He's 15 and has been away on a youth group mission trip to Philadelphia for 10 days.
Why didn't any of you parents who've experienced this tell me what a nerve wracking 10 days it would be having him 1600 miles away working in the drug/prostitute infested areas in a huge city???!!!
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars
Carl, glad he's home safe and sound, and much better from his experince I am sure.
I find that no matter what age they are when they are away from home or their home there is a part of your mind always thinking about them.
With our son working law enforcement, every time the phone rings at a late hour my wife jumps. It was 3:30 am last week, Scared the you know what out of us. This week he got his first dead body found call. How many 20 year olds get that call? I still don't know how he arrests people without any physical "problems", but that's what he tells us. Worry ? Tell us about it!
-- Edited by 73SC on Monday 12th of July 2010 07:58:44 AM
Carl I sent my son to go see his Opa at a fishing camp in Northern BC. He was 6. He got to experience flying a Twin Otter, Beaver and Cessna aircraft. Ride a ATV and run a Bobcat. I could never give him these things and thou it's hard to let them leave I believe it is well worth any hair pulling on the parents end.
I agree it was what I had to do. I have never been a believer in sheltering.
I knew that he's not really mine but that I'm just entrusted with his upbringing, and that he had to go. Not all parents let their kids go. I disagree with that thinking. We have let our kids take a few lumps along the way, and will continue to.
It certainly would have been easier if he went to mow lawns for 10 days at a relatives place on a farm somewhere though!!!
Yes, he's the oldest (15 1/2). His sister is just over 2 years younger. Next it will be her turn in a year or two!
There was a total of 90 kids from 3 groups on this mission trip, 20 from this area and the rest from the US. None of the groups knew each other prior to this. I sometimes use his Facebook since I'm not a Facebooker and I see tonight he has a whole bunch of new "friends" and for some strange reason they all seem to be cute teenage American girls.............!!!!!!!!!
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars
AS cute as yer icon of Kristy? LOL! I can only imagine how nerve-racking it was for you though Carl. It's pretty sad with all the media available today, that more and more horrors and atrocities of the world are brought into our lives and homes on such a regular basis anymore. Is it any wonder you WOULD worry given the environment he was going to? The ONLY comforting thing about it is/was knowing it was such a large group that he went with and if one of that group reaches just ONE of the troubled group they went to be with, then it's MORE than worth it. Good life lesson for the young fella. The world, sadly, just ain't all rainbows and ice cream unfortunately And Ray, your son has a tough job too! I always wanted to be a fireman, policeman or ambulance driver when I was a teenager. That was, until one night a buddy and I followed 3 police cruisers and 2 ambulances to a crash site just outside of town. Five guys in the car; three of them I knew; 2 survived; 2 were killed and one laid in hospital in a vegetative state for 23 years before passing away. But that night, the interior of the car was SO unreal, that the tow truck driver couldn't tie the doors shut so my buddy and I did it for him as we both knew him really well. It's a sight I'll NEVER forget the rest of my life fellas!! I'd NEVER considered this aspect of the job when thinking I wanted to be what I've listed above! Changed my mind right on the spot! Also, how does one deal and cope with having to tell parents that their child has lost his/her life? They're really a special breed of people that do these jobs in my opinion. And DON'T DESERVE all the criticisms they get when doing their JOBS!!!
I've led a number of missions trips, our next one is to Haiti this coming Feb. We have 3, maybe 4 teenagers going along with 8 adults. We are taught to use common sense on these trips, do as your leaders tell you. There is a lot to learn ahead of time about their culture and habits, what to do and not do. It is always a rewarding experience.
