A good week for parents of a young man or woman at USAFA …
Year 1 – Summer: You son is accepted. NOW WHAT? He finally finishes his Eagle Project. The next week he turns 18 and then the next week he leaves for Basic. Bittersweet!
Basic: You spot your sons’ ear in a web-guy photo. Don’t ask me how but my wife knows his ears I guess. The rest of Basic you scourer Web-Guy for pictures - and there he is, almost every day.
Doolie Day (IN in our case) a phone call that’s good for a month.
Recognition: Man the picture of him at attention getting his first boards. Great week!
Parents weekend. Mom is finally has JOY!
First visit home and the boy is all “yes Mam” and “No thank you” and sitting up straight and NOT licking his fingers, MAN that is a good week!
Good Grades: Great week!
100’s Night as a 4 dig, 100’s night as a firsty, First Snow, etc. etc etc
Summer programs: Jumping out of a perfectly good plane, getting gassed, Flying in a glider, being hunted down by 3 digs …IT’S ALL GOOD!
Great week(s)? Vacation for Christmas, and summer session. I say session (singular) because our boy never made it home for the summer again. But that’s okay because he went to: Italy, Russia, China, Mongolia and Hawaii. Not to mention all kinds of bases and Combat Shooting Team Competitions around the country. It is hard to keep missing them when they are having such incredible experiences.
So yeah he is away, no he is GONE! But we are bursting our buttons knowing he is living an unparalleled College Experience.
There are SOOO many more – the list over the last 4 years is enormous.
All the weeks are good and they kept getting better for us.
In just a few short weeks, I know my wife and I will have another BEST week ever. Graduation. Commissioning and the successful launch of child number 2 (of 4).
So for all you new parents …HANG ON! This is just the beginning of your son or daughters greatest adventure. Pray for them, LET THEM GO and have fun watching them take on the world!