Preparing for Training

I leave from training a week from today! As a mom preparing for training this time around has been a lot harder and very different. My first go around I was just making sure I had the stuff I needed. This time I am trying to make sure that everything is ready for my husband since he'll be doing everything I usually do. I have also been getting the kids ready for me being away for three weeks. 

My oldest is so excited. She said that she'll miss me but she is proud of me. She knows that we'll talk on the phone and skype as much as we possibly can. It is a little harder with the younger kids. My son has special needs and is not very verbal. I have been trying to explain everything to him but it is difficult to know if he understands what is about to go on. It is hard, but he is the strongest person I know and he'll be ok. My youngest is two. She doesn't seem to understand but she has been enjoying playing "airplane" with her older sister. 

\My luggage came the other day and the kids have been playing with it nonstop. At first I was a little hesitant to let them mess with it because I don't want it to get messed up before I even get to training. But they have been pretending to be flight attendants <3 .="" a="" about="" asks="" be="" because="" div="" do="" doing.="" helping="" i="" is="" it="" little="" lot="" more="" my="" nbsp="" of="" oldest="" questions="" right.="" she="" them="" think="" to="" understand="" wants="" what="" will="">

I have to have to plan for two days of business attire and then business casual clothing. I am trying to learn from my mistakes from my previous experience and pack lightly. Thankfully there is a laundry room at my hotel and I can just rotate and mix and match pieces. 

I have been studying. With AirTran they sent me a two page packet of things to study before training. With my new airline there was online modules that needed to be completed by tomorrow (I finished mine a day after I got them!!) and we have to be ready for a test within the first couple of days. There is a lot more information and with the kids it has been a lot harder to prepare than it was with AirTran. But I am feeling confident. 

I'll post more as I learn more. They are keeping us on our toes. I do not even have my flight or hotel information yet!

I'm Returning to the Friendly Skies!!!

Around this time last year I started putting applications in. I did a few face to face interviews and was disappointed to get the dreaded TBNT (Thanks but no thanks). I took some time to evaluate what could make myself more desirable to the airlines and realized that not having recent customer service experience from my time of being a stay at home mom was probably hurting me. I returned to the workforce in May and started putting out applications back in November. I had a few video interviews and I was hired on by a regional airline. 

My goal was to get on with a mainline. But I am actually very excited to get started. I start my training on the 31st and I couldn't be happier. I am looking at this as a stepping stone to gain more recent experience to get where I want. But I am also keeping an open mind because I may end up enjoying the airline that hired me. 

As the end of the month approaches I am studying the information they have sent me and preparing my family for the big changes to come. It is a lot different this time around because I have three children under the age of 7 who have grown up most of the time with Mommy being there 24-7. My oldest is very excited and has already started planning out trips for us to take this summer. 

I will keep you all posted as I learn more and head off to training. 

Happy Flying and Happy New Year!