Milestones

My son, Manny, bought a brand new 2014 car this week.

It came as no surprise because he had been talking about buying one for quite sometime. Not long after passing his drivers licenses, it was about a week later that he had gone with his father and friend to shop for a car. He found one and it looks like he made a good choice. Compact, economical, sporty and he fits it well. He came over for a visit and to pick up a Fed X package he had been tracking containing his brand new laptop! In his short years on this earth, he has completed many "firsts" in his young life as have all my children. Now comes the worries about other crazy drivers, distractions and fear that all mothers go through, which our children will never understand until they have children of their own. We talked about his next step in the Air Force and he stated that he has been "extended" again until August but now he has to move out on his own and find an apartment with a buddy of his. The AF will give him per Diem monies that will cover some of the cost of his rent. He will need it if he to meet the monthly payments on his car. He seemed worried about something but didn't want to talk about it at the time. As he looked through my food pantry at home, he declared that he was hungry. I told him there wasn't much in the house but there is an "Inn-n-Out" down the street from us. Besides, I wanted to ride in his cool looking car. It handled very well and he seemed very comfortable to drive in it. He showed me all its features and was very proud of what he had worked and saved so hard for. He was a little anxious to get back on the road and left after dropping me off at home. We said our goodbyes and wished him well on his drive back to Fairfield. I'm very proud of my son and all his accomplishments.

A Long ride to Travis, AFB

My day started out like most of my days, wake up, coffee, play "pet rescue", out to the garden to water my plants, feed the goldfish and enjoy what is left of a warm fall day. Fortunately, I got the day off from work and would be taking my son to his training reserves weekend to Travis, AFB in Fairfield. As the day carried on later and later, i was mostly dreading the commute due to the BART strike that took affect today. We finally decided on leaving at 8:00PM figuring the traffic would be somewhat better, Wrong, traffic was still backed up and we dealt with the chaos. I had called Manny two days ago to make sure that he was still on his reserves weekend. Because of the government shutdown that ended some days ago, I wasn't fully trusting that his information was reliable nor the information that the Air Force was giving my son. Based on his email, his reserves weekend was still a "go". I picked him up and we were on our way. The ride was fairly long but as most rides go with my son, our conversations are lively, direct and for such a young man of 20 years old, he is too smart for his britches but smart! He is soft spoken, most of the times he has good manners, knows a lot but not enough and he is still a little rough around the edges. But like most gems, a good polishing and in time, he will become a reputable man of wisdom. Two hours later, we reach Travis, AFB and he calls the Hilton to reconfirm his reservation, they have no reservation for him. He then calls his Hotel, Air Force Inn and they tell him to come in because there is a lot of room. Now I was really worried, they're usually full. We arrive at the base and we say our goodbyes and good luck in PT. I usually wait there anyway but for some reason, I stayed a bit longer and it was not more than 10 minutes that he came walking back, opened the door to the car, sat down and said, " training is cancelled" I got upset with him and pretty much said, I told you so! His argument was that he hadn't received an updated email. My argument was that I spent all day waiting, took the day off from work and drove up and back when i didn't need to, it was time wasted and a big thank you goes to the good ole United states Air force "paper pushers"! I know I shouldn't have let him take the blame so hard but he needed to know that he needs to double and sometimes triple check himself on these matters. The drive back was short because i drove faster and didn't not want to speak to my son anymore on the way home. It was awkward but i didn't need be more upset than what i already was on the drive back by arguing more with him. I dropped him off with hardly a word or goodbye but to take the rest of his belongings in my car out and into his home where he is staying with his father. He said that he would be by on Monday for the rest of his things. I needed time to cool down and drove home slower to what the speed limit is. I was too hard on him and started feeling remorseful. Lord, give me strength. Amen