Queen of the Skies
The KLM Boeing 747, Queen of the Skies, has officially retired. Sitting all warm and happy in my bright Cairene apartment, I couldn't help but feel all sorts of emotions upon reading the news.
For non-TCKs, a plane retiring might not mean much. It's just an airplane after all⸺a flying machine meant to transfer people and goods. However, as a TCK, a plane retiring means everything. Especially one in which I've spent a large part of my life; my home during the many long haul flights taken as a child.
"Jumbo", my mother would often happily call it as we entered the airplane⸺Jumbo Jet being the other nickname of the KLM Boeing 747. I always felt comfortable there (or any other airplane for that matter). The flights were long, the jet lag even longer, but the airplane itself was home, where I ate my food, watched movies and peacefully fell asleep afterward, often resting my head on my mother's lap.
There was also something constant about the KLM Boeing 747, growing up. As everything around me seemed to constantly change and goodbyes were all too frequent, the KLM Boeing 747s and their routines pretty much stayed the same. A stable home amidst the chaos of farewells.
But even this home is gone now. Even this home has become a place I can’t ever return to; suddenly nothing more than a distant memory. Queen of the Skies, here you go on my endless list of goodbyes. Thank you for having been a safe haven growing up.
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