Friday Funny: Dreams Take Flight

(for a few minutes at least)

My parents and I are smack-dab in the beautiful in-between. When I was a child, they wanted to give us amazing experiences - travel, adventure, and a million memories. And I’m here to tell you that they knocked it out of the park! Now, as an adult, I want to give them the same thing as we continue to make more memories together through every season of life.

Like most people, my family was fascinated by the concept of flying. One of my most vivid memories is from a family vacation to Disney World, where we rode the hang gliding simulator ride “Soarin’.” My mom, having often dreamed of flying, was crying as the lights came back on in the theater at the end of the ride. Not only had she “experienced” flying, she got to share the moment with her family - a dream come true.

For years, we talked about that ride, Mama getting teary eyed almost every time. So, as an adult, I wanted to give back a little of that magic to my sweet Mama, and I found just the opportunity on a trip to Savannah, Georgia.

During the summer of 2019, I decided I wanted to take my mom on a girls’ trip - just the two of us. I had a shoe-string budget, but I booked my first Vrbo and drove us down to one of our favorite cities in the South.

Both avid readers, Mama and I often swap books back and forth, and one of our favorite authors is Mary Kay Andrews, who has a few houses in Savannah and often sets her books in the area. As luck would have it, MKA (as we affectionately call her) had recently released a cookbook. So, days before the trip, I spent hours in the kitchen making some of the recipes from the book to take on our trip.

On a whim, I even DM’d MKA on Instagram telling her about our adventure to Savannah with her yummy recipes in our bellies and the antique shops she mentions in her books as our personal shopping map for our trip. And, y’all…she replied!!! Mama and I were squealing like a pair of thirteen year old girls at a sleepover. But that wasn’t the only surprise I had up my sleeve.

I told Mama that on our second day there, we would have to get up early to drive to a special adventure I’d lined up for us. Now, normally I’d be beside myself spilling the beans and spoiling the surprise, so the fact that I actually pulled this off might be the biggest surprise of all…well, almost.

The next day, we woke up extra early and drove about fifteen minutes away to the water. As we pulled up, Mama saw exactly what was in store for her - a yellow hang glider with a motor and pontoons attached. A feat of engineering if we’d ever seen it!

Before we got out of the car, I reminded Mama of the ride at Disney that she loved so much and how I just wanted to bring that to life for her all over again. We cried and hugged then left the car and headed for the glider to meet our pilot.

After a quick safety briefing, he got Mama all strapped into her bright yellow chariot that would soon be taking to the sky, and I got out my phone to document every moment with pictures and videos. I was standing at the end of the dock filming as the glider picked up speed and transitioned from the water to the air, carrying Mama up, up, and…right back down?

The glider had barely made it up in the air when they started to turn around and head back, flying lower and lower, closer to a big mess of cordgrass, then...Thunk!

The pilot maneuvered the glider out of the cordgrass and back up the boat ramp. Weeds covered the front of the craft, and there was even a little crab hitchhiking on the side.

“Was it fun, Mama?” I asked enthusiastically.

“Fun?” She asked. “We just crashed! Didn’t you see it?”

“Well, I thought it was an awfully short flight, but then I told myself, I really didn’t read the fine print well. Maybe it only lasts a couple minutes.”

“What about the landing?” she asked, wondering how she’d raised such a perfectly peculiar Pollyanna.

“Well, I thought it was an awfully odd place to land, but then I told myself, I don’t fly these gliders, so how would I know where you’re supposed to land them.”

By this time, the pilot had cleaned off the debris, identified the problem, and fixed the wing.

“Is it ready to go again?” I asked eagerly.

“Excuse me?” the pilot asked, stupefied that I was patiently awaiting round two instead of burning up the family lawyer’s home phone at 7:00 AM on a Saturday.

“Yes,” I said. “If everything is good, are we ready to go back up? If it’s a matter of the time/gas money, Mama can have my turn,” I said generously.

“You want to go back up…with me?” he asked.

“Yes. If you don’t mind. I did pay for two flights,” I said, trying to hide my non-existent negotiating skills with a little Southern charm.

“Uh…sure, I guess,” he said, looking at Mama for confirmation. Then, they climbed back in the glider and took off for a much longer ride (and a much smoother landing) before taking me up for my turn, which was amazing.

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I would like to add that though this story involves a crash, this pilot was PHENOMENAL! He absolutely rocked it, and we would fly with him again tomorrow because he was simply that good. If you’re ever in Savannah, you should absolutely check out this adventure - we highly recommend it!

Lastly, I would like to add that we’ve sat on this story for over six years, because we thought that telling Daddy how our first ever girls’ trip almost came to a crashing halt might put a damper on upcoming trips. But Mama spilled the beans last weekend, so the statute of limitations has officially expired. Sorry again, Daddy!