Well its now official, A.J. is in the military. Yesterday Dave took him to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs and he became a cadet. Dave, bravely, took him to Inprocessing at Dolittle Hall and left him in the hands of the staff at the Academy. It was around 11AM yesterday when Dave gave his final hug and "I love you" and sent him off for a new adventure. Today at 7:30AM, our time, A.J. had his swearing in ceremony.
We will not be able to speak to A.J. until July 13th when he is given an opportunity to make a few phone calls. It will be just that day and then we will not be able to speak to him again until August 6th, Acceptance Day, when he is officially accepted into the Academy as a Cadet 4th Class. It will be a tough 6 weeks for all of us but I am certain A.J. is going to come through it with flying colors.
I am sure you are all wondering how I am doing with this all. I am actually great. I am not sad, worried or upset. I am certain that this is something A.J. wants to do and will do great. It did break my heart having to separate him from his girlfriend, Stephanie, to take him to the airport. The 2 of them were in tears and A.J. continued with the tears for half the ride to LAX. He did get himself together and for the remainder of the ride he was his usual jovial self. When we got to the airport I pulled up to the curb at the United terminal, gave him a hug, told him I loved him and watched him walk into the airport. I did not feel bad. I thought about it and determined that I would be upset if he didn't go off to college. A.J. has been ready for college since about age 7!
When he arrived in Colorado Springs Dave was at the airport waiting for him. They ran a few errands, to get the last minute things he needed (a toothbrush, Tums and a new back pack) and then had dinner with 5 other cadets (all football players) and their families. Dave and A.J. spent Wednesday night at a hotel and woke early Thursday to head to the Academy. They started with breakfast with the football coaches and then headed to inprocessing. I spoke to Dave numerous times over this period and hearing about this made me feel even better about things. A.J. already has friends at the Academy. When you have friends with you anything is easier. There are 2 boys in particular that, I believe, will be among his best friends for the rest of his life. He met Jared and Harry when we took his "official" visit in December. The 3 of them got along great and helped each other determine that AFA was the place for them. They, of course, all committed and have stayed in touch ever since then. They met up again at the Academy for orientation in April and have been in contact via text in the months, weeks leading up to yesterday. In addition, Dave and I have met their parents and believe we have some new friends ourselves. You know you can never have too many of those!!
The next few weeks will be a bit difficult but we will all get through it. Of course I will worry if A.J. is getting enough food and sleep and Dave will worry about everything else. He is allowed to write us letters but we don't expect much as he is just not that kind of kid. I am sure he will have a few miserable days but I do believe he has his "eye on the prize" and it will be enough to get him through the rough times.
He has been assigned to Squadron 18, the Knightriders, and he will be in that squadron for his entire time at the academy. What more could a good Jewish mother hope for--my son his in the CHAI squadron!
As I know more I will write more. Thank you all for all your support!!
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