Last month we watched Meg board an airplane bound for San Antonio, Texas to begin her adventures (although I dare say she would call it an adventure!) in Basic Military Training with the United States Air Force. It hardly seems like nearly two months have eclipsed since she left, yet here we are, mere days away from her graduation from BMT.
It's been a roller coaster for all of us, that's for sure.
Between Gareth getting laid off, Meg leaving for BMT, Gareth finding another job...in New York, moving to New York, realizing we didn't have the money to attend Meg's graduation from BMT in Texas, learning that Meg had been proposed to, OVER THE PHONE by her boyfriend, Matt going back to Seattle, getting a phone call on Christmas from Gareth's brother and his wife in England asking if they could help make sure we attended Meg's graduation, Christmas itself (where I managed to NOT mutilate the prime rib!), and finally, Gaby's 4th birthday the day after Christmas...well, it's enough to make anyone's head spin!
I am beside myself with gratitude and love for my BIL and SIL and their generosity. This means the world to me - to be able to see Meg take this step in what's been one of the biggest accomplishments of her life, to date. More than that, it means a great deal to Meg herself, to have me there, as I've missed a lot of the milestones in her life.
Being that we've made all the travel arrangements at the last minute, I'm running around like a madwoman trying to get packed and figure out how to make sure I have everything I am going to need to keep a four year old occupied and happy on 3 airplane flights! It goes without saying, I will be the one sporting the color-coordinated Xanax necklace when I board each of those flights. I'm carrying extras in the event that I need to offer some to those seated around us.
All travel-anxiety aside, I'm so very proud of Meg and all that she's accomplished these past 8 long weeks. I'm so excited to see my girl and look into her eyes and tell her what an amazing woman I think she is. She and I have traveled a long and sometimes rocky road these past 2+ years and despite deep chasm we had to bridge in order to get to this place, I could not be any more in awe of this young woman than I am now.
Tim and Jill...thank you for being so persistent in your offer of help. I often have trouble accepting help from others and with Gareth's nudging, I said yes. Know that I will forever be grateful for this opportunity to see Meg take this step and to be a part of her graduation from BMT.
