Off Topic

It started with a mysterious text to The Saint I Am Married To - Mom have dad make reservations at a nice restaurant I have some exciting news.

A pretty dramatic message from a 19 yr old kid. "What the hell is he up to now?" I asked myself when The Saint forwarded it to me. As usual, this all went down while I was at work and unable to face to face with anyone involved.

I called The Saint and we discuss the message. The subject of our conversation was Number One Son who is in his second year of J.C. with a promise of us funding an additional two years at state college or university once he decides what he wants to be when he grows up. He works three days a week in a warehouse and likes to hang out with his friends. He lives at home for free, I have a truck that I let him use exclusively and we pay the insurance. Until his GPA dropped below a "B", we bought his gas. He buys his clothes and provides his own spending money. Since he has been buying gas, his money has been a little tight.

Like his father, #1 Son doesn't take school real seriously and has some authority issues. In so many ways, we are very much alike. I know his boss real well, he thinks highly of #1 Son, as do many of the adults that know him.

It was with the above observations that we tried to figure out what possible news that this could be. Marriage? Not likely, no serious girlfriend for quite a while. Fatherhood? Maybe exciting, but not in a good way. Definitely not news worth celebrating. Business venture? New Job? Again not likely.

After hanging up with The Saint, I texted #1 son, she went to work on #2 son. Neither one of us were entirely successful. #1 son wasn't talking until the dinner, #2 wouldn't say either but told us that the news was good. Apparently #2 was sworn to secrecy under punishment of a severe ass-whuppin'.

The Saint and I had a few theories but we had to wait until we all met for dinner a day later.

I didn't sleep real well that night, the next evening took forever to roll around.  #1 son stayed pretty scarce throughout the day, until we all drove to the restaurant.

We got seated and ordered drinks. I ordered a tall ale and then asked the kid what his news was.

#1 Son told us that he is joining the Army and that he is going down to finalize his enlistment at the end of this week. I could tell by his demeanor that he was resolute in his decision and there is nothing that we could do to get him to change his mind.

The Saint and I immediately bombarded him with questions about his choice of MOS (military occupational specialty) how long he will be in, how far he is in the process - all of the usual questions.

I leveled with him, I told him I am proud of his decision and I support it but that I have some concerns, after all he is my son and there is a war on. I also told him that it will take a few days for me to digest his revelation to us and that ultimately it his decision. I added that our enthusiasm for his decision will likely increase as we absorb his choice and the ramifications of it.

It's been a few days now and both my enthusiasm and apprehension have grown. I feel all of the same positive things that I have said to others when their kids have enlisted but as this is my kid, there is a different feeling of uncertainty that is difficult for me to explain.

I have always been supportive of the military and thought that I would be proud of my kids if they chose that path. Although I am proud, I have come to the realization that I don't want my kid to feel fear. I don't want him to be afraid for the safety of his team members or be shocked by the brutality of man. I have witnessed all three and I had hoped that my kids would be spared from it.

We will know Friday evening what MOS #1 kid will have and when he will leave us. I still hope that he will have a safe MOS, but that is out of our hands.

I will be addressing this in future posts, though I may start a new blog that will chronicle his journey over the next few years.

If you made it to this part of the post, I appreciate your perseverance. If you skipped to the end, I still appreciate your readership.

Thanks again,
Schmoe