Boot Camp Graduation ...

First off let me say that my hubby and I are NOT travelers ... we're just not. We are truly the Griswolds on Vacation. Our story starts on Tuesday, November 25 at 3:30 a.m. with the alarm blaring ... out the door at 4:30 and on our way to Midway Airport in Chicago. We NEVER fly (once years ago) ... we drive on our vacations ... always north ... always to Wisconsin. But this time we're FLYING to San Antonio, TX!!!! To see our son, Josh, graduate from Air Force Boot Camp!!! So we find our way to Midway (thank goodness for the Tom Tom GPS I bought him for his birthday) and we actually get there, parked, and shuttled into the airport with no problems. We checked our huge suitcase and proceed into the security area ... oh boy ... with two artificial hips, my hubby set off all the bells and whistles and in an instant there were men on either side of him who whisked him away to a glass cubicle in the middle of the area where everyone can stare at him and wonder and whisper about what he must have done to get thrown in there ... leaving me to scoop up five bins worth of "stuff" ... our coats ... my sweatshirt ... my laptop ... laptop case ... two pair of shoes ... my purse ... my camera ... my book ... coughdrops which spilled out everywhere and I have to have them because of course, I got sick two days before leaving ... really sick ... I'm coughing and feverish and my throat is on fire ... and I'm holding up the line and I can hear grunting and snorting aimed at the back of my head and I'm trying to just stay upright and scoop, scoop, scoop ... half an hour later, we're on our way to our gate ... our flight was actually not bad ... I HATE to fly ... so two xanax later, I could have been on the back of a goose I suppose and still enjoyed the flight ... we land and actually find our luggage and on the shuttle (hey, we're beginning to look like we do this all the danged time!!!!) ... off to the rental car site ... we get this zippy little red number ... we drive trucks ... this thing is like a GO CART!!!! We hadn't left the parking lot yet and hubby made his first emergency OnStar call. Kid you not!!! So we get Tom Tom all rigged up and we're ready to roll ... out we go, make the first right ... right into a cul-de-sac because the road has closed recently (shoulda updated that Tom Tom before we left I guess) ... so after getting turned around (I'm POSITIVE the guy in the rental car parking lot booth thingee is laughing his butt off by this point), we were off and into San Antonio traffic. Let me just say this ... WOW!!!!! And what's UP with the stacked highways or freeways or whatever you call them? I mean, at one point I counted NINE highways on top of the one we were on!!!! And WHY are all the roads one way ... going the WRONG way? We found our hotel without much trouble, check in, and rest a bit. Then we make the near fatal mistake of going out to the Buffalo Wings behind our hotel. It took us 35 minutes to get back to the hotel after picking up some dinner!!!! I could have tossed a rock straight through a window of our hotel, but we could NOT get to it!!! Around and around and around we went. Oh, I've forgotten to tell you ... EVERYONE in San Antonio drives 65 miles an hour. No joke. For real. Have you ever tried to merge onto a four lane highway filled straight across with cars going 65 and nobody's moving over for ya ... nope, nobody! By the end of the trip, hubby was actually getting pretty good at that whoa and go type driving ... scary ... I could NEVER have done it ... thank God for hubbies ...

Enter a civilian, depart a trainee ...

Neither my husband nor I saw our son in the Airman's Two Mile Run the first morning ... it should have been our first opportunity to see him ... we worried as we knew he had been struggling with his mile and a half sprint time ... he's never been a sprinter ... we're worried and concerned ... WHY didn't we see him? Everyone around us saw their kid ... we didn't. My heart is heavy ... so very, very heavy. I'm sick ... lightheaded and coughing ... my ribs feel broken from coughing so hard ... I'm trying to stay on my feet and not fall down ... I'm crying and need to get away from all the happy parents. Hubby takes me to the car because I can't quit crying and I'm embarassed. After awhile we decide to go for a walk to try to waste (???) three hours before the Airman's Coin Ceremony where we hope we see our son. Please God, let us see him today. Let me know he's ok. We round a corner and there he was with his flight!!! I know, know, KNOW that this was a gift from God ... meant just for me ... my very own blessing ... and I'll carry with me all my days. I'll never, EVER forget that moment ... it will always make me cry ...

I'm standing right behind you, bud ... I'm standing right behind you ... feel me, Josh ... I'm right here ... I'm HERE!!!!!

I can't believe how thin he is ... how hollow his cheeks are ... he looks completely different ... he's a shell of what he was ... he looks so tired, worn out, and beat ... they all do ... and now that I see him, I think I maybe DID see him in the run this morning ... it makes me cry ...

My son's home away from home ... those blankets look SCRATCHY!!!!! Makes me want to make a new, special quilt for him and all his buddies ... this dorm would look ALOT better with a nice quilt on each bunk, don't you think???

Night display ... all ready to literally jump into at 4:45 a.m. reveille ...

The trainees entering the Retreat Pad for the Coin Ceremony to take their Airman's Oath ...

The boys of Flight 029 receiving their Airman's Coin ... no longer trainees ... they're now AIRMEN!!!!!

The Airmen of Flight 029 saluting their loved ones ... a very moving, emotional ceremony ... I bawled like a baby ... I now have a perfect record for crying every single solitary day for 6-1/2 weeks ... but today was the WORST ... I can't stop no matter how hard I try ...

The flag has never been more beautiful or meant so much ... every American should witness one of these ceremonies ...

Thanksgiving Day ... Josh gets his first town pass ... and we go to the Riverwalk in San Antonio ... AMAZING is the only word that comes close to describing it there ... long, meandering walks with gorgeous, lush plantings along a manmade river with shops and restaurants, most open air ... incredible!!!!! This is a picture of Josh with St. Anthony, the patron saint of lost things ...

The picture is a bit dark, but let me introduce you anyway ... please meet the MOST ANNOYING BIRD IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD ... the grackle according to my friend, T/J, who's a Texas gal ... these birds never sleep ... they never shut up ... and they're NOT afraid of anything ... hope they never migrate north ...

One of the tour boats cruising the Riverwalk ...

Hubby (Rick), Josh, and I taken by one of Josh's flightmates who we ran into at the Riverwalk with his parents ... notice we're all wearing hats? Fair warning if you ever go to the Riverwalk, there are LOTS of birds! lol

We were able to take Josh to a Spurs basketball game!!!!! What a great night!!!!!

The Spurs played the Grizzlies (I forget what city they're from ... I'm not into basketball but the time spent sitting between my husband and my kid was what this ol' mom needed) ... the Spurs won ...

Overwhelming ... Graduation Day is finally here ... my heart was so full I'm surprised it didn't pop ... but you'll never guess what ... I DIDN'T CRY!!!! Truly ... not one tear ...

Airman First Class Niemeyer (wearing his TWO stripes for the first time!!!!) ... incredibly handsome, don't you think? He will remain at Lackland Air Force Base for his tech school until April of next year.

Training Squadron 722, Flight 029 ... my boys in blue ... a special and heartfelt THANK YOU from this ol' mom ... thank you for being my son's friends and confidantes ... thank you for lifting him up when he couldn't do it for himself ... and for being there when he needed you most ... for all the good ... and all the bad ... THANK YOU!!!!! May God bless and keep each and every one of you.