Tiffany And Ethan At The Prison

When I tell people my daughter Tiffany is in prison, I normally get an “Oh….I’m so sorry”.  I just respond, “Don’t be sorry. It’s OK….I’m thankful Tiff’s in prison.” That usually earns me an odd look.

But it’s true.

I am very thankful for those weekly 100 mile round trips to the prison to sit in a visiting room crowded with inmates, some who have committed truly unthinkable crimes.

I am very thankful for those phone calls from Tiffany that always seem to come when I am busy doing something else or just don’t feel like talking.

I am very thankful for those insane conversations about how bad things are in prison or how weird her “cellee” is.

I am very thankful she was pregnant when she was arrested.

I am very thankful she is in prison so I can now raise  my other grandson Keelen.

I am very thankful she got 70 months.

I can hear it now. “Girl…you have lost your freakin’ mind! How can you be thankful for that?”

Well….every week I get see my daughter. I get to hug her and give her a kiss and I get to watch Keelen play games and read stories with his mom.

I get talk to Tiffany almost every night on the phone and Keelen gets to tell his mom about his day.

I get to watch Tiffany grow from a “wannabe” street thug into the amazing woman that I always knew she was with no interest in a life of crime.

I got to watch Tiffany give birth to a healthy baby boy, my second grandchild Ethan and in a selfless act of love give him to an amazing deserving adoptive couple that will raise him to know both his moms.

I know that Keelen is safe and well cared for and gets to have a relationship with both his mom and dad.
It is going to take the full 70 months for Tiffany to break this destructive cycle of drugs and unhealthy men.

Plus the brains behind this crime got 136 months. And if the person he assaulted had died, Tiffany could be doing life!! So…WOO HOO only 70 months!!

There are many many parents with children that were traveling down the same path as Tiffany. And they now have to visit their children in the cemetery. So, yes…I am very thankful Tiffany is in prison.

What are you thankful for?

Happy Thanksgiving

Debbie

Today it was announced that the first woman has become a four-star general in the Army.

Army general is nation’s first four-star woman

WASHINGTON (CNN) — An Army lieutenant general has become the first woman in U.S. military history to get four stars.

Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody will command 133,000 personnel worldwide in the Army Material Command.

The military on Friday promoted Lt. Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody, who has served in several command positions in her 33-year Army career.

She will command Army Materiel Command, responsible for equipping, arming and outfitting soldiers.

“There is no one more surprised than I,” she said of her promotion at a ceremony on Friday.

She had planned on a two-year enlistment upon leaving college at the State University of New York at Cortland, she said, and planned on being a physical education teacher.

Dunwoody hailed those who had helped her throughout her career and pledged to do the same for those she now leads.

“The Army nurtured me and mentored me, and today the Army offers me the chance to return the favor,” she said. She’ll command 133,000 personnel around the globe.

“She is recognized as one of the foremost military logisticians in her generation,” said Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Her promotion highlights the growing role of women in the U.S. military over the years.

Fifty-seven active-duty women and 47 female reservists hold the rank of general or its Navy equivalent, according to the American Forces Press Service.

The Pentagon has said that more than 193,400 women have deployed in support of U.S. operations since September 11, 2001 — the day the United States was attacked by al Qaeda. (End)

Listening to Secretary Gates on CNN he made a statement that she didn’t think she was special…she was just a soldier. I think she is an amazing soldier.

Thanks for serving…Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody

Signed,

Debbie aka…just an electrician