Wednesday, December 28, 2011

He's Decided to Be All That He Can Be

You know how you get caught up in the craziness of life, to the point where you sometimes forget that not everyone is living it with you?  Or how you make so many updates on Facebook, that you neglect the poor blog you started as the original update location?  Well, that's how it's been here. 

The biggest thing right now?  The Teenager enlisted in the Army.

Yes, I know the original plan was the Navy.  But after three attempts to get an ASVAB/AFQT score high enough for them to take him, he decided that maybe they weren't quite the right fit for him.

You will note, however, that he didn't give up altogether. Oh no. Not this boy. Man. Whatever.  No, he just went shopping for the branch that WAS the right fit for him. He found that with the Army. And so he took the physical. Signed the paperwork. Swore the Oath. Chose a career. Received a deployment date for basic training. He made it completely official.

My starter baby is leaving me in just a few short months. He is leaving me, to go learn how to protect and defend all of you

And I honestly believe I just may be more proud of him for this decision that I would have been if he had received a full-ride athletic scholarship to the college of his dreams. Well, if he'd ever dreamed of colleges and not the military.  Apparently, he IS going to be living his dream. Or at least, setting forth on the path towards it. Regardless, I AM so ridiculously beyond proud of him.

This may sound silly, but it occurs to me that this is one more thing in his life that we get to do together: learn to be Army Strong.  He as a soldier; me as a soldier's mom.


This is what he will be spending a very large chunk of his time in. Only, you know, a real tank that's not made out of Legos. 

3 comments:

Big Mark 243 said...

Congratulations! I enjoyed my brief (4 yr) Army career... my younger sister is a lifer, working on 13 years... I know that your heart is prolly pulled in multiple direction right now, but he is making a decision that will be good for him!

Karen said...

THANK YOU for recognizing that the military is an incredibly important part of America, and that those who have the courage to join need to be applauded and not told they're "putting their life on hold" or some other such rubbish. Tell that boy I'm incredibly proud of him, and thank him for his willingness to serve and protect. He's my hero.

Sue said...

That is an awesome! And hard choices like that need supportive parents like you. It's scary as a parent to watch your child make that choice though. I know. One of my boys leaves for the Navy on March 1 and I am also ridiculously proud of him.