I picked up my daughter's new friend today so that they could hang out a little during spring break. I'd never met this child before even though my daughter had often talked about her. I was more than happy to introduce myself to her parents and make the necessary parental offerings of friendship. However, when I asked my daughter if I could speak to one of her parents via telephone, she muzzled the phone and said, "They aren't around, you have to speak to her uncle." Unprepared, I introduced myself to voice on the other end. It was her uncle who said, "Both her parents are career soldiers currently in Iraq. We thought that they would be home by now, but apparently they have been called for prolonged duty so we are not sure when they will return."
Geez,what do you do? Carry on soldier! Here is a normal teenage girl, sporting a Marine sweatshirt, climbing into my Jeep. She and my daughter were giggly and planning a silly trip to our small mall. Her parents have not been around for more than a year...she obviously has a great supportive family...yet, I sit here listening to my president at a press conference and can't help to feel that the world is so freakin' small right now.
The cows belong to this girl's family. They love me...or at least think that I'm a big old chunk of hay :-)
