensive classroom work, followed by simulator training that would push you to your limits. 

Jeff studied for hours on end.

Just imagine all the worst-case scenarios and put them into a few weeks of training, and you’ve got the idea.

And, at the end of the month, there would be a simulator test.   

A very intense simulator test. 

The kind that would make or break his attempt to become a Captain.

So, yeah, basically no pressure. 

Piece of cake. LOL!

So, let’s pause the facts for a minute.

What makes a man or woman decide they want to fly airplanes?  Where does that desire come from?  Is it born in them? Does it come from God?  Did something in their childhood spark it? 

Most people see flying as a way to get from one place to another.  But for Jeff, it was a dream long before it was a job.  He carried that dream in his heart even though life took us in a different direction for a season.

I’m still amazed at how God led us through ministry first, shaping us, stretching us, teaching us things we didn’t even know we’d need later. Not one year was wasted. Looking back, I can see how those years prepared us for the unusual, unpredictable life we live now.

God’s timing was perfect.

Jeff was tireless in his effort to prepare.

He’d studied relentlessly, he’d prepared mentally, he’d prayed constantly.

Before we knew it, that fall day at the pizza place was a distant memory, and it was January.

He caught a plane to Dallas.

There is a hotel just for American Airlines employees near the training facility.  According to Jeff, the rooms are very adequate, there is a high-quality fitness room, a cafeteria, and probably more.  He is not one to wander around looking for amenities; he looks for the fitness room and possible food. 

I, on the other hand, would want to see every square inch and would always be on the lookout for a coffee shop!

I knew I wouldn’t hear much from him in January.  It’s such an intense time, not much left for idle conversation.  He called as much as he could and updated me on how things were going.  He felt good about all of it, but he knew the most important part, the simulator test, was still ahead.

When you train to become a captain, you’re paired with another pilot who is training to be a first officer (usually a new-hire).  So, you are not only studying everything you need to know to perform your job to sit in the left seat, but you are also mentoring a future right seater.

Jeff still has friends he keeps in touch with from his very first training class, way back when he first started at American.  He still knows guys from his training class at American Eagle (ENVOY) twenty years ago.

Stressful events can be a place where friendships form. 

There aren’t many people who go through this, so it makes for a special kind of brotherhood.

When the end of the month finally arrived, and it was time for the “sim ride” as they call it, Jeff called me and asked for prayer.  He was ready.  He’d done all the work.  Now, he wanted God to give him the wisdom to handle the most difficult of scenarios.  And to do it as perfectly as humanly possible. 

I hung up the phone, after praying together, and sat quietly on the couch.  The house was heavy with silence. It all felt so surreal.  Could we really be here after so many years?  Could Jeff call me in a few hours and officially be a Captain?

I prayed constantly, knowing my husband was going through the most intense training imaginable. 

I realized as the morning dragged on that this test wasn’t just a test for Jeff, but a test of everything we’d worked for.