Today is the Day

Andy, his mother and grandparents are in Dubuque, Iowa today for Andy's interview for the Brietbach Catholic Thinkers and Leaders Program, which will greatly help out with paying for Andy's college education, AND make him a part of a great program.

He had to write an essay, and then wait to be chosen for an interview.

We waited.

And waited.

The deadline said Dec 23, 2008, and here it was January already. Andy contacted his admission counselor, and was told that they hadn't selected the thirty applicants for an interview yet. This is thirty out of a couple of hundred essays, I imagine especially since this is such a great program to get into. A very competitive, that if chosen will do tons towards helping Andy, not only in college, but also in life itself. Just going through the whole interview process itself will be a great help for him, when he's interviewing for those all-important jobs of the future.

Anyway, a few days ago - forgive me for I cannot remember the exact date, I'm no good at that. Andy received a text message from his counselor at Loras, as we were about to start our family Rosary (a good habit that we are getting back into - thanks Jenni!), telling him that sorry, Andy was not going to be invited for an interview.

Andy took it very well, and we discussed other options, like community college and FAFSA, for his future plans. Then we prayed and asked God to help us with dealing with the disappointment of not getting an interview, and for guidance regarding the future. It was a nice evening of prayer, aside from a giggling eleven year old, and we went back to our normal activities; the girls and Danny get settled in to bed, while the older boys do what older boys do, Facebook, Youtube, The Office, the Wii, whatever it was.

*** I think I remember that this was on Sunday now. Jenni will correct me if I'm wrong. :)

The next day, I was in various meetings and missed Jenni's phone calls, she left a message on my work phone and cell (I know, I should be carrying with me all the time, but...) with a message to call her back as soon as possible. Uh oh, my first thoughts were that something bad happened. So I call home and no one answers, yet it doesn't go to the machine, which means Jenni or one of the kids are on the phone. Hopefully that's a good sign, because at least they are still home.

I try again a couple of times before Jenni picks up and says that since I didn't answer, she had to tell somebody.

"Loras called and he has an interview, on Saturday."

"This Saturday? I thought that they were scheduled for next week?"

"They are, but he gets one on Saturday."

This was good news, because Andy has a Winter Retreat scheduled for next weekend and didn't want to miss that, but would have if it came down to it. Now he gets to do both.

Anyway, in exactly one hour from now, 2:15PM CST, Andy will be meeting with members of the Breitbach Catholic Leaders and Thinkers committee, and God willing, he will be accepted to join this program, which will be a life changing event, in my opinion, and will start to show the world (one step at a time) what a great person Andy is, and how he will be able to change the world with his knowledge and skills.

It's my blog and he's my son, so I am allowed to brag, thankyouverymuch!

Anyway, Andy I am very proud of you and know that you will do well and regardless of the outcome, this has been a great opportunity for you.

Now go get 'em!