Sad day son leaving for the Air force tomorrow

[Maggie_May]

I didn't want him to join tried everything to talk him out of it but no luck. You know the type the 19 years old that knows everything.
I just feel like I am giving up my first born to the government. I hope he does well and comes home soon I wish he wouldn't of joined. Does this make me out to be unpatriotic for not wanting him to go?

;( ;( ;( ;(

[babylonsister]

1. No way! You love him and want him to be safe. That's your job!

I wish him well, Maggie_May, and you as well. We can pray this might be over soon. :hug:

[Lone_Star_Dem]

2. It makes you out to be a worried mom

That's our job and we do it so well. :hug:

[TomInTib]

3. "Unpatriotic"? Heavens, no!

You are a Mother, for God's sake.

I certainly wish him (and you) the best.

Is he headed off to Boot Camp or school?

[Maggie_May]

7. He is off to BMT (boot camp)

So as I see they can brain wash him. I am sorry for these comments but that just how I feel right now.

[sailor65]

11. They're not going to brainwash him....

you'll be pleasantly surprised at the strength and maturity you'll see the next time you see him.

Your son is a man who deserves your undying respect.

If you're able, go and see him graduate.

[Maggie_May]

14. My husband and I will go to graduation for sure.

I do love him so much that this is just killing me. I will worry everyday he is gone.

[sailor65]

25. Good for you....

you'll be glad you did.

Worry, of course, but also know that training and equipment are better today than they have ever been, far better than in my early days.

[sarge43]

21. What sailor65 said,

AF basic isn't that intense. At very best there's some behavioral mod, but no brain washing. I was a recruit wrangler at the Training Circus and last thing we had time to do was get inside their heads. We didn't make monsters or robots.

Also keep in mind, the military can't undo in 8 weeks what you did for nineteen years. He is your son and he will stay your son.

[sailor65]

28. Maggie, here is a link

in case you've never seen it, and since this sounds like your first go-around.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/airforcemomsanddads2/

[renate]

4. Good luck to your son

And hugs to you. :hug:

Thanks to him for his service, and also to you and all of those who love him. Hold a picture in your mind of him being happy and safe.

:patriot:

[Skittles]

5. doesn't make you unpatriotic

but Maggie - suck it up and be happy for him - I did the same thing when I was 18 :)

[Buzz Clik]

6. Hell. I was all teary when I dropped my kid off at college.

That doesn't make me anti-education.

However, you haven't given us enough information to know whether or not your are anti-military.

[poiuytsister]

22. They don't SHOOT at your kids when they are at college

at least not since Kent State.

[Buzz Clik]

30. Beg to differ... but that's a different conversation.

[sailor65]

33. Maybe not, but college won't

make him the kind of man who DOESN'T hide behind a door while others are being shot, either.

Edited for grammar.

[yardwork]

24. You're never at a loss for just the right words, are you?

[Buzz Clik]

31. It's a gift.

[mahina]

8. Much aloha to you Maggie. We have that argument regularly.

He's an adult, and I'm sure he's a great young man. He made a decision, nothing you can do about it other than tie him up and toss him in the basement.

I told mine, over my dead body. I know he wanted to go. It's a family tradition, going back centuries, and he is the first to break the long history of service. (Army by the way.) We still argue about it.

Wishing him all the best, keep safe, and a prayer that he'll soon serve under a good President.

[poiuytsister]

9. All the love to you Maggie

My son just got out of the AF, he went in June of '01 -- still under * but at least the war was not going full blast. Sorry, bad choice of words. I was so proud of him, but it got harder and harder to put on a happy face for him. He finished his 6 year stint in October and I finally admitted to him how terrified I was every minute of every day.

Patriotism does not mean handing your baby over as cannon fodder with a big old smile.

Is he on his was to San Antonio for basic? What does he want to do?

[Maggie_May]

13. He want to get into medical field

Dropping him off at the recruiters office tomorrow. He will on his way to San Antonio Tuesday leaving from Columbus Ohio.

[mahina]

27. Just in case he changes his mind, we are paying people to learn

to be EMTs here. 2900 or so a month. Just FYI. Honolulu is beautiful. The girls here are really pretty.
Also, we have nice beaches.
"City offer: get paid to become a Honolulu EMT"
http://honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071125/NEWS01/711250364/1001

Just sayin.

[Name removed]

10. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Karenina]

12. ((((((MAGGIE))))))

They are in our care, but not ours. No one told us we'd have our very hearts walking around acting stupid, beyond our control. :hug:
Had we any notion, overpopulation would have been solved by now! :silly:

[Crabby Appleton]

15. No, you're just being a mom.

AF is safer than the other branches of the service.

[aikoaiko]

16. Sad day indeed. He should have joined The Marines.

Sorry, I couldn't help myself. ;)

Your sadness is perfectly understandable. Its a dangerous job, but he's a young man making his own way in life. Thats more than a lot do these days.

I have only one child, a son, and I understand.

[Stephanie]

17. The Air Force is not the problem.

George Bush is the problem. My Dad was in the AF and AF Reserve for 40 years. It was a great thing for him, and he came out of it with an education, health care, and a pension. Don't let the crimes of this administration ruin your appreciation of the US Air Force.

[Basileus Basileon]

18. You're not unpatriotic. Anyone should be upset their child was headed off.

Best of luck to him, and gentle thoughts to you.

[mr_hat]

19. I feel your apprehension. My 19-yr-old son is going

'cos he's a pilot and a pilot's gotta get hours so he can fly so he can get hours...

[barbtries]

20. hell i hope not

when my son joined the navy i felt such a mixture of pride and fear, and when he got kicked out (tested positive for pot) mainly just relief and joy.

i consider myself a patriotic american mother.

with the military being forced to do what it is these days i don't know how any family can actually get behind one of their young joining up.

i'm glad it's the air force and hope he has a positive growth experience, never has to go to war, and comes out whole and happy. amen

[yardwork]

23. This mother of two sons is sending you all my love tonight.

I pray that he comes home safe and sound.

Best to you and your family.

[DeepModem Mom]

26. Good thoughts to you, Maggie_May, and Godspeed to your son.

[hlthe2b]

29. Wow.. your post has me shedding a tear...

Damned hormones... I have a coworker, whose son, long out of active duty, is being sent with Navy reserves to do MP duty at one of the jails in Iraq. His parents are beside themselves.

Maggie_May, we're here for you until your son comes home safely! I can totally empathize with you... Hopefully we'll get this settled before he has to go to Iraq. (tell him to 'take his time' in basic training!) Take care, Maggie

[K Gardner]

32. Not unpatriotic, just a loving mom..

God bless and keep you both.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

34. Not at all. You are a mom who loves her son and wants what's best for him.

I salute him for his courage and wish him all the best in his chosen career path. Let's all work our butts off for new leadership so that kids like your son are treated with the respect and honor they deserve.

:hug:

[Longhorn]

35. I felt the same way four years ago when our son joined the Marines.

He did not get brainwashed -- he's still a proud liberal who argues with anyone who will listen. But it has been good for him. We've been lucky that he has been in Japan the last three years. However, he just re-enlisted and after intelligence school (his new MOS,) he'll probably be going to Iraq. I don't know how I'm going to handle it but he's now 23 and it's his decision. He says he is serving the office of the presidency, not the president. He's looking forward to seeing a change while he's still a Marine.

I wish you and your son the best. He will make you proud even under these circumstances. :hug:

[ClayZ]

36. ((((Maggi_May))))

I sort of know how you feel. My son was in the Navy. He was in durring PeaceTime. I did not want him to join, either. I just keept sending care packages and went to his graduation from Boot Camp, etc. He saw the world and learned a trade. He is a Firefighter now. I still worry about him, but he is a professional.



On Children
Kahlil Gibran

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let our bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.

[Rowdyboy]

37. Any mother would share your feelings....or father, brother, sister or friend.....

You're human and your child is precious. I wish you both the best.