Road trip from Florida to South Carolina. Last year to be exact on December 2014 our oldest son at the time being a Senior in High School made the decision to join the Army, of course this news was very overwhelming and sad to hear specially as a mom. Knowing that this decision wasn’t the best to hear our son had his Army Recruiter set an appointment to meet with us and answer any questions we had. Of course when the time came I wasn’t a happy camper and I felt my questions to the Army Recruiter were a bit rough but as the few hours passed I must say at the end of our conversation my opinion had changed. Why? because I was able to see in my sons eye that he found his passion and it took me back when for years now I would tell my kids that we will support them on what they decide to do after high school as long as is a passion and not just a job. At that moment as my oldest son was watching the videos of the jobs he qualifies for I saw the passion in his eyes and right then and there I knew this was it.
Of course the journey was hard for us as we prepared for his 18th birthday, his High School Graduation and a few months later saying good bye as he started his new journey joining the Army. It was a lot to take in and at the same time we tried to have a balance so our youngest son wouldn’t get affected on the amount of attention our oldest was receiving during the year.
We planned ahead by saving as much as we could, that is why I share my shopping trips, budget spreadsheet, how to see a movie for free and other ways on how to cut back and save as much as we can. Simply because we knew more trips were in our future to visit our son.
After 9 weeks of not much communication with our son only through letters which were a joy to receive (we would wait until everyone was home in order for us to open the letters and read them aloud). It was a huge struggle for all of us as a family because we did everything together, from trips, shopping trips, activities, movies, shows, going out, get together, church and everyday task.
But throughout what we went through, we are so glad and grateful that God helped us through the journey even in our hardest moments. I am glad to say that it got us closer as a family and it helped us faced fears and deepest areas which in the process we were able to defeat those struggles. Is crazy how an uncomfortable, sad and strange setting can make you see and discover areas that need improvement in you but if it wasn’t for those moments that made you faced yourself you wouldn’t see how much lighter you feel after passing all of the challenges.
My advice is always get prepared mentally, physically and as a whole before facing a huge change in your life, sometimes we may think we are prepared but at the end we will know if more preparation was needed.
At then end of it all, I am a PROUD ARMY MOM, proud mom of my youngest son which I got to see how much he matured and grew as a person at such an early age, and proud wife to see how much we have grown as a couple.
This is just the beginning on this new journey but wanted to share a piece of our process…
