Military Lines

I called this From Boys to Men because it seems like it happened in a blink of an eye. One day my house was full of boys. There was rarely a quiet moment and the next it was empty.  Sometimes the quiet is painful. This past year the changes to our family happened as fast as a whirlwind. Or in Devon’s case , a fast moving tornado.

It started with Chris taking a leap of faith last summer and moving to Utah to be close to Taryn.  The next thing we knew he was engaged, eloped, enlisted in the Air Force and then off to Boot Camp. WOW!

Chris’s decision to join the Air Force came as no surprise to us.  He has committed the next 8 years of his life to serving his country and  he  can continue his education while starting his new life with Taryn. When Chris makes a decision he has never been one to waste any time, he gets right to it. Lucky for him Taryn is adventurous. He is currently in Florida for training.

Devon’s career goal was to follow in his fathers footsteps. Then one day he gave Tom and I the biggest surprise of our life when he announced he was going to enlist in the Army. He feels strongly that every man should serve his country.  He enlisted as an Army Reserve Military Police. He left just 2 weeks after enlisting.  (Less than a month after his brother)

I think I went into shock. Not unlike what happens when a 7 pt earthquake directly hits your home.  He is my baby.  When I look at him, that’s what I was seeing.  Not the man he has become.  The years, for me, flew by.  For him, they probably dragged on.

He has  been gone for 5 months now in boot camp and Military Police training. He calls weekly to tell us about his experiences.  He gets us laughing over some of his stories. He has never complained no matter how hard I know it gets. He always tells me, “It’s all good, Mom.” He is enjoying every moment of what he is doing.  He’s happy. That’s all a mom could ever ask for.