My Trip To Nashville

So, I flew into Nashville on Wednesday to be with Tawni for her graduation ceremony from Nursing School tomorrow night. :)

Well, the journey was a little comical and frustrating. First of all, I decided to surprise the girls and show up 8 hours earlier by trying to make a stand by flight at 7:00 a.m. As I waited in the terminal (and prayed real hard), I heard the announcement! They called my name, I'd been chosen! Excitedly, I approached the ticket counter, the woman (Debbie) asked for my ticket. I said, "What ticket? I bought it online, I don't have a ticket. Just check on your computer, I'm in there." With a little too much excitement in her voice, she said, "No, it says here that you have a paper ticket and they probably mailed it to you. Without it, you can't get on this or any flight." Hmmm.

Then, I remembered. It had come in the mail a month earlier and I placed it in my "special drawer" so I wouldn't forget it.

I called George and he rushed back to the airport (thanks Baby!). He found it just where I told him it'd be, in my "special drawer". But, could I be so lucky to get called to the counter a second time? Please God! With ticket in hand, I went back to the counter. "She" was still there. Smiling, I showed her my ticket. With even more enthusiasm and I could swear I heard a touch of smart ass in her voice, she said, "This flight is pretty full. Doesn't look too good for you." I held back. Hard for me.

Well, Little Miss I'm The Ticket Counter Diva Debbie was wrong. I made the cut and was on the next flight at 8:30, so provided I could make the stand by in Dallas, I would still make it in 6 hours earlier than my original 10:30 pm arrival!

So, I get on the plane and the flight attendant comes over the intercom. "Please make sure all cell phones are off and if you notice that the person next to you is still on their phone, please ask them to turn it off."

Are you friggin kidding me? Was she serious? That's not my job. Then it was time for the demonstrations. You know, how to use a seatbelt (if you don't know how to do this, you shouldn't be flying) and of course, the old dreaded, "in case of a drop in cabin pressure, an oxygen mask will drop. Place it over your nose and breathe slowly. Then, please assist the person next to you."

Oh, I'm so sure. Does she seriously think the person next to me is going to help me if I can't breathe? I just pissed him off by telling him to turn off his cell phone.

Nursing, Divorce and Tawni Bear

My second daughter, Tawni, is 24 years old. And this Friday, August 21, 2009, she will graduate from Nursing School. This moment is about so much more than a nursing diploma. It's about her independence. It's a milestone in her life. Read on to find out why.

I will be traveling to Nashville on Wednesday for this momentous event and I'm so excited. I remember when Tawni and I first started discussing the possibility of her attending nursing school. I immediately encouraged her to move forward. Tawni has such a special gift with people, she is filled with compassion for others and is one of the most generous people I've ever met. She's really special. Noone who ever meets her regrets it. And they never forget her either.

My daughter has become a woman over the past few years. She graduated high school, went on the mission field, lived on her own and then met Thad. They eloped and have been married a little over 3 years now. I'll never forget the night she called to tell me. I knew she'd gotten married before she said anything. After she told me, I told her I had to hang up the phone. I was at my friend, Stephanie's house. I cried. I would have liked to have shared the moment with her. After awhile, I called her back and told her that no matter what, I loved her and I would do my best to support their marriage. And I did.

But, I admit now, the feeling that Tawni had missed out on something else God had for her never completely left me. As a mother, it is very difficult to keep your mouth shut (especially when you're a mother like me).

Yes, Tawni has worked extremely hard this past year to complete nursing school. She's had test after test after test. She's called me several times so stressed that she wanted to give up and quit. I pleaded with her to hang in there. I told her I knew it would be worth it and she was going to make a great nurse. She owed it to her future patients to hang on. She did. She continued to push herself. She did that on her own, it had nothing to do with me. I want to make that clear.

I don't rejoice in what I'm about to tell you. Not completely anyway. Early this year, a week before finals that would make or break her nursing career, Tawni was confronted with some devastating news about her husband. I was there the day she found out. Even I will admit, I was shocked, then sad, and then pissed. I wanted to kill him for hurting my Tawni Bear.

Without saying more than I feel I should, I will tell you that my daughter, Tawni, has filed for divorce from her husband of three years. She has biblical grounds. My heart breaks for what my Tawni Bear has endured this past year. I've watched her struggle the past few months, but she's my hero. She continues to hold her head high and is now preparing to walk across a stage to accept her Nursing Diploma. I think my Bear has realized that she's stronger than she ever thought and that God will never leave her.

I, along with many other friends and family members, will be there on Friday night. We will shed some tears, cheer her on, celebrate with her and hold her tight. I look forward to the new chapter in my daughter's life. And I feel privileged to be a part of it.

As for Thad. He has to not only live with what he's done, but he has to live knowing the best thing he ever had is gone. In my opinion, he never deserved her.

Oh and those finals? I don't know how she did it, but she passed every single one of them. That's my Bear.

Lil Pooks First Visit to the PoPo Station

So last Saturday night, my daughters, Teryn and Tawni, took my granddaughter Salem with them to go shopping at Target. They found her a $300 car seat on sale for $100. Teryn called me from Target and was so excited about this car seat.

Anyway, she was pretty thrilled about the great deal she'd just gotten. That was Saturday night. On Sunday morning, she went to her car to retrieve her great find. She wanted to show it off to Chad. The problem was that it wasn't there. She came in the house and looked around for it, but still, it was nowhere to be found. Tawni and Chad decided to go out and help her look when Tawni noticed her own car seemed suspicious. They came to realize that not only had Teryn's car been broken into, but Tawni and Chad's had been too!

Tawni had new clothes in her car and they, too, were gone! Time to call 911. Teryn called me shaken up and told me what had happened and that the cops were in her driveway taking fingerprints of all three cars.

I calmed her down the best I could and told her to call me back when the cops left. A few minutes later, once again my phone was ringing. Teryn said, "Mommy, are you ready for this? This guy just came up to me in my driveway, with the cops standing nearby, and asked me if everything was ok. He said, and I quote"we look out for our neighbors around here."

Teryn thought that was a nice, neighborly thing to do, until, she noticed something very shiny around his neck. It was a heart. It was a necklace. It was HER necklace! Not only that, this dude was actually wearing her RayBan Sunglasses too! She screamed to the cops that this guy had her things on. They arrested him, put him in the police cruiser and drove him "downtown".

Teryn, Chad, Tawni and even my Lil Pooks had to go down to the PoPo Station and press charges. The guy swears they were gifts from his girlfriend. Either way, he's in the slammer. The girls know that the chances are slim of ever seeing their stuff again. But, what a story we have to tell my granddaughter one day about her first (and I hope last!) visit to the PoPo Station!

Ah, I remember those good old days, when our neighbors just borrowed milk and sugar!

Sometimes Even Sisters Need to Keep Secrets

I just found out about something today that literally made me gasp. Literally. Some of you may or may not know that my sister suffered a miscarriage last February. Well, she did. It was very hard on her. That made it hard on me.

I know that many of you enjoy reading my sister's blog (its a pilots life for me) so, you may be aware that she is now four months pregnant. This morning as we were talking about morning sickness, weight gain, gas and all the pleasures of pregnancy, I had a revelation.

I reminded my sister of her miscarriage last year (she remembered) and told her that I believed this pregnancy, this new life growing inside of her, was God's blessing to her for all she'd been through. She stopped me. She said, "Have you read my latest blog?" I said, "No." She said, "I didn't think so. You need to read it. I'm sure you'll be calling me back as soon as you do."

Now, I was intrigued. I couldn't wait to get to my computer. I turned it on and immediately went to her blog. I read it. After the first two sentences, before even finishing it, I sat at my desk and gasped. I don't know why she didn't tell me, not completely, but I understood. I wasn't upset or offended in any way because even though we may be sisters, we are still women. And sometimes as women we need to experience pain in our own way. I respect that. She was right. I had to call her right away.

And after I took a deep breath and regained my composure, that's exactly what I did.