Eastern Michigan Athletics
EMU Lacrosse Helps Traveling Mother of Three
3/29/2023 10:00:00 AM | Lacrosse
What seemed like a never ending day turned out to be a very special story.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — You may call it fate. Others may say chance. For Mary Terry, a military veteran and spouse traveling alone with three young boys while her husband is preparing for a field training exercise, it was life-changing. For the Eastern Michigan University lacrosse team, the term "life-changing" is appropriate all the same.
This story begins in North Carolina, more specifically, Charlotte-Douglas International Airport. It's Friday, March 3. In its inaugural season, the EMU lacrosse team is on a trip home after playing in the program's first-ever road game at Winthrop University; for Mary, a spontaneous trip so her children can finally meet their Texas family and fly for the first time.
For EMU's travel party, it's a relatively stress-free trip home. Common practice for student-athletes. For Mary, it was anything but. A day of what felt like never-ending roadblocks, which included losing her cell phone and tracing her every step, to not finding it, and almost missing her flight. Now Mary and her three sons, Waylon (5), Daniel (2), and Aaron (9 months), are rushing towards the gate in a desperate attempt to catch the flight before boarding ends.
The common thread – Detroit – the final destination for EMU and the connection site for Mary, who is en route to Texas. The rough days and wrong turns have been adding up for Mary; the weather across the Midwest is terrible. Bad enough that the plane begins to circle. Why? It's still at least an hour from Detroit. The pilot makes an announcement – Now Pittsburgh will be the destination. The plane needs to ground. A blow for Mary and one collective sigh of disbelief for a contingent of student-athletes just trying to get home.
There's an old proverb – "it's always darkest before the dawn."
It's dark in Pittsburgh, especially for Mary. She can't help but question why this is happening and how quickly she will be able to get her kids to their final destination. She pleads with an airline employee, clearly distressed and desperate for the dawn. She's about to get it.
By fate, or maybe by chance, the conversation was clear enough for an EMU staffer to overhear it. Before Mary could turn around, her children and herself had 30 new friends. The team members wasted no time introducing themselves to the three boys and Mary. From there, the bond was imminent. Games being played, laughs being shared – plenty of snacks being eaten. All of the sudden, on a day that seemed to never end for Mary, and one which couldn't go fast enough for eager college athletes trying to salvage their weekend – time stood still.
As time passed, it became apparent that no flight would depart that night. And while four hours earlier that would have been a nightmare for all involved, now, it seemed too good to be true. It meant more games, more laughs, and, yes, more snacks.
Mary estimates that between that night and the following morning when the boys reunited with the student-athletes at the gate, her children spent about eight hours with the lacrosse team. Eight hours, a small window of time for most, was enough for Mary, who says that her boys didn't just make new friends. They made a family. Not ironically at all, the student-athletes say the same.
Once desperate to leave the airport, now nobody wanted to go.
Goodbyes, they're tough. But there was comfort for the Terry family and the EMU lacrosse team. Comfort knowing that this was not a goodbye but a see you later.
Twenty days later, it's Thursday, March 23. The Terry's are back home in North Carolina, and the EMU lacrosse team is together in Ypsilanti following their practice. It's 1:45 p.m. and both families sit down for lunch. They're 600 miles apart, but thanks to FaceTime and good cell service, they're in the same room – together again.
Laughs being shared, and of course, snacks being eaten.
Quote from EMU Vice President/Director of Athletics Scott Wetherbee
"When I heard about this story, my heart filled with warmth. I am so proud of our student-athletes. Not only were they able to respond in an adverse situation, but they were also able to put others at the forefront and help a family in need. There is nothing more honorable than that. We are truly building champions in life at Eastern Michigan, and their impact on the Terry family will be a lasting memory for all involved. I think it's safe to say that our Eastern family now includes the Terrys!"
Quote from EMU Head Coach Sara Tisdale
"When we realized Mary needed help our student-athletes jumped into action. Players' phones quickly turned from social media to cartoons. Every restaurant was closed in Pittsburgh so applesauce and granola bars left over from our game earlier that day served as dinner and late-night snacks for the Terry boys. Games of tag, hide and seek, and taking turns holding the littlest Terry were shared by all" Tisdale said in remembrance of that night.
"You never know what someone is going through. As we got to know Mary it became more and more apparent that she needed us more than any of us could have imagined. I am very proud of our student-athletes for acting without hesitation and knowing the smallest gestures can have the biggest impact" she continued.
"Our program pillars are DTRT (do the right thing), take pride in everything you do, and do it with purpose. Our players lived those pillars that day and the Terry family will be a part of our program for years to come. When we said goodbye to the family in Detroit, we expected to never hear from them again. The lunch Mary sent our team was incredibly thoughtful but what meant the most was seeing Mary and the boys again over FaceTime."
Quote from Mary Terry (Mother of Three)
I'd like to thank the EMU lacrosse team for being my family's battle buddy during this time and for having a complete stranger and her kids back. Life's hard enough on its own, but the team really took a lot of the weight of everything that was going wrong off my back long enough for me to realize that everything happens for a reason, and when you try to plan your own life, God's always humorous and quick to say "watch this". It was my "cheaper by the dozen" movie moment and my battles for the fight you couldn't see playing in my head. It was a personal experience that I couldn't thank the team enough for! Thank you for helping my kiddos and me through."
This story begins in North Carolina, more specifically, Charlotte-Douglas International Airport. It's Friday, March 3. In its inaugural season, the EMU lacrosse team is on a trip home after playing in the program's first-ever road game at Winthrop University; for Mary, a spontaneous trip so her children can finally meet their Texas family and fly for the first time.
For EMU's travel party, it's a relatively stress-free trip home. Common practice for student-athletes. For Mary, it was anything but. A day of what felt like never-ending roadblocks, which included losing her cell phone and tracing her every step, to not finding it, and almost missing her flight. Now Mary and her three sons, Waylon (5), Daniel (2), and Aaron (9 months), are rushing towards the gate in a desperate attempt to catch the flight before boarding ends.
The common thread – Detroit – the final destination for EMU and the connection site for Mary, who is en route to Texas. The rough days and wrong turns have been adding up for Mary; the weather across the Midwest is terrible. Bad enough that the plane begins to circle. Why? It's still at least an hour from Detroit. The pilot makes an announcement – Now Pittsburgh will be the destination. The plane needs to ground. A blow for Mary and one collective sigh of disbelief for a contingent of student-athletes just trying to get home.
There's an old proverb – "it's always darkest before the dawn."
It's dark in Pittsburgh, especially for Mary. She can't help but question why this is happening and how quickly she will be able to get her kids to their final destination. She pleads with an airline employee, clearly distressed and desperate for the dawn. She's about to get it.
By fate, or maybe by chance, the conversation was clear enough for an EMU staffer to overhear it. Before Mary could turn around, her children and herself had 30 new friends. The team members wasted no time introducing themselves to the three boys and Mary. From there, the bond was imminent. Games being played, laughs being shared – plenty of snacks being eaten. All of the sudden, on a day that seemed to never end for Mary, and one which couldn't go fast enough for eager college athletes trying to salvage their weekend – time stood still.
As time passed, it became apparent that no flight would depart that night. And while four hours earlier that would have been a nightmare for all involved, now, it seemed too good to be true. It meant more games, more laughs, and, yes, more snacks.
Mary estimates that between that night and the following morning when the boys reunited with the student-athletes at the gate, her children spent about eight hours with the lacrosse team. Eight hours, a small window of time for most, was enough for Mary, who says that her boys didn't just make new friends. They made a family. Not ironically at all, the student-athletes say the same.
Once desperate to leave the airport, now nobody wanted to go.
Goodbyes, they're tough. But there was comfort for the Terry family and the EMU lacrosse team. Comfort knowing that this was not a goodbye but a see you later.
Twenty days later, it's Thursday, March 23. The Terry's are back home in North Carolina, and the EMU lacrosse team is together in Ypsilanti following their practice. It's 1:45 p.m. and both families sit down for lunch. They're 600 miles apart, but thanks to FaceTime and good cell service, they're in the same room – together again.
Laughs being shared, and of course, snacks being eaten.
Quote from EMU Vice President/Director of Athletics Scott Wetherbee
"When I heard about this story, my heart filled with warmth. I am so proud of our student-athletes. Not only were they able to respond in an adverse situation, but they were also able to put others at the forefront and help a family in need. There is nothing more honorable than that. We are truly building champions in life at Eastern Michigan, and their impact on the Terry family will be a lasting memory for all involved. I think it's safe to say that our Eastern family now includes the Terrys!"
Quote from EMU Head Coach Sara Tisdale
"When we realized Mary needed help our student-athletes jumped into action. Players' phones quickly turned from social media to cartoons. Every restaurant was closed in Pittsburgh so applesauce and granola bars left over from our game earlier that day served as dinner and late-night snacks for the Terry boys. Games of tag, hide and seek, and taking turns holding the littlest Terry were shared by all" Tisdale said in remembrance of that night.
"You never know what someone is going through. As we got to know Mary it became more and more apparent that she needed us more than any of us could have imagined. I am very proud of our student-athletes for acting without hesitation and knowing the smallest gestures can have the biggest impact" she continued.
"Our program pillars are DTRT (do the right thing), take pride in everything you do, and do it with purpose. Our players lived those pillars that day and the Terry family will be a part of our program for years to come. When we said goodbye to the family in Detroit, we expected to never hear from them again. The lunch Mary sent our team was incredibly thoughtful but what meant the most was seeing Mary and the boys again over FaceTime."
Quote from Mary Terry (Mother of Three)
I'd like to thank the EMU lacrosse team for being my family's battle buddy during this time and for having a complete stranger and her kids back. Life's hard enough on its own, but the team really took a lot of the weight of everything that was going wrong off my back long enough for me to realize that everything happens for a reason, and when you try to plan your own life, God's always humorous and quick to say "watch this". It was my "cheaper by the dozen" movie moment and my battles for the fight you couldn't see playing in my head. It was a personal experience that I couldn't thank the team enough for! Thank you for helping my kiddos and me through."
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