Leah Molodoy
About a message I needed to hear, and an oxygen mask.
This summer, I flew with my children to visit my mother in Belarus. Generally speaking, flying alone with three small children is an undertaking for the strong of heart, especially for mothers exhausted by an endless school break. During the flight, something interesting happened to me, but I only found the strength to reflect on it several days later.
Before takeoff, as the plane taxis onto the runway, the attentive flight attendants explain the flight safety rules in detail and demonstrate what to do in an emergency landing. Fasten this, put on that, pull on such-and-such. Hardly anyone takes it seriously, and thank G-d for that. So, while the flight attendant at the front of the plane was performing her simple little dance, I was trying to rein in my rambunctious little one, who urgently needed to stand in the aisle and absolutely could not sit strapped in on Mom’s lap. As I tried in vain to distract the little rule-breaker and reason with him, I completely failed to notice that a flight attendant had approached us.
She touched my shoulder, caught my eye, and said, “If the cabin loses pressure, put your oxygen mask on YOURSELF FIRST, and then on your children!”
Thrusting a bag containing an oxygen mask into my hands, she went to her seat. To be honest, I paid no attention to her instruction, but the mask itself interested my little one, and he let me buckle him in.
When I returned home, I found myself utterly exhausted amid the whirl of household chores, with children who were already tired of the school break clinging to me and relentlessly draining my energy. Looking around, I saw that my airplane had lost cabin pressure, with red lights flashing and beeping all around me, signaling that I urgently needed to put on an oxygen mask. And what was I doing? I was putting masks on my children, then on other people’s children, then on their mothers and fathers, aunts and uncles—and now I was already barging into the cockpit to put an oxygen mask on the pilot, too.
Stop! Come to your senses! According to flight safety rules, an adult must put the mask on themselves FIRST, and then on the child!
There is a reason for this! To save someone else’s life, you must be able to save yourself, to keep yourself alive and functioning. First the adult, then the child. It is frightening to think what would happen to a child if their adult, in a burst of heroism or simply out of habit, forgot to save themselves.
Does this sound familiar?
Evening is approaching, and you suddenly realize that you still have not had lunch because you had to cook for and feed a whole crowd. It is almost midnight, and after washing mountains of dishes and putting away the toys, you are still folding laundry, knowing that in an hour the pilgrimage to Mom’s bedroom will begin. You are about to head out for a walk, but you are still in your housedress, and your mouth is dry.
Please, for the sake of your children and your husband, put your oxygen mask on yourself first!
Only then will you be able to give your loved ones what they need to live and grow. Only then will you have the strength to see their loving eyes and all the blessings that fill your home.
Have a pleasant flight!