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Yesterday was one of my proudest moments to this date.. My daughter left for Great Lakes. I was there for the final swearing in and was able to spend pretty much the whole day with her untill her flight took her away. I must thank the volunteers with the USO for making my day much more enjoyable. They made me feel even more proud of my daughter than I already was.. Just a simple "Thank You for serving our country" kinda hit home. And put it all in perspective. I have not flown commercialy since 9/11 but have heard about all the changes, and assumed that I would be pretty much leaving my daughter at the door, and going back to the car and waiting for her call. I am pleased to say that, that is not at all how it happened.. Long story short, The Gentlemen with the USO were able to get my wife and I passes so we could sit with her at the boarding gate, just like the old days... This gave us nearly 2 more hours to spend with her before she left. Shortly after her plane pulled away from the gate, there was a lady there who started asking questions as to why we were there and not on the plane and such.. My wife and I proceeded to explain that our daughter just left for boot camp. She then started asking more questions as to how it all came to be that she wanted to join the Navy. And as we told the story, it kinda made me think about the past few months in a different way. And when this lady thanked us for being supportive, and told us to be sure and thank her for serving our country, I once again got that sense of pride that I think only a parent can have.
The phone call was short and sweet just as I expected. but it was nice to hear her voice and to know that all was well. She left me a list of things to do after she left, ie. suspend cell phone plan untill she has access to her phone again, let her friends and family know her address when I get it,,, just things like that.. She also said that I should be getting a phone call from her in about 3 weeks.. I will have to say I am going to be looking forward to that day...
I've never really been considered a "big deal" in my family. I took auto tech to try to do something different from everyone else, and I ended up falling in love with it. I took it for 3 years and ended up graduating at the top of my class. My mothers little China doll (as she calls me b/c I'm "small, fragile, and beautiful") graduated and did better than all the boys! Haha. I was even the only one in my class to have the opertunity to go to the Ford AAA contest. I was the VP for SkillsUSA. Let's just say, my family would have never expected me to be the person I am today. Haha!
Before I considered joining the Navy, I knew I wanted to be a turbine mechanic for jets. As I started doing personal research on this, I started discovering how perfect the Navy would be for me. So, I talked to a recruiter, went to MEPS, and ended up getting the rate GSM. Even though I won't be working on turbines for aircraft, I'll be doing it for ships, which is just as cool to me and I absolutely cannot wait!
I guess the point of this blog is to admit to somebody that I am also very scared. I know it's taking a toll on my mom and dad especially. Neither one of them want to let go of their baby. All of my siblings still live in Ohio around the same small town we all grew up in. I am determined to make a difference. I am determined to make my family proud. To put my family name out there. To give my family something to brag about. But I am also doing it for myself. I feel like this is my destiny. I need to live a life of adventure before I become old. When people ask me why I decided to join the Navy, I always tell them "I don't really want to just exist in life".
At first it started out to be about the money and the college oppertunity. But the more I look into it, the more and more I become patriotic about it. I'm hoping that my family is just as excited as I am. Please, look out for my parents while I cannot. I believe my dad is going to make an account because I was highly reccommending it to him. haha!
Good luck to you and all of your family's and God Bless! :]]
