I may be going back to working the skies in August, but things are far from “back to normal.” I have been looking back at some of my awesome past travel experiences, in part as a gratitude exercise—like “Damn, I really took advantage of my travel benefits”—and in part for something to look forward to—as in “Can’t wait to be exploring and doing all this fun stuff again.”
Today I’m reminiscing about…whales.

Flight attendant life can be a lonely one. Or so they say.
I wrote this poem a couple years ago, processing my feelings about life on the road. Of the loneliness my peers talked about that I couldn’t seem to feel. Except…
Except for the times when I slowed my pace, sat in place, long enough to sit and write. Long enough to feel. And it turned out, to my surprise, it was more complicated than I thought.

As of August 26, I haven’t had a drink in six months. It is without question the longest I have ever gone without alcohol since age 17. I was pondering what to write about this week for the blog, as I do on Mondays, and this realization popped into my head. And, while I doubted what significance this time marker has on travel or life as a full-time Flight Attendant, it has real significance in my real life. Why I stopped drinking, what impact it’s had, the benefits and concerns for the future…

As a full-time flight attendant flying through the pandemic, I’ve been getting a lot of questions.
How is work going for you? Do you feel safe? Is your job safe? How are people behaving? What is it like being on the road in these times? I figured I may as well write a post about it to answer these common questions, clear things up, and reflect on just how we’re getting through these very unique times.

We’re almost a week into 2020 and I’m just now taking the time to pause and reflect on 2019. From what I’ve seen on social media I’m days late, but truth be told it was a realllly awesome year and I wanted to savor every last moment. Once the hustle and bustle of the holidays ended and I had time to sit and think about this year gone by, counting all the incredible experiences and small pleasures I’ve encountered along the way, I realized it was enough to fill a blog post and certainly a worthy subject.
I know what you’re thinking: Barf! Someone’s braggy highlight reel about their awesome year. I certainly hope it doesn’t end up coming off that way. But this year was a big one for me, and since I write this thing more for myself than for you, I’m going to have to get into it a little.

I love quarantine.
No, I’m not kidding.
I’ve been enjoying my time off in quarantine so much that I requested to take another month of voluntary leave for August. I figured I may as well “round out the Summer,” enjoy the best of New England, keep carving out headway in the various projects I’m working on.
But the universe had other plans for me. Schedules were published for August and, as it turns out, I’m going back to work.

For those of you who don’t know me, let me introduce myself. I’m Toni, a flight attendant-writer-traveler-runner-dreamer-coffee-addicted-food-loving girl from the Boston area.

I started this project almost a year ago with the idea of sharing my travel stories and a window into flight attendant life. More than just sharing stories, A Wheel in the Sky was a way for me to start writing more consistently and deliberately, more frequently. I spent time composing pieces that would one day be blog posts. They ranged from trips I’d taken, things to do on layovers, tips for packing like a flight attendant, and of course the dirt on what is really up with the “mile high club.”

On December 15, 2020 I made a MOVE and bought myself my first home. For someone who, in the past, wouldn’t sign a 1-year service agreement with Verizon to get an upgrade, this is a monumental step.

But this post isn’t about my big accomplishment of buying a home. (If you want to read about how I went from “homeless” to homeowner in 2020, check out this post.) Instead, this is about a joyous, crazy Christmas surprise put together by my friend Rachel and a lot of other folks. If you’re needing a dose of faith in humanity, read on.

What do you do with a full week off in July that you didn’t ask for? Hop a flight to the Mediterranean? Or maybe Mexico? How about Colorado to visit friends you’ve been meaning to spend time with? Or maybe you just pick up a work trip and have mini layover vacations. The fourth is worth double pay, after all. A week off is a big deal amirite? But when you didn’t plan on having it, it’s a bit trickier to decide. This question is what I faced this week—the first week of July. Take the money? Take a vacation? Relax? I decided to do something a little crazy. To have a New England staycation and take in the best of the season. And Imma tell you about it right here.

I decided to come out.
Not of the closet. Been there, done that. But there is something else I’ve been all but hiding for years.
I determined that before Corona was over, I would “go public” with this side of myself, the only “Must do” on my long list of quarantine goals. I would come out to my family and friends and acquaintances, old and new. I’d let you all in on my little secret. And since this Sunday will be my first day back to work full-time, it looks like time’s up. So here goes…