We are now a MILITARY Family

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!!

Another Before/After

My 7 year old nephew, Hank, adores his cousin A.J (and A.J. adores Hank right back). As his way of showing his support Hank had a special surprise for his cousin....

BEFORE

AFTER

AND the 2 of them together...

Here is whats up...

Well as you can probably guess I am well on my way to crazy. Both my kids are giving me reasons to laugh and cry all at the same time.
Just this past weekend A.J. had his Eagle Scout Court of Honor and a party to celebrate his accomplishments and going away. I am so very proud of all that he has done and look forward to everything he has yet to do. It is not this that brings a tear to my eye. I start to well up with I see my wonderful family and friends taking part in the celebrations and I think how lucky I am to have them all. As I see, or think, about all the people in our lives I am reminded that each and everyone of them have done something to help Dave and I raise such excellent children. We have an amazing support system and really appreciate everything everyone has done for us, for A.J. and for Erin over the years. And I know that they will continue to be there for all of us in the years to come. I am not sure that we even realize how blessed we are!!
And with all this celebration comes some tough issues, too. It is tough for Erin to have to follow in the footsteps of A.J. All the attention and accolades are focused on him right now, and actually for the past couple years. I am certain there are times when she feels left out or like she doesn't measure up. Dave and I try hard to not let this happen but I am certain that it does anyway. We remind her often that she, too, is terrific and that we love her but I am sure that sometimes it just not enough. It breaks my heart to think that for even one minute she feels unloved or that she is a distant second to her brother. She is unique and great in her own right and I want her to know that ALWAYS!! Alas, she may regret what she wished for as in just a short time A.J. will be off to school and we will have just one kid to focus our attention on. Dave and I do look forward to that one on one time with Erin and hope she does too.

And so it begins....

BEFORE

AFTER

A.J. has graduated....

And here is a picture of our handsome boy. Believe or not I did NOT shed a tear. It was a wonderful ceremony and a certainly a proud mom moment. AJ graduated as an honor scholar and was given the privilege of wearing a white gown, as opposed to green, because his cumulative GPA was over a 4.0. As you can see by the regalia he is wearing he graduated with many honors.
Three weeks from today A.J. leaves for Colorado Springs. I do believe that I WILL shed many a tear between now and then but I expect to leave the most for after he is gone, when I am driving home from the airport alone.

Random Thoughts

Its been a while since I have blogged but for no particular reason. I have had a few things I thought about writing about but have been unable to come up with more than a few sentences so I will combine a few things that really have nothing to do with each other.

1. I got gas this morning and nearly broke down in tears. $4.19 a gallon--is that crazy? Not only does it cost way more for gas but it cost way more for groceries because of it. The cost of things is going up and up and my salary is not. We are definitely making less trips and trying to cut costs but are really not finding significant savings anywhere.

2. Do I feel old or young? On the same day my son is graduating from high school the son of one of my best friends, since I was about 15, is having a bris. We are the same age and our sons are about 18 years apart. This isn't the only one of my good friends with a newborn. Later in the week I will be attending a baptism for the son of the best man at my wedding and in January one of my other best girlfriends had twins. My friends children will be babysitting my grandchildren. WEIRD!!

3. Proud mom moment....A.J. was named the 2008 Scholar Athlete of the Year at Canyon High. His name will be painted on the gym wall and will be there for all to see for all time. Once its up I will take a picture and post it for y'all to see.

4. My husband is terrific!! Not only has he done some amazing projects around the house lately--reupholstered his boat, put in a whole house fan, built a fire pit in the backyard--but he has also been sweet, kind and loving to me even when I have been grouchy and overwhelmed. He has been able to take me out of my nasty mood and make me laugh and smile. I don't think I tell him enough how much appreciate him.

5. A.J. is leaving for school is less than a month. I THINK I am fine with it but then again maybe I am not. Wednesday was the first, of what I think will be many, requests for dinner items before he leaves. He asked for Chicken Bacon Ranch Boboili pizza "before I leave". Of course, I said sure with a smile on my face but I got a little sad thinking about it.

Well, as usual, I thank you all for listening. More soon!

All grown up?

Its been a while since I have blogged. Not because I don't enjoy it but rather because not much new is going on. Erin is still playing soccer and very involved in USY. A.J. has finished track and just about done with high school. Soon there will be a whirlwind of activity and then he will gone.
This week A.J. asked our permission to take a 3 day trip to the beach with his friends, following graduation and sans adult supervision. There will be 9 of them altogether--4 girls and 5 boys--and they will have 2 hotel rooms(boys in one room, girls in the other) at a hotel on the beach in Pacific Beach (the girls picked it unbeknownst to them that A.J.'s uncle lives just blocks away). They are all good kids and I am not worried about them doing anything illegal BUT I am still worried and have my reservations about allowing him to go. They will be driving in 2 cars to San Diego. They will be staying in a "party" area of town. They will be on their own for 3 days and 2 nights.
Maybe its just me but I feel like A.J. and his friends are less mature, or maybe less sophisticated, than I was at that age. They live in a "small" town, in a pretty sheltered environment. The have all had driving restrictions on them until only recently and I don't think any of them have significant freeway driving experience. Do they even know how to get to San Diego? What if they get lost? Well I do hope the ones that are doing the driving are the ones with GPS in their cars. Once in Pacific Beach I am certain they will run into more rowdy college students then they have ever seen. I certainly hope they don't get into any confrontations. Uncle Bruce does live right near by but it turns out he will be out of town for most of the time A.J. will be in town.
After I told Dave my concerns he reminded me that it is A.J. and HIS friends that are going. These are all very intelligent, well behaved kids. They will probably do no more than eat, go to the beach and play poker. They have all proven themselves over and over again with their behavior throughout their high school years. They know how to handle themselves and in no time all of them will be off to college. Dave sees no reason why they shouldn't go.
We now have given our blessing. The only catch--they may NOT go to Tijuana.