We live close to Dallas Love Field airport, and when my son, Rishi, was 14 months old, he would watch Southwest planes flying over our home and would clap his hands. If asked where mommy works, he would say “Airplane.” During football season, he used to watch the Southwest commercials and would say mommy works there as I was a contractor at Southwest at the time.
After two years of watching the planes flying by, now he gets very excited and loudly says, “That is Southwest, it is a blue and red plane!” He has even taught his little sister what a Southwest airplane looks like and now his sister can spot one too.
One day when I was working from home, I had the browser open on my laptop. There was a “Heart” on the bookmark Toolbar, and Rishi noticed the Southwest Logo and jumped. He shouted with excitement, “Mommy, that is Southwest and Heart is the logo.” I was really surprised at his memory.
Another day when we wanted to meet my friend’s family who lived in Houston, we decided to fly Southwest. Rishi was all excited about the trip and he couldn’t wait to fly. We boarded the plane and he wanted to be seated by the window. He just loved the peanuts that were served on the flight. The Flight Attendant made the trip extra special by serving a second round of snacks for the children.
We reached our friend's home and he excitedly said, “We flew Southwest and I love the plane!” We all had a good time and it was time to return home. While leaving, Rishi said “Bye, you should visit Dallas and fly only Southwest”
After a 3.5 year stint at Southwest, my contract ended and on the last day I bought him a souvenir which he loved and plays with a lot—a nice Southwest model plane.
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