Raising G.I. Jayme

In all the years of parenting my daughter Jayme, I never thought the day would come when she would leave home to fight a war. During her childhood, my focus was to make sure she grew up to be a caring, respectful and responsible adult. It was important that she know right from wrong and most of all, that she develop her own personal relationship with God. 

I got more than I bargained for when I learned that my baby girl, a Navy Reservist, was being called up to active duty to be deployed to Afghanistan.  It was always a possibility but frankly, I never thought it would happen.

Raising Jayme was somewhat different from raising her older brother. Jayme has always been a highly-spirited type of person — one who had some special qualities that often left me amazed. Like her brother, she was quick to pick up  on things that most kids would ignore. My grandmother often tells the story of how as toddler, Jayme demonstrated such compassion for my grandfather when he was suffering from prostate cancer. Without any prompting, Jayme would take Grandpa by the hand and help him to the bathroom then wait patiently outside the door until he finished to help him back to the sofa. She would make sure her Papa was okay.

Her special qualities did not go unnoticed. An associate minister at our home church in Ohio once told me, “Cathy, don’t break her spirit!” At the time, I had no clue what he meant but as Jayme got older I could see there was something about her that I needed to nurture.

And so I did. I remember the day Jayme came home from school and told me that her second grade teacher said it was not possible for her to be a doctor and a police officer at the same time. The next day I marched up to the school to tell the teacher not to diminish her dreams. It wasn’t that I was encouraging Jayme to pursue an impossible career field. It was important that she not have any limitations. Besides I was working as a local news reporter at the time covering the police beat and actually met a sheriff’s deputy who was also a licensed psychiatrist. I shared it with Jayme so that she too would know that it was possible.  

Miss Jayme, as we affectionately call her, never waivered on her desire to become a law enforcement officer. She graduated from Illinois State University with a degree in criminal justice. Three years later, she realized her dream of joining the ranks of a police agency.

Before she became a police officer, Jayme decided she wanted to join Navy Reserves. When she called me at work one afternoon to tell me the recruiter was at the house, I asked to speak to him. I hovered big time as a helicopter mom, demanding that he assure me she wouldn’t be shipped off to Iraq or Afghanistan. The poor recruiter didn’t know what to say but he did his best not to make any guarantees.

Jayme has accomplished a lot in a short time. I admire her tenacity, dedication and commitment to pursuing her dreams. And I’m very proud of the responsible decisions she’s made to be of service to others. Even my son remarked how proud he is of his little sister because she is so focused.

Looking back over all these years, I feel blessed to have played a part in raising my little G.I. Jayme.

Note: A mailing address for Jayme in Afghanistan is not available at the time of this blog post. Check back in a few weeks for the address if you would like to send her a card or letter. In the meantime, your prayers for Jayme and all our military serving overseas are much appreciated.