well, he's gone

This afternoon the whole family packed up in the car and we dropped my little boy off into the care of the United States military. We all did good, no major tears for anyone. Though, my eyes did get a little damp, but that's allowed because I'm his mommy, darn it! I know he was nervous and a bit scared, so there was no way in the world I was going to make it harder for him than it already was. Besides, though he's nervous, I know this is what he's spent a lot of time thinking about and really wants to do, so once the initial newness wears off, he'll be fine. He's a great kid and I know he'll be a wonderful Marine.

He had a great send-off yesterday. We had quite a crowd here at our house for his going away party. Lots of food and lots of fun. Hubby spotted a couple of girls crying as they were leaving our house after saying goodbye, so I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who puddled up thinking about him going. And just to prove what a wonderful kid he his and it's not just mom pride talking, he had thank you notes written to everyone who'd given him a card before we even had the house picked up after everyone left - and I hadn't even told him he needed to send thank yous. I guess my job here is done. If he ever asks for advice or counsel, hubs and I will be more than happy to help him, but we've realized that though we're always going to be his parents, we're pretty much finished with the actual parenting. He's a young man now and is capable of making his own decisions, it's our responsibility as parents to support his decisions. We're fortunate we've got a son who's making careful, well thought out decisions in his life. Hopefully, we'll be as fortunate with the three we've still got at home. They're all getting so big so fast, our days of being a direct influence on their lives is almost over. Boy, things were easier when they were just eating worms at the playground.