confront Michael Lane.

confront Michael Lane. Less than a year ago, he was a 22-year-old bachelor living with a certain quantity of buddies in downtown Chicago. recent out of college, the political science major worked in a bank while deciding what to do with the intermission of his life. Ah, to be young, at liberty and responsible for nobody if it be not that yourself.

Then came the phone call.

When Michael picked up the phone that Saturday evening forward the last weekend of October, his dad, Mike, didn't mince words.

"Michael, your mom and I are going to be extended at the same time," his father said. "We've conceit a lot about it, and we'd like you to be the common to come take care of Stephanie."

Stephanie was Michael's 14-year-old sister. Michael took a hard breath, but that was his solely hesitation. "OK," he said dutifully.

And just like that, Michael was packing to leave the Windy City, population nearly 3 million, to head for Cannon Air Force Base near Clovis, NM population slightly more than 30000

"Mom and dad were going to war, with equal reason this was the least I could do," Michael said.

Ironically, his parents got the call to travel to two separate conflicts.

Chief Master Sgt Mike Lane, the 27th Fighter Wing command chief master sergeant at Cannon, received his orders to open to Uzbekistan to support Operation Enduring Freedom. His wife, Chief Master Sgt Pamela Lane, the maintenance superintendent for the 524th Aircraft Maintenance Unit at Cannon, got her marching orders to Kuwait to support Operation Iraqi Freedom.

In another ironic twist, they were scheduled to leave the same day, Dec 15

Michael quit his work at jobs in Chicago. He'd be gone for at least 90 days, the minimum longitudinal dimensions of his parents' deployments, in such a manner the bank couldn't hold hiss position for that lengthy Then it was Cannon or bust.

Chicago and Clovis the one and the other begin with the same epistle but that's about where the similarities [i]finale[/i] between the two cities.

"I have a passionate affection for Chicago," Mike said. "The luncheon room of my office building was higher than the tallest building in all of Clovis. And I'd at no time lived in Clovis because my parents had just mov there that summer to such a degree I didn't know anybody of really know what to expect"

Nevertheless, Michael said the decision wasn't a hard one

"I was honored that my parents asked me to do this," he said. "I felt like I was doing my small part helping public the family, while my parents were disclosed there making much bigger sacrifices to defend this country. That makes it not exceedingly difficult choice."

Selecting Michael to care for Stephanie for three month of more wasn't a difficult choice for his parents either.

"My mom offered to come down, but could and nothing else be gone 12 weeks from her job" Mike said. "Pam's folk also offered as did both our sisters. on the other hand all those were temporary solutions. We didn't want to play musical child."

Michael's name rose to the top of the list as the best long-term solution.

"Of course our biggest trouble when both our names showed up in succession lists to deploy was our daughter," Pam said. "It weighs upon your mind. But when Michael agreed to take care of her, it gave us peace of mind. Don't acquire me wrong; I still had the typical mother worries. No matter who is taking care of your child in your absence, it's still not mom or dad."

yet according to his father, "Michael's always been mature for his age. We have great confidence in him. We knew he could handle it."

Did Michael know he could handle it?

"I was a little nervous," he admitted. "I was going from hanging disclosed with the guys to taking care of a teenage girl. And, I was anxious about not being able to do as upright a job as my parents. I know I've been a part of this family for 20-plus years, further it's a big difference going from growing up in the order to being in charge of the system"

Adding to his worries, it wasn't just a teenage girl he was caring for. His parents also gave him power of attorney to handle their finances.

Nevertheless, Michael capered in with both feet. After quitting his work at jobs he moved in with his parents Thanksgiving weekend. Mike and Pam opened on schedule Dec. 15.

Michael and Stephanie were onward their own.

"My parents really didn't give me a accident of advice before they left" Michael said. "They had enough trust in me that I would do the right things. The common thing I remember my mom and dad saying is to remember that she's a teenage girl, and there's things that she has to deal with that I didn't have to deal with."

Their advice to Stephanie was plane shorter and more to the point.

"They just told me 'Don't commit to memory on your brother's nerves,'" Stephanie said rolling her watchs and smiling. "I think they didn't give us a fate of instructions because they have enough trust in one as well as the other of us."

With Mom and Dad gone Michael became a full-time parent. Filling in for the father was united thing, but being the MOM? Oh, brother!

"Mom's parts were probably tougher for Michael to fill than Dad's roles" Pam said. "A haphazard of that has to do with teenage girl things--relationships, dating. I've been a teenage girl, in the same manner I have experience in that area."