This is our 4th christmas/thanksgiving holiday having our son come home. I get just as excited as I did his first year. He got home for Christmas this past weekend. (He had no finals in any of his classes this semester - lucky). So seeing him in the morning on my way to work while he's sleeping is definitely surreal. Being this is probably our last "Family Vacation" ever/long time, we're all leaving this weekend for the Caribbean on a cruise. Not sure how I'll feel after he graduates. Hopefully he'll get a grad school slot. We would probably get to see him a little. if not, he'll go straight to pilot training, and we won't see him as much. It will be weird to continue to go to falcon football games and not see him here. But I have the rest of my "Air Force Family" that I Thudgate with.
Having spent 21 years in the air force myself, my wife and I know exactly how rarely we'll get to see him after he graduates. So word of advice..... Visit as often as possible. Make holidays special and meaningful. Your cadet will want to spend some off time: e.g. spring break, part of the summer, part of christmas, etc... with friends. That's ok. But the time you do spend together..... Make it count. Mike...