Tuesday January 20th was a very proud day for me. Tuesday January 20th was a very sad day for me.
This Tuesday my wife and I delivered our 18 year old daughter to MEPS in Omaha to ship out for boot camp at Parris Island. Since then we have been desperately scrounging for information, support groups, and any details of her journey. At times I laugh, others I cringe, and occasionally I fight back a tear.
I wonder if she is sorry about her choice, and then I think, of course she will be sorry about it at some point. Or at the very least she will question her choice. Through all the lows and slowly increasing highs, I know that she will tough it out and emerge from the other end of the tunnel as a very proud and confident Marine.
My thoughts are with her every day. The hardest thing for me is to not be there for her during hard times, but this is the right of passage which will solidify her position in a new family.
My pet name for her was "Honey Bunny", but that may need to change to "Devil Dog".
Fly