Hi, I'm Jerry, Josh's Dad.
Josh has entrusted me with the responsibility of updating his blog while he is in boot camp. I'm looking forward to it.
In the meantime, with just days to go before he is required to report, it appears it will be yet another week filled with "lasts." He already has been on his last vacation as a civilian with his parents and brothers. He spent his last couple nights without any outside thoughts of "serious" responsibilities with his friend, Eric. Today was the last full Sunday he will have at home to play video games before boot camp, tomorrow will be the last full Monday, etc.
He will be putting that part of his life on hold for a while. In a little more than three months, those "lasts" will become "firsts": his first night out with his friends as a newly minted Marine, his first opportunity to sleep in, etc. I imagine he will feel a range of emotions when he attends his first high school football game just hours after graduating from boot camp -- particularly when the Golden Alliance plays the national anthem before the kickoff.
As for me, I will miss having him around the house. I will miss the jokes around the dinner table and our late-night conversations. But much more of me is excited for him, as he takes his first step toward realizing a dream, and into this next chapter of his life.
In 2010, I set up this blog as an efficient means of communicating with my friends and family while I was away at Marine Corps boot camp. My dad posted portions of my letters, as well as general information as to what I was doing on any given day. Now, feel free to bookmark this page and check for updates on what I'm up to. Thanks for reading!
I am the one who put your son's blog on my website for other Future Marines to read through and to learn from. I am looking forward to reading what he has to say and I am sure my site's supporters and readers are as well.
ReplyDeleteI mentor future Marines and each time one of them leaves for boot camp, I feel the connection as a Marine and as a friend. I can only imagine what you must be feeling as a dad.