Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Over Hill, Over Dale, He Has Hit the Dusty Trail



Today was definitely a transitional day for me.  My youngest son, Douglas, a 27 year old father of a three-year old boy, and with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, entered the U.S. Army.  This ends a journey for him that started last summer.  This blog post is to help me process what happened today and its implications for me.

He will likely leave on Thursday for Fort Sill, Oklahoma for his basic training, and then goes to Fort Sam Houston in Texas for training as a medic.  I was informed that with roughly three weeks to go in his medic training, he will be assigned to a post somewhere on the planet.

Douglas has already lived on his own, while attending Cal State University, Long Beach, and then upon graduation, in Santa Clarita.  It was when his employment reduced his hours, and we knew that he was going to enter the Army in January, that we broke our rule after he asked and allowed him to live with us.  He won’t have to worry about housing and meals for quite awhile now, a fact not lost on him or me.  And while living with us had its good times, he didn’t really want to live with us, and frankly, it was often bothersome and even unpleasant to have him in our home.

Living with us did afford me a weekly opportunity to see little Daniel because he spent with his daddy a couple of days each week.  He is a delightful little guy even though he would not allow me to touch him, much less hold him.  He did like to play catch the ball with me—I think he will be a good athlete—because that didn’t involve touching him.  But he squawked when I attempted to touch him.  Early on, he would look away from my gaze, I guess to make me disappear!

Douglas hopes that this new chapter in his life will give his life direction, especially with employment.  He chose to be a medic because 1) he could, having scored very high on an aptitude test, but more importantly, 2) it likely will equip him for his life after the military, assuming he opts out after his four year commitment.  I commend him for his foresight, although he will be going into a field that will exact every ounce of intellect, courage, and determination that he can muster.

So my boy officially launched today.  Sad?  A little.  Hopeful?  Very much so.  I look forward to seeing my young man turn into a full-on man!  Today I officially let go of him, and now trust him to God.

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