It's official, he's an Airman

So far, this week, we've had a great time with Dylan, catching up and hearing all about his time at basic training. He's wanted to do nothing except relax, eat and more relaxing.

Here he is at the retreat ceremony when we set eyes on him for the first time. I was surprised at his appearance but incredibly proud. He's so serious!












Here are how these recruits stood during the ceremony. I loved looking at how they did everything the same and at the same time. Lots of practice, I'm sure.














I catch myself taking a peek at him every now and then, because I'm happy that he's here with us and I'm trying to get used to that new haircut. I think he looks great!

Airmen's Run

I'm sharing a video of the Airmen's run that we watched this morning. What's that?? Did I see Dylan?? Sadly, no.

I cannot tell you where he is during this run because we were not able to spot them as they passed. I'm beginning to wonder that he may look so different that I can't spot him in a crowd. We are returning to the base at lunch time, where we will get to spend the afternoon and evening with him.

Travel to and fro

I couldn't lift a finger to type a new post the last couple of days. It was a busy weekend in Houston with a late night drive back home and I had to be at work by 6am the next morning. So after working the last couple of days, I'm now re-energizing my cells.

Dylan called this past weekend and I was able to talk to him for awhile and get better idea of what was happening at basic training. Just one more week until his graduation in San Antonio. It will be a great way to spend Thanksgiving.

Operation Quick Call

Dylan called today to make sure that we knew about him being able to leave the base on Thanksgiving day and to give us a phone number to call to make that request. Yes...we have to make it official or he won't be able to spend the day with us. And you know how the military is always giving every event an official name like "Operation Desert Storm", well this one is no different and it has been tagged as "Operation Home Cooking".

He sounded good and he asked if there was anything that I wanted to know about basic training. I have a thousand questions and I had to grasp for the most important ones to ask quickly, so I think I asked him if he was sore from his training and how he was doing. I told him I would have to ask more when I see him next. That was about all I had time for when he said he had to get off the phone. It's always so good to hear his voice. I can't wait to see him in a couple of weeks. This is the third time I've talked to him and it's always very rushed, but just hearing him does me a world of good.

First contact

While I was at work today, Ray called me to let me know that I had received a letter from Dylan. It's been almost 2 weeks since he left for basic training in the Air Force. I was pretty excited and hurried right home to get my letter.

Unfortunately it wasn't a letter, it was information about his graduation that the Air Force required all recruits to send home. But I was ok with that because I now had his address and I could write to him to lend some encouragement in the off chance that he might need it.

So we went to Hayden's soccer game that afternoon and while sitting there enjoying the game, my phone rang. IT WAS DYLAN!! I only got to talk to him for about 90 seconds but it was enough time to hear that he was enjoying basic training and he was doing really well. He said they had been really busy so there wasn't much time to call home. I told him I would write him and he said he would write and tell more about what was going on with his training. I look forward to seeing him in November and hearing all about his experience in San Antonio. I have so many questions!!!

I didn't know that I signed up for this 19 years ago

It's funny how one day they are babies in your arms and then the next day they are grown and gone. Dylan left for basic training on Monday. His mood was great and we had a good morning together as we went to Walmart to buy a duffle bag and stopped by McDonalds to pick up something for breakfast. We had one last talk about how it was going to be while he was at basic training and what we both expected and didn't expect from each other.

Once we arrived at his dropoff, we hugged goodbye and I told him that I would see him in about 6 weeks. I took pictures as he made the walk to begin his journey in the Air Force and then he was gone . We drove off and started the ride back home and it seemed like everything was going to be ok. But that was just a mistake in my thinking and as I would later find out.. Ray's thinking too. Nothing is the same and life now has a different look. I'm sad and my head is in a fog. Being by myself at the house today was unbearable. I thought that keeping the tv turned up loud enough where I could hear it from any room would keep my mind focused on other thoughts. No matter what I tried, I couldn't escape the fact that I was alone in my head.

I ended up leaving the house right after 11 and going to where two of my very good friends work. I was not going home until my kids came home from school. I hung out with them during lunch and for the rest of the afternoon. Their office was closed for the week and they were doing small jobs around the office or I would not have been able to be there. As was expected, we laughed... a lot... and I was soon feeling good again.

I really have the very best friends that one could wish for and I knew that turning to them would be the answer. I will lean on them for the next few days as I wait for things to get better.

But none of my kids are ever allowed to leave us now that we know what to expect. :-)