I guess at least some of you know I have a son, Scott, shipping out to basic training in the USAF.
Last week, the USAF moved the date up on us by two days (was to check in at a Baltimore hotel Sunday evening then ship out on Monday, yesterday). We had a graduation / goodbye party planned for him Sunday evening that we moved up to Sunday afternoon. I was trying to get ready for all this (end of last week was crazy - he had gotten an ear infection that hadn't quite cleared up but his recruiter said "He can't be on meds or he can't go." But we didn't want him to enter basic with a hurting ear! So we took him to the doctor and begged the doc to give him a shot, since he wouldn't have time to be on a course of antibiotics. This worked, and cleared up his ear infection. In the midst of all this, I had noticed a round rash / bite with a dot on my foot and I started having flu like symptoms and just felt horrible. The good thing was, I call the doc right away, got tested for lyme disease and got on antibiotics immediately. I felt terrible the F3D (it strikes again!) but am thankfully better now.
So all this was happening at once and Scott was seeming very reluctant to leave. I emailed Lori a few times, and she was a huge help. Her husband is a recruiter for the Navy and she said that recruits often get 'cold feet' right before going. That helped us feel better. Thanks, Lori!
So Sunday comes and I can't believe he's leaving. He's recognized and prayed for at church, we have the party, he's a bit withdrawn. At 6:00pm my husband says 'It's time to pack' and Scott says, "I'm not going." While we didn't force him into the USAF initially, he signed up months ago and sometimes the 'thrill' wears off or the reality hits or something. We just had to make him stick to the commitment he made. It was probably one of the most painful things I've done as a parent, but if you knew Scott, everyone just KNOWS that this will be good for him and once he gets in that environment he will do great. So Scott had a few hours of painful moving from denial to acceptance and the whole family (including the dog of course) piles in the car to take him to the hotel. He spoke with his recruiter and was better. Finally we handed him over at 9:40pm and said goodbye.
We were to go to Ft. Meade yesterday (Monday) for his swearing in ceremony and send off (final goodbye). I felt he would do it but had my reservations. When we arrived, we saw him with all of the other recruits being processed and doing all the last minute things they do. I knew then he had come to peace with it. He was sworn in with a group of about 40 recruits and they all stood tall and proud and took the oath to their country. By the time they had the ship out ceremony (imagine the bride and groom running to the car, bus for them, no confetti) they were all smiling and all the families there were clapping and cheering and proud.
We were allowed to go back past security in the airport to hang with him until he got on the plane (they fly commercial, not military). He boarded with his group of AF recruits with no reluctance. We watched him get on the plane then ran up to the observation deck so we could watch his plane pull out and take off (mom needs closure; dad could have left hours ago). As his plane took off I realized, ironically, I was watching him leave from the observation deck where I had brought him so many times as a little boy to play because he loved airplanes so much. Truly a mom boo whoo moment!
Lori's son, RJ, also shipped out to basic training in the Navy this week, just a couple of days before Scott.
Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers!
Thank you!
Keri
