My current (5/24/06) thoughts
Dallas is in Reception at Ft Benning and starts OSUT on Friday. His destination -- Army, Airborne Ranger. I am occasionally asked how I feel about this but even more frequently I hear 'that's too bad'.
Well I wouldn't go so far to say he has chosen the world's safest occupation but it has been his dream since kindergarten. In Grande Prairie he came home almost in tears one day because somebody said the war was over (Desert Storm) and he didn't get a chance to be there. Before we left GP I took him to a military vehicle show at the Armory there and watched his eyes light up at the sight of the soldiers in attendance. In Lethbridge he got even more excited about his objective because both Melody and Trevor were in cadets and he often got to come with us to the army surplus store and to the parades at the armory. We attended a Tattoo at Lethbridge that had both the Canadian forces and the US forces putting on various exhibitions and drills. He decided then and there (partly because I managed to sing as many lines of the US anthem as I did of the Canadian and he had asked how I knew it) that it was going to be the US Army or Marines that he joined as soon as he was old enough. Eventually he decided on the Army and has been a regular visitor to GoArmy.com since we have had the internet in the 90s. By the time he was in grade 5, in Hudson's Hope, clothes shopping meant getting something green or camo and gifts could be anything at all that came from a military surplus store. Even in cadets in Kamloops he frequently told them he would eventually be enlisting in the US Army and that was the reason behind my first contact with the US consulate in 2000 to find out how to establish my status so we could get him enlisted when the time came. Of course that was pre-9/11 so he didn't even have to prove his citizenship. I was assured that moving here and getting my status was simply a matter of moving down when ready and dropping in at an SSA office with my registration record from Taylor School in Sheridan and mom's SSN. Who knew how much THAT scenario would change following 9/11.
For the past 3 years Dallas has frequented the recruiting offices from Arkansas to New Mexico and has worked with me at using every resource possible to establish his citizenship and get the necessary paperwork to finally be able to enlist. It was no surprise he was at the recruiters the day before his SSN card arrived in the mail.
In answer to 'what I feel' I would have to say pride -- pride at seeing my son move closer to his lifelong dream, pride at watching him overcome all the obstacles that have landed in his way -- pride at watching him win out on the waiting game over the past 3 years. I also feel fear but no more than the fear felt watching him drive on his own the first time, or the fear of watching him climb the derrick at the oil rig.
What irks me most are the suggestions of his absolute demise or of being 'wasted' because all of these comments are political, opinionated and based on erroneous or misleading statistics. Dallas has not been given a life sentence, nor has he been sentenced to death -- I do not need, nor appreciate the condolences -- I am proud of his perseverance and his achievements. How many others are living the dream they had when they were 5?
I feel additional pride because he has not allowed others opinions to sway his decisions and he can cheer his accomplishments on his own without needing friends or family who agree. I wish I could do that.
Well I wouldn't go so far to say he has chosen the world's safest occupation but it has been his dream since kindergarten. In Grande Prairie he came home almost in tears one day because somebody said the war was over (Desert Storm) and he didn't get a chance to be there. Before we left GP I took him to a military vehicle show at the Armory there and watched his eyes light up at the sight of the soldiers in attendance. In Lethbridge he got even more excited about his objective because both Melody and Trevor were in cadets and he often got to come with us to the army surplus store and to the parades at the armory. We attended a Tattoo at Lethbridge that had both the Canadian forces and the US forces putting on various exhibitions and drills. He decided then and there (partly because I managed to sing as many lines of the US anthem as I did of the Canadian and he had asked how I knew it) that it was going to be the US Army or Marines that he joined as soon as he was old enough. Eventually he decided on the Army and has been a regular visitor to GoArmy.com since we have had the internet in the 90s. By the time he was in grade 5, in Hudson's Hope, clothes shopping meant getting something green or camo and gifts could be anything at all that came from a military surplus store. Even in cadets in Kamloops he frequently told them he would eventually be enlisting in the US Army and that was the reason behind my first contact with the US consulate in 2000 to find out how to establish my status so we could get him enlisted when the time came. Of course that was pre-9/11 so he didn't even have to prove his citizenship. I was assured that moving here and getting my status was simply a matter of moving down when ready and dropping in at an SSA office with my registration record from Taylor School in Sheridan and mom's SSN. Who knew how much THAT scenario would change following 9/11.
For the past 3 years Dallas has frequented the recruiting offices from Arkansas to New Mexico and has worked with me at using every resource possible to establish his citizenship and get the necessary paperwork to finally be able to enlist. It was no surprise he was at the recruiters the day before his SSN card arrived in the mail.
In answer to 'what I feel' I would have to say pride -- pride at seeing my son move closer to his lifelong dream, pride at watching him overcome all the obstacles that have landed in his way -- pride at watching him win out on the waiting game over the past 3 years. I also feel fear but no more than the fear felt watching him drive on his own the first time, or the fear of watching him climb the derrick at the oil rig.
What irks me most are the suggestions of his absolute demise or of being 'wasted' because all of these comments are political, opinionated and based on erroneous or misleading statistics. Dallas has not been given a life sentence, nor has he been sentenced to death -- I do not need, nor appreciate the condolences -- I am proud of his perseverance and his achievements. How many others are living the dream they had when they were 5?
I feel additional pride because he has not allowed others opinions to sway his decisions and he can cheer his accomplishments on his own without needing friends or family who agree. I wish I could do that.
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