If there was a time before I loved flying, I don’t remember it.  My first memory is an Eastern Airlines 727 trip when I was 3.  I made pilot wings from cardboard, “flew” the swing, and counted contrails. 

Notes Richard Bach:

If you act this way, it’s possible that in flight you’ll find much to learn of yourself and of the path of your life on this planet…flight, to you, is a required essential tool in your mission of becoming a human being. — A Gift of Wings

Being a pilot is key to how I define myself.  I am not a natural, but the effort required for every certificate and rating has taught me what a privilege it is to touch the sky.