personal

well, it’s done

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Vicky had to report at 5 o’clock today to begin the transition to Basic Training. She ran inside, checked in, and then ran right back out so we could go to dinner together, along with her closest friend, Meredith.  We had a pleasant dinner, and then dropped her off for good. Oh. I have no words.

Too soon! Too soon! Even though we’ve had months to prepare. It seems like only yesterday she was taking her first steps, and now she has finally taken her own steps into total independence.  I think she was torn between throwing up or cartwheels. Maybe both. Especially if she was doing the cartwheels first. I know which one I’m going to do. Hint: I’m in no shape for cartwheels.

I watched her as she was giving her things one final pass.  She tucked her St. Michael medal in her shirt, and packed the olive drab twine rosary in the new digital camo back pack.  That’s all she takes with her–that, and a couple of changes of clothes. And a piece of my heart.

Anyway, here I sit. Contemplating boxes of memories that she’s packed up. Piles of clothes to be taken to St. Vincent de Paul.  Mementos left behind. I’ll get to them. Just not yet.

Happy Mother’s Day!

My favorite mom in the whole universe. This is a classic pose. Note that she has been collecting wrapping paper and such after my niece, Luly, opened some gifts. My favorite part, of course, is her extreme surprise over something. My mother, if anything else, is the most expressive person I know.

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I love you Mami!!!

now that the cat is out of the bag

I guess now that the family knows, it’s safe to announce to the rest of the world that my child has lost her mind and enlisted in the United States Army, where her illustrious Commander-in-Chief is President Obama. I love irony in my life. She will quickly gain a new perspective on irony, too.

Anyway, it’s too easy to make fun of a path that she has clearly been on for a while. Good luck to her on that endeavor–she’ll be great.  At the very least, she’ll look fetching in camo.

I’ll probably post something all full of pride and stuff after she survives boot camp and finishes all the cool things she will be studying in this next phase, and one hopes there will be a commission sooner rather than later, but that’s not what this post is about.

This post is about making fun of her because, well, she deserves it. Enjoy the film clip, it’s very appropriate. You might want to check her blog for a different perspective on this adventure, too.