Just a little amazed

Hannah had been applying for regular, civilian jobs since she turned 16. She had put in over 60 applications and every one of them had been turned down. (It's really hard to motivate a person who keeps facing that.)  She didn't have experience, but then she couldn't get a job to get experience. It was losing all around for her. And it was very discouraging. 

I know that she's a very smart, very capable human being. I wanted anyone to believe that of her and take a chance. 

Enter Sgt. Phal. He met her while she was taking her GEDs at Willow Creek. They chatted. He gave her a card. She put the card away and thought little more about it. Well, until 10 more applications were turned down. Then the Army began to sound kind of good. It would be a job.

The more she thought about it, the more it seemed to be her only hope of work. 

And with that, we got on the merry-go-round.  That thing was spinning fast. I had to get this, that, and the other thing together in a very short amount of time. And it all happened. Quickly. I didn't have to fuss or fight with anyone to get what we needed. 

She took her ASVAB and scored quite well. The recruiters were pleased with her score. She took her TAPAS and scored rather high. This wannabe wasn't going to be a nothing. The doctor at her medical stalled her over a really weird thing. The sergeants at the recruiting station blew it off. They said she was going to pass. Somehow they knew this. But her pediatrician gave us a really hard time over the thing. We figured that what she wrote could spell the end of her attempts to enlist. And yet the sergeants said it was really no big thing.

She had to reapply for another position because the original position she wanted was no longer available. The truth is, that was a job for people who barely passed ASVAB. They had grander plans for her. 

So, early February, my little Hannah leaves us for the world of adulting. I hope she learns what she needs to learn about how we raised her and about who she is and what she is. I hope she comes to terms with the fact that nothing we ever did was out of disdain for her but because we knew already that great mysteries lay in her. 

For now, she's happier than she's been in a long time. She has immediate goals that are attainable and as she learns that she has the power to meet those goals, the more future goals (AIT) seem more attainable too. And she's excited.

And these are such beautiful things to see blossoming in her.