Have I Mentioned

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how proud I am of my son Barry. I know this blog started out as mainly about Foster Care and Adoption, but it has turned into something more than that, so please excuse me while I digress.

My son grew up in Maine, and when he went off to college, he probably wasn't quite ready for it. (much like his father at that age). He struggled for a while trying to figure out what to do with his life and he ended up working at a television station in Bangor, Maine. He did well there and became a director of news shows and did some sports stuff as well.

When he got laid off from that job due to new equipment coming in, he very easily could have fallen back into some bad habits, but he went in search of employment and was lucky enough to get a job in Birmingham, AL. It was about 6 months before Shyanne came into our life that we travelled down to Alabama with him. This was to be his first real time away from home, and he was a long way from home. We worried about him constantly, although not quite as much as time as worn on.

He has managed quite well there for the last 4 1/2 years. He has done a lot of news and a considerably larger amount of sports then he did in Bangor and he has decided that it is time to move on to a bigger market. Television is apparently the way he has chosen to go, and I think it is a perfect choice for him.

He has found himself a new job in a bigger market. A top 25 market. Portland, Oregon. So, in a couple of weeks, he will begin his trek to the great Northwest. He won't be travelling along the Oregon Trail as that is a bit too far north for this time of year. The plan is to go I-40 to Bakersfield, CA and then I-5 up to Portland. Now we will worry quite a bit during that trek, and of course when he first gets there, but as we have found out, the worrying never stops. Your children are always your children no matter their age, profession or standing in the community. You have to worry. You just don't have a choice in the matter if you are at all human.

He will be taking this trip on his own. This will take him more than 3,000 miles away from us, and over 3,300 miles away from where he grew up. I don't think I could have done that alone. I don't think I would have done that alone. I don't know. I have always had DW with me. (We were high school sweethearts and married at 20 and 19.)

I know all will go well for him in Oregon, and I am hopeful it leads to bigger and better things "back east" at some point in the future. But only if that is what he wants. He has done well, and I just wanted to take time out from Shyanne, foster care, and adoption for a few minutes to let everyone know how proud I am of him.

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