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He kept it in his bag, tucked away securely to read on the plane. It was a special gift which he was saving for the perfect moment, right after takeoff. It was a plane letter given to him a day earlier by his girlfriend. He was anxious to read it. They had just actually celebrated their 1 year anniversary.
As we sat, waiting for our departure, Jonathan our 16-year-old son, told me about how he could not wait to read the plane letter that Cori, his girlfriend, wrote for him.
“When did she give it to you?” I asked.
“Yesterday.”
“And still you have not read it?” I thought that he must have taken at least a fast peek.
“Kim, it is a plane letter, I am supposed to read it on the plane.”
“But we are in the airport, isn’t that close enough?”
“No Kim. The idea is that the person who gets the plane letter should read it after there's no possibility of contact with the person who wrote it.” He tried patiently to spell out the concept.
“Why must you be out of contact?” I did not understand it. Merely because they call it a plane letter, doesn’t mean that there’s a law created that says you need to read it on the airplane.
“So that in case she writes something, um, personal, I then cannot get the phone and contact her right after reading through it. There must be a settlement period.”
Ah... the rules of engagement.
“But aren’t you intrigued?” Perhaps my curiosity was more than his.
“Yes, I'm, quite a bit so.”
“So can’t you just read it now? How will she know when you look at it anyway? She is not here.”
“Kim, it’s a plane letter. I need to read it on the airplane.” I was told.
The flight was delayed. We sat and anxiously waited for more information.
We were told that due to mechanical problems we had to sit tight until they were fixed. I was grateful that the mechanical problems were going to be handled before we got onto the plane. We continued to wait.
Then the flight was cancelled. And now, due to extremely poor weather conditions, there was not a single flight going to Ft. Lauderdale, the embarkation point for our cruise. We were informed that we missed the ship.
No boat, no plane, no plane letter. They put us up at a hotel for the night and arranged a flight the following day. I could not fully grasp why there weren’t exceptions to the plane letter rule.
“But your flight was cancelled, you can take a look at it now. I am sure that Cori would certainly understand.” I thought that surely he would give and check out the letter. To no avail– he waited.
The next morning we’re back again at the gateway at the flight terminal.
“So have you read the letter, Jonathan?”
“Kim, it is a PLANE letter. I need to wait until I am on the plane.”
“Do you want me to read it for you?”
“No thanks, I’ll wait.” I was impressed at his resolve. The rules were the rules and there was no way that he would break them. He respected the plane letter until the moment was right.
Onto the plane we went and minutes before takeoff I dozed off. The moment I woke up I asked the question, “Did you read her letter?”
His ear-to-ear grin provided the answer.
“Was it worth the wait?”
“It was worth every minute.” He answered with 100 percent certainty.
I was surprised at how a 16-year-old boy could have much calm and patience. I was even more amazed at how much he even enjoyed the wait. He knew it would be good. He did not have to force the situation or rush the process. He expected it to rock his world and yes, it did. All in good time was the lesson he taught me. All in good time.
Kim Ades, MBA, President of Frame of Mind Coaching and JournalEngine™ Software, is one of North America’s foremost experts on performance through thought management. By using her unique process of coaching through journaling, she works with clients to unveil and switch their thought patterns to ignite significant change and life
