It is official. Jake is in the military. As usual, and as will probably be the way of the military going forward, we found out at the last minute about the swearing in ceremony.
Jake informs us at 9am that he is swearing in that day. We have a showing about to happen, I am walking out the door for a run and John is heading to a job site. But, good news, he THINKS it won't be til around noon.
I had planned to go from my run to Isabelle's swim lessons in my sweaty workout clothes but instead I am parked outside my house less than an hour later waiting for the potential buyers to leave so I can run in and shower and dress before 11am swim lessons. By the end of swim lessons, at 11:30, Jake has confirmed he is done with pre swearing in paperwork and we can come by noon. Which we can't do but we could come by 1pm. The military wants to room for something else at 1 so we have until 12:45 to get downtown, find a parking spot and run into the building. As I pull out of swim lessons I am an hour from downtown, still have to pick up John and get Isabelle into some regular clothes. I also called Grandpa and Grandma who dropped everything to run downtown as well.
We totally make it happen arriving right on time at the same building my dad had gone to in the 60's during Vietnam, he was given a medical pass, and where my Uncle stood on the front steps in his newly minted Navy uniform a couple years later. We flew through the security and around the corner to sit for a few last minutes with our son before he committed his life to the US Government.
The whole thing only took about 5 minutes but I surprised myself by the wave of emotion that hit me. I spent almost the whole 5 minutes sucking down the ugly cry. My baby was doing such a big thing! I feel overwhelmed simultaneously by both pride and fear for him. I have absolutely no idea what the next 6 years of his life hold but I do believe he is making the right choice. I look forward to seeing him grow over the next few years as he goes from my boy to a man.
Jake will leave at the end of September for boot camp in Oklahoma, be home briefly for Christmas and then be off to California for training as a Cryptologic Linguist. You may say, "what on earth is a cryptologic linguist?" Well I am so glad you asked. I don't really know either but here is the Army's description:
A cryptologic linguist is primarily responsible for identifying foreign communications using signals equipment. Their role is crucial as the nation’s defense depends largely on information that comes from foreign languages.
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| The photo op |
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| Supporting our soldier |
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| Proud Grandparents |
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| On the steps. No uniform yet. |
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| Proud parents |
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| Loving sister |
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