Soon after Ashley's birthday, Mike had a three-day business seminar he was scheduled to participate in. In past years I would've attended alongside him, but I had no plans of going this year because of Ashley's behavior. There was no way she could be left unsupervised, and we had no safe place to stash her while we were gone. To be honest, I wouldn't have punished our friends by asking them to babysit her, because Ash was more than two parents could cope with. I'd sort of hinted to Mike that I wanted him to cancel the meeting, but it was a very important seminar. He had to attend, and I assumed maybe a compromise could be reached with Ash in which she was made to understand the importance of behaving in his absence. Yeah, right! But maybe if Mike granted her some outstanding wish for doing what was expected, there was a small possibility she could be convinced to stay home and refrain from doing anything out of the ordinary.  Like for once just don't bug Mom. Mike had other ideas. It was our custom to take our motorhome to the meeting and stay in a campground within walking distance of the convention center in order to defray costs. He proposed taking Ashley with him. I was skeptical about her cooperation, arguing that she would be bored. Boredom could lead to misbehavior, and if Ashley chose to disappear, where better than in a crowded auditorium among the huge crowds. But Mike prevailed. He said the change of atmosphere would do both of us good, and as much as Ashley loved to camp he knew he could get her to mind him.  After all, it was only going to be for three days. Besides, he didn't trust me enough to watch her. So off Mike and Ashley went on their business trip, and I sort of breathed a sigh of relief.  The only good part of it was that I got a quiet three day vacation, although Mike checked in every night by phone to tell me how it was going.  He didn't say much about our daughter, and I took that for a good sign.  The rest of the family relaxed without her here. We cleaned out bedrooms, and I made food that appealed to the children which Ashley didn't particularly like. I was able to get to know my children again, and we talked and laughed without interruption or Ashley feeling as if she was being slighted. It was warm, so we took picnics down to the beach or played in the park. Mike and Ashley returned on Thursday night. He was tired out and said keeping an eye on her had been a mental strain. Yes, she'd been disinterested in what was going on with the business, but she behaved herself. He was over the moon about having attended a church service with her on Wednesday evening, and how Ashley had made the decision to turn her life and problems over to God. Ashley, however, didn't seem like she'd made any life-changing decisions. She was not at all different from when she left. I think she would've acted a little more contented, more at peace or maybe even displayed a slightly improved change in her attitude. I saw neither, and though I didn't want to be skeptical or judgmental, I wondered how much of a religious experience she'd actually had.