I was up at 6:30 a.m. this morning so that we could leave the house by 8 a.m. to get Raven to the airport on time.
His plane was scheduled to leave at 11 a.m., but it came in at 10:48 a.m., and he was in the air before 11 a.m., so it was a good thing we left a little early.
He arrived in Charlotte, NC, around 12 p.m.
He got upgraded to first class, which he said was really nice, then arrived in Atlanta, GA, around 2:30 p.m., where he got a bus to base and made it there about 6 p.m.
This time, he stayed in contact with me via text until he got on base, so I didn't have to worry about him. (Don't you dare call that Red Cross, Mamma.)
He was really upset at having to go back, furious about it.
He did not want to go back.
And there isn't a thing I can do.
Cowboy and I did not force him to join.
This was entirely Raven's idea, and he had a whole year to think about it before he took that final oath.
I don't know what is going on inside his head.
I don't know how much of it is KS's influence.
KS's stepdad is Army Reserve, and he's been coaching Raven on what to say and do in order to obtain a discharge.
Raven is going for the discharge.
While we didn't force him to join, Cowboy and I think that he should man up and finish basic and stay put.
With a wife and baby, the military will probably be the best option for him, for them.
Jobs are not easy to come by in this area.
He's counting on a job in the mines, but you have to know someone in order to be hired there, and we don't know anyone.
He and KS think we are stupid, I guess.
We don't know anything.
They don't want to listen to the voice of experience.
He's an adult.
The mistakes he makes, he's got to live with the consequences.
Not us.
So anyway, the wait begins.
After talking with KS’s stepdad and KS, he's confident that he'll be home for Halloween.
I told him to be patient because it may be after New Year before he gets discharged.
I'm hoping that he has no contact with anyone for a while, like they did in the beginning.
Maybe, away from KS and KS's family, he can sit back and realize that jobs are hard to come by in this area.
He's going to be a daddy, allegedly, in a few months.
The Army may be the best thing he has ever done.
I told Cowboy the other day that we had the nastiest, trashiest house on the block.
This summer, everyone got lazy and didn't do any yard work.
The yard was embarrassing.
The pile of kids tromping through and just dropping everything on the ground and leaving it.
The wind picking stuff up and tossing them all helter-skelter.
The stray dogs tearing the trash out and dragging it all over kingdom come.
That left the yard in a huge mess.
I think he listened to me for once.
He went out and built a huge bonfire, then he and Peacock spent the whole day, until Peacock had to leave to go babysit, outside cleaning.
Lucky Heron escaped to his girlfriend's house.
Once Peacock left, I got drafted.
Actually, Peacock was smart and left before the really heavy work hit.
We had a shed that was here when we moved in in ’97, and it was falling down and just ugh.
So Cowboy tore it down.
Then cut some limbs.
Then broke up an old rabbit hutch.
Then burned it all.
Peacock got trash pickup, I got limb moving and lumber moving.
I think I should protest.
I haven't worked that hard in ages, so I may not be getting out of bed in the morning, but the yard looks amazing.!
Cowboy has a truckload of junk to haul to the dump on Monday.
Then we need to tackle the side yard and the front yard, but the backyard, which is the first thing people see, is incredible.
I'm heading to bed.
I know that neither Cowboy nor I will have any trouble falling asleep tonight.
That man worked like a mule today, and I was no slacker either.
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