Mother/Son Status Check

You might remember when we all dressed up like the photo on the right to throw a huge surprise party for my DS 1 before he headed off to boot camp. And when DSs 3 and 4 and I painted our rug camouflage like the photo on the left. And you also might remember that he didn't get to go at that time for several reasons.


But the time has come for him to leave and head off to Boot Camp tomorrow. It's a day we've known was going to happen and that he's anticipated for quite some time. As I've noted several times, I am a bit melancholy about the whole thing. It's a "Mom Thing" and I'm OK with that.

There have been several instances over the past week or so that I've been reduced to tears in a matter of moments. Whether it's "just the right song" or a mention of military men and women or patriotism or parenting. I never know when it's going to hit, but it has.

Today I was remembering him as a little boy heading off to school for the first time. It was to be the first time I was really "away" from them as I'd always taught at the preschools and day cares they attended. And he was in my Kindergarten class. When we walked into first grade, I thought maybe he'd be a bit apprehensive. But he wasn't. He walked in and sat down and looked at me like, "you can go now." I walked back to my DH waiting in the car and announced, "The Mother's a wreck, but the child's just fine." I just wanted to freeze that moment in time.

And that pretty much sums up where we are here almost fifteen years later. He's confident and ready to take the next step in his life's journey, but I'd like to stop here and make time stand still for just a while longer. And really, if you think about it, that's exactly the gift I got when his date was shifted from April to November. Just look at some of the special memories I will now hold so dear as he goes...

We had the pleasure of having him here for DS 3's end of middle school and DS 2's graduation. In the picture above, he's surprising his brother on the last day of 8th grade in the gorilla costume along with the school's mascot (the Ram).

We had a great time in July scalloping at the river...
And I will be forever grateful for the time we got to spend in Ohio in September for my Grandma's birthday...
There are many other "gifts" I've had over the past few months. And, for now, that's what I'll cling to as I watch him go tomorrow.

Still...it's true..."the Mother's a wreck, but the child YOUNG MAN is just fine!"

I love you, son!!