I can hear myself, one year ago, in all of your posts. The pride, the excitement, the worry, the tears, the emotions that ran from hot to cold in a milisecond...everything was magnified. I lost so much sleep the final two weeks before R-Day that the circles under my eyes had circles of their own. I was a mess.
Fast forward to "the day". His dad and I chose to fly out with him and for us this was the right choice. CGA had a great parent's program which included an informal meet and greet the day before. We were lucky to meet and have lunch with our son's first rommate. They hit it off right away, so at least we knew he would have one friend. Rday itself was not as nerve racking as I expected, in part because son was so ready. So, so ready. After he checked in we went to a parent's presentation (most amazing thing, to be in the room with the families of 295 amazing kids who worked just as hard, and brought to the table such unique qualifications...very humbling indeed) and again it just felt "right". The part of the day that I dreaded most was the 10 minute goodbye after the swearing in. We'd been told that our son might be emotional, cranky, tired and unsure of what he'd gotten himself into. Well, he was tired, and a little keyed up, but the smile he gave us as he ran back to rejoin his company (2 minutes early! The kid has never been early a day in his life...!) spoke volumes about his readiness to take on this new adventure. I am crying as I write this, just remembering how good it felt to know that our son was really and truly where he wanted, and needed, to be. Going on 8 months later, he is not only surviving, but thriving. It's hard...some days are really hard. But the positives so greatly outweigh the negatives that our son has said he is happy to be at CGA. Happy. With people yelling at him. And carrying 20 units. And all the military obligations. Something very right is going on at CGA (and all other SA's) when a kid can find a way to be happy in such a demanding environment.
Ok, enough rambling...bottom line...it was FAR harder waiting for Rday than it was letting go on the actual day. If your sons and daughters really, really want to be there, then you are in for a great ride. And as you drive away on Rday, you may have a few tears, but I predict they will quickly be replaced with a contented smile when you realize that you've worked yourself out of a job (parenting) and entered into the new role of friend and advisor and of course, care package mailer.
Good luck all...