Stressing Out

Well, our five days of freedom may as well have been a lifetime ago for the way we are feeling now. Due to unforeseen insanity, my husband and I are sleep deprived, hungry, irritable, and just plain frustrated. I am thankful that I have a relationship with God and good girlfriends, or I would surely be one miserable lass.

Despite my prayer life, I just feel drained. You wouldn't believe what has happened over the course of less than 24 hours. First, our youngest daughter, Amie, who is a very young 18 years old, got stuck almost helpless in Georgia. Okay folks. Remember, we live in Michigan. This was her first trip on an airplane. This was her graduation gift. This was a trip to visit her favorite person in the world, her cousin. This was a nightmare.

The original ticket was purchased roundtrip through Orbitz on Northwest Airlines for about $249 with her returning on Thursday, July 10th in the afternoon. We hadn't heard from her in a while. Since she had broken her cell phone almost right after she got there, and I assumed she was having fun, I didn't worry too much about not getting an email in a while.

The first alarm was a phone call from her boyfriend at 8:00 in the morning. Do you know any 17 year olds that are up at that hour? That was alarming enough in itself. Then, he proceeded to tell me how he was worried about Amie and hadn't talked to her in four days. Okay, now she didn't contact the boyfriend either. Something is not good. There's more. Her cousin's new husband was deliberately trying to scare her, was blatantly mean to her, was forbidding her to use the phone or computer, was telling viscous lies about her, and on and on. We were alarmed.

We did manage to speak with Amie that morning. They answered the phone for me, but had been ignoring the boyfriend's calls without Amie's knowledge. I talked to Amie about what was going on, and some of it was news to her, but she was very sad and frustrated and just plain out having a very miserable time due to the cousin's husband. (Who is a serviceman in the Army by the way. Protect and Serve, buddy!)

It became the husband's objective to cut Amie off from all contact and put her on the street. Nice guy, eh? Well, we spent five hours on the phone ironing out this mess last night. It took me three hours on the phone with Orbitz to get her a new ticket, not to mention the loss of the previous ticket that would have cost over $800 to change and the purchase of a new ticket on some airline that I've never heard of, Airtran, at the cost of $300. They called the cops and had her taken out of the house and to a hotel via taxi, which they paid for. Great family, eh? Remember folks, she is very much 18 and on her own with $20 in her pocket, no transportation, and in an unfamiliar area. Just a little plug, the Hinesville PD was wonderful. They were very kind and helpful.

Currently, Amie is sitting in an airport in Savannah where she has been all day waiting for her plane to depart at 6:40PM. She has to switch planes in Atlanta, and then she will arrive in Detroit around 10:30PM. Talk about a few long days. I feel so sad for her. What a terrible experience this has been for us. I cannot imagine being in her shoes. She lost her best friend ever. She was treated like dirt, and tossed to the curb in a land that she is unfamiliar with. (Amie can get lost in her own neighborhood, folks!) Poor kid! What a great memory...

$250 on plane ticket to visit sister like cousin in Georgia

$200 spending money in your pocket

Free trip to the ocean

Being treated like dirt by your sister like cousin in Georgia and her new husband

$300 return one way ticket home to loving family

$1000 uncomfortable life experience

Arriving safe at DTW, priceless...

Boot Camp Visit

Well, we made it safely to Chicago for Andrew's graduation from Navy Sea Cadet Boot Camp at Great Lakes Naval Academy. It was a great experience and very nice to see Andrew for a few hours.

He really seemed to enjoy himself, but he was glad to be moving on to new scenery. He did very well and learned a lot in such a short period of time. The Sea Cadets had the privilege in attending an actual ceremony where Navy Recruits become real enlisted Seamen. It seemed to have had a profound effect on him. He found the experience very emotional. Pat and I both feel that this experience will contribute greatly to his success when he attends actual Navy Boot Camp at the time of his enlistment. No, he has not changed his mind.

I truly believe that being in the military is Andrew's calling. This child has lived and breathed everything military ever since he was five years old. As a mother I never could have imagined myself encouraging any of my children to be in the military. At a certain point I came to the realization that I simply had no choice in the matter. This child was born to serve.

Now, it is a real pleasure for Pat and I to watch Andrew learn and grow into a polite and responsible young man right before our eyes. It is an even greater pleasure to be an active participant in the realization of his dream. How refreshing it is to see someone know exactly what they want, put goals in place to ensure success, and work toward an end goal daily. It is so awesome!

Andrew is now at Fort Custer in Battle Creek for a two-week Hazardous Materials Training. We will be attending another graduation soon. BRAVO ZULU, Andrew!