Monday 15 October 2012

A crucial detail about safety all moms MUST know...

I learn wherever I go. I have to. There is so much I still need to learn. Especially as a mother. Some of the most valuable lessons I have learnt though, I learnt on airplanes as you can see from my last post. But here’s another one and perhaps this one is even more important.

Right in the beginning of your journey, even before takeoff, the flight attendant takes you through the safety procedure. I am sure you have all seen and heard it before. As a matter of fact we have heard it so often, we don’t even really listen anymore. But we should! Especially as mothers. Because right in the beginning they tell you a crucial little detail that all moms MUST know…

(I took this picture aboard a Boeing 737)
“Fasten your seat belt… (blablabla) …consult your leaflet for your nearest emergency exit… (blablabla) …but (and here it comes!) in the unlikely event of a change of cabin pressure the panel located above your head will open automatically, releasing oxygen masks. Remain seated and immediately pull the mask towards you, to start the flow of oxygen. Place the mask firmly over your nose and mouth, securing it behind your head with the elastic strap. Breathe normally and do not remove the mask until instructed to do so by a flight attendant. We remind those guests traveling with children, to please put on your own mask PRIOR to assisting others.

Did you hear that last bit?? Would YOU have done that? Don’t we instinctively try to put a mask on our children first and then take care of ourselves? If you ask them (and I did) why they recommend it this way around, you will get a very simple explanation. If you put the mask on your child’s face first, it will be able to breathe, but you might pass out before you can help yourself and then you will be no good to your child thereafter. However, if you put the mask on yourself first and breathe…your child might have passed out for a short while but it will wake up as soon as you fasten the mask on him or her and you will then be able to get through the stormy moment together. Wow! That was a real moment of revelation to me! Because I have always put myself last.

There is so much we can learn from a safety leaflet of a Boeing 737. For example, do you "remain seated" or in other words do you remember to take a little break when stress levels soar above what you can actually handle? Would you recognize and admit when the "cabin pressure" changes to an unbearable level in your life? Would you "grab the mask dropping from the panel above" and with that I mean would you breathe deeply and start praying? Or do you, like I used to, frantically try to gain control over a situation that is beyond your control?

Here is what I have learnt - as a mom, you have to take care of yourself! You owe it to your children. If you don’t take care of yourself first, you won’t be able to take care of anyone else. Whether that means having a little fun, going out for a nice breakfast, getting the right rest, taking time to go to the gym, eating or sleeping properly – all of these are NOT selfish things. We easily get out of balance sacrificing too much for everybody else, especially our children, but we can end up mentally and emotionally burnt out. As a result, logically, we are then prone to make rather poor decisions for ourselves as well as our children. So, please make sure you don’t leave yourself out of your list of priorities today! Grab the mask, take a rest and don't feel guilty if you have a little quiet time or down time, especially during a very hectic day! Such quiet times only help you to make it a smooth landing by the end of the day. So my final wish for you today would have to be...

...HAVE A SAFE FLIGHT MOM and thank you for visiting my site!


This post is now also available on YouTube! Just click on the picture below...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wC8BDGWJ_2o


P.s. And if you just need a little laughter to brighten your day, check out this cute in-flight safety film on YouTube: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2KRXHJi6MY&feature=related

(Please scroll down for more encouraging posts!)

8 comments:

  1. I loved this, Sue. It is EXCELLENT. You need to consider where you can submit this. Thanks for sharing. I've tweeted it and promoted it on FaceBook.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Shirley. Your opinion means a lot to me as I know what a seasoned author you are. I will ponder over where to submit it and much appreciate you tweeting and FaceBook-ing it, as I do not have a platform there. Have a lovely day!

      Delete
  2. I was on a flight yeasterday and wondered exactly that - why not do the kids first? Thanks for the answer and a nifty blog!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Absolute pleasure! Hope to see you back here soon. Have a happy day and don't forget to take care of yourself! It is so much easier to say than to do...just caught myself yesterday needing my own advice ;)

      Delete
  3. Commenting again. I don't remember the last time! You are doing DO WELL with your videos Sue. You need to give us a mini-course on CWOSA!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Shirley! :)
      It has been an amazing learning experience and I am learning something new with every new video! ;)

      Delete
  4. Great life hack, Sue. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete

I am looking forward to receiving your comment! It might not appear here right away, but it will be published within the next couple of days. 😉 I wish you a GREAT day! 🙋🏼‍♀️

(Oh, and if you don't have an account to log in with, don't worry, just choose "Anonymous" under "Comment as" and insert your name in the comment itself if you wish to do so.)