Howdy Bloggers!

This blog goes out to my firstborn ~ Mitchell ~ who graduated from the Army's basic training course,at Fort Benning in Georgia on February 17th, 2006!! OOOOOHHHHRAAAAAHHHH! I was worried the first time Mitch came to me and mentioned he was thinking of joining the service ~ usually I think the service is a great thing for young men ~ but it worried me that he was joining during wartime. He was doing well in college, but just couldn't seem to find out what he "wanted to do" and felt like he was wasting time. Two of his best friends from High School had joined the service, and he liked seeing all the places they were going to, and hearing their stories ~ more and more he mentioned joining.

When Mitch first called me from Fort Benning, you could tell by his voice he was alittle scared, unsure ~ then in the next few weeks you could see him changing. Mitch has always been a leader, pretty sure of himself ~ the Army just refined those skills. They gave him great confidence, a path ~ for him to venture down on. When I talk to him now you hear the happiness in his voice ~ he really enjoys what he is doing and that is all a parent wants for their children.

Mitch and the guys in his unit are staying a few extra weeks to do some additional training (mostly classwork) ~ and earn a certificate. He will then be able to come home on March 3rd and have a few weeks off. On March 24 he will report to Fort Riley in Kansas for further instruction. The Army couldn't decide if they wanted to send his unit to Fort Bliss in Texas, or Fort Riley in Kansas. I for one, secretly wanted him to go to Kansas, because he has "less" of a chance of being deployed to Iraq from there. If he had gone to Texas, it was possible for him to be deployed to Iraq in 45 days. I pray for all the young men who are over there, and their families ~ we are proud of you all!

So Mitch ~ I remember the day you were born ~ You were all wrinkly, but you opened these huge , huge blue eyes and just stared at me. I called you ET (that was the hit movie back then) and the nurse pretty much yelled at me for calling you that...but I always thought ET was cute! *hee hee* That was almost 21 years ago ~ I was about your age now when I had you. You were a wonderful son to raise, your sense of humor, your compassion, the way you helped with Zachary, even tho you were a child yourself ~ we could not be more proud of you. So go forward now son, into the new journey of your life ~ there are so many wonderful things you will experience ~ and we will cheer you on every step of the way!

Love, Mom