{"id":615,"date":"2015-08-28T06:50:33","date_gmt":"2015-08-28T10:50:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.spreadhappyness.com\/?p=615"},"modified":"2015-08-28T01:54:28","modified_gmt":"2015-08-28T05:54:28","slug":"week-50-summer-fun-challenge-keep-em-flying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spreadhappyness.com\/?p=615","title":{"rendered":"Week #50 – Summer Fun Challenge: “Keep ‘Em Flying!”"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Prayer<\/a>

The Texan\u00a0(Rob’s prayer card)<\/p><\/div>\n

Week #50 – Summer Fun Challenge: “Keep ‘Em Flying!”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Greetings Happyness Tribe — and\u00a0welcome to week ELEVEN of our Summer Fun Challenge!<\/span><\/p>\n

Growing up Church, the last weekend of August always meant the same thing: AIR SHOW WEEKEND! \u00a0Mom and Dad would pack us up in the car and cart us up to Sussex County Airport for a full day of aerobatics, wing-walkers, and fly-overs in the hot sun.<\/p>\n

As we got older, three of us drifted away from the tarmac and on to other things \u00a0— but Rob did not. \u00a0The screaming kid who held his ears with each fly-by grew into an adult who not only continued to LOOK\u00a0at planes\u00a0— but took flying lessons, logged his hours, served on a crew team, and even flew in historic aircraft as often as he could!<\/p>\n

In short — Rob kept his interests flying!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many people will accurately tell you\u00a0that the first year of grief is notably marked by “the firsts” — the first holidays, birthdays, seasons, etc. \u00a0But as we approach the one-year mark, we are also painfully reminded of “the lasts.” \u00a0The last time we saw him, the last thing we ate with him, the last phone call or text…you get the idea.<\/p>\n

One of the many “last things” I remember was Rob’s frustration that he couldn’t attend last year’s “Wings of Freedom”\u00a0fly-in at Monmouth Executive Airport — which brings three beautifully restored vintage aircraft to the Jersey Shore for display, tours, and flight experiences. \u00a0It was August, he already wasn’t feeling well, and it was HOT. \u00a0Rob didn’t often express regret — but he recounted to me\u00a0that the year before he had passed up an opportunity to fly in a P-51 Mustang. \u00a0The “flight experience”\u00a0was expensive — but something he had always wanted to do. \u00a0I remember the tension in his already breathless voice as he remembered the words, “maybe next year.”<\/p>\n

“Keep ’em flying!” is the tagline for the\u00a0Collings Foundation<\/a>\u00a0— the organization responsible for that P-51 (among other vintage aircraft) and the “Wings of Freedom”<\/a> tour, which coincidentally arrives at Monmouth Executive Airport this weekend! \u00a0(If you or someone you know are really into aircraft — check it out!)<\/span><\/p>\n

Do you have things your fun list this summer that you’re already thinking…maybe next year?<\/p>\n

Your assignment for this week: “KEEP ‘EM FLYING!” \u00a0<\/strong>A balanced life takes planning and purpose, of course — but we also need to grab moments as they come. \u00a0This will mean different things to different people — but as the summer winds down, think about those things that you really wanted to do this year, THIS SUMMER, and then <\/span>pick one thing and\u00a0make it happen THIS weekend! \u00a0Maybe it’s a ride in a P-51 Mustang…who knows?!<\/p>\n

Regret is a stingy thing. \u00a0But with each drone of those aircraft as they buzz up and down the beach this weekend — I will remember Rob, and remember\u00a0to keep my own dreams flying!<\/p>\n

Spread Happyness — and share your last-minute flight plans in the comments!<\/strong><\/p>\n

8\/28\/15 by Grace Church
\n<\/em>\u00a9 Grace Church<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

PS:\u00a0ONE\u00a0WEEK TO GO<\/span>! \u00a0Our FUN LIST still has room to grow\u00a0— keep ’em coming!!!\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

– Have breakfast for dinner — or dinner for breakfast! \u00a0(Thanks, Jeannette!)
\n– Tubing down the Delaware! \u00a0(Thanks, Jenn!)
\n– “One Tank Trips”
\n– Surprise trip for spouse or loved one
\n– Kayaking
\n– Beach time
\n– BBQ’s
\n– Tourist for the day in nearby city
\n– Walking the boards
\n– Rock climbing
\n– Scuba diving
\n– Touring an estate
\n– Time with family
\n– Sitting on the porch
\n– Watching for rainbows
\n– Learning to surf
\n– Gardening
\n– Writing a book
\n– Working on a “summer” project
\n– Moving to a new town
\n– Planning a spa day (or half-day, or even lunch hour)
\n– Taking Fridays (or Mondays) off!
\n– Day at the ballpark (Minor League stadiums are great, too!)
\n– Outside concerts\/music events
\n– Hot air balloon ride\/festival
\n– Pool volleyball (a Church-family classic!)
\n– Take yourself or someone you love for ice cream!
\n<\/span>– Weed your front yard garden (and talk with neighbors and folks walking by!)
\n– Lose yourself in wonderful music, either listening or singing
\n–\u00a0Play in the grassy backyard
\n– Play with your dog (or maybe your neighbor’s dog!)
\n<\/span>– Sing karaoke
\n– Explore your town, county, state\u2026through food and drink!
\n– Visit a farm
\n– Make plans to see friends you don\u2019t often get to see (or schedule a gathering!)
\n– Blind-folded Make-overs! \u00a0(Great for a rainy day! \u00a0Bonus points if you go out in public after!)<\/p>\n

(What are we missing? \u00a0Send me your ideas and I’ll add them to the list!)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Week #50 – Summer Fun Challenge: “Keep ‘Em Flying!” Greetings Happyness Tribe — and\u00a0welcome to week ELEVEN of our Summer Fun Challenge! Growing up Church, the last weekend of August always meant the same thing: AIR SHOW WEEKEND! \u00a0Mom and Dad would pack us up in the car and cart us up to Sussex County […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spreadhappyness.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spreadhappyness.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spreadhappyness.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spreadhappyness.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spreadhappyness.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=615"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.spreadhappyness.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":622,"href":"https:\/\/www.spreadhappyness.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615\/revisions\/622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spreadhappyness.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spreadhappyness.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spreadhappyness.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}