R-Day USCGA Class of 2017

As I type this, Pumpkin has been gone for two weeks.  My heart still aches.  I am so imcredibly proud, but I miss him so!

This was the infamous morning.  They went down for breakfast.  I was not hungry at all.  In retrospect, the Big Guy said that Pumpkin ate next to nothing.  There was very little conversation.

To lighten the atmosphere, I kept pulling out my camera.  I was not deterred by Pumpkin's rolling of his eyes.  In the hotel elevator...

We got a pretty close parking spot at the Academy.  If you look down the hill, there is a charter bus.  We found out the swabs were loaded on the bus and driven up the hill.  There is lots of significance to the bus.

 Pumpkin reported to a field house type building in the second wave.

 If you look closely, we were the USCGA family.  All of us but Pumpkin were in our spiritwear.

He was so strong.  He was nervous, but he put up a good front.  At the socials the night before, he did not meet his roommate.  To this day, I know very little about the boy who shares a room with my Pumpkin.

It was tough waiting for them to call his company.  Every where you looked there were red eyes, grown men wiping away tears.  It makes it even harder for me when I see others emotional.

So, we got our hugs and he got in line.  All he took with him was his old swim bag and the required paperwork.  To sign in, he needed his passport.

 Next in line...

 Signing in...

 The world as he's known it has now changed.

They had to line up and wait for the rest of his company to report in.

Then, he was gone.  There were activities for parents for the rest of the day until the swearing in ceremony later in the afternoon.  The weather was misty, drizzle, to steady rain in the morning.  It all stopped and the ceremony was held outside.  If you zoom in, he is to the left of the flag.  His company commander has the sword.

 He appeared very focused during the entire ceremony.  Here is a close up from another parent.

After the ceremony, the swabs have a class picture taken.  At that point, the clouds opened and it poured down rain.  We had jackets, but were soaked from head to toe.  After the pic, the swabs were released for 15 minutes to say their goodbyes.  We got a sneak peak at his hair - all the curls were gone:-(

I asked what his roomies name was.  He did not know.  They had no free time.  He said lunch was wonderful as it was quiet.  He savored that after all the yelling.  It is lots of shock and awe.

Yes.  We were soaked.  I heard the swabs were going to alter their schedules to go back and change their clothes.  If you look closely in the distance, all the cadre (older cadets who are training the swabs) are at the fence line.  It was a nice gesture to give the kids space to say their goodbyes.

I ended up doing pretty well.  The hardest part was his facial expressions, or lack there of.  He was already focused and in the zone.  Here is my sweet boy that is morphing into a responsible man.  I can only imagine what he will be like the next time I see him.

And, without further adieu, then they were gone...

They lined up, counted off, and headed forward into the toughest 7 weeks of their lives.

I am so grateful that kids want to serve their country.  Yes.  These weeks will be tough.  But, they will learn so much.  They will make lifelong friends.  And, the opportunities that await are amazing.

This is very hard as a parent.  The technology age is ingrained in us.  As of July 1, Pumpkin was off all social media and he handed in his cell phone.  We are living by "no news is good news."  I have received two letters from him.  One more than I expected the entire seven weeks!  He is doing ok.  I've got more pictures and am patiently waiting until our first phone call on 7/27.  I hope I can carry on a sensible conversation.

There is an amazing parent network.  I know we've only scratched the surface of this USCGA experience.  Each day gets easier.  I still tend to roll over at 4:30 cst when Pumpkin is waking up.  And, say a short prayer at 9 cst knowing he's made it one more day.

As you would expect, there will be more posts on this swab summer experience.

If you have 15 minutes and want to get somewhat of an idea of what he went through that first day, give this youtube video a watch.  A parent compiled it.  Pumpkin makes quite a few appearances after about the 8 minute mark.