Hard to believe...

...but Basic Combat Training is essentially over! I got to talk to Erich for a few all to short moments this afternoon but I cherish each and every one of those minutes. This week had been the first week we haven't gotten any mail from him in about 5 or 6 weeks, but we knew ahead of time that we would not. Last weekend they were lucky enough to get their cellphones for the entire weekend and so we got to talk on and off most of the weekend since they also had a weekend pass. This is why I knew that their had their final 3 days of testing out in the field this week. 
All the things they have learned since May 5th and a few new ones had to be practiced and they had to prove that they 'got it'. They had shooting exercises with life rounds, putting up tents, working a fake town, cleaning their weapons, physical and mental work and marching 15k's in full gear with ruck sack and all. This march was done during a hard pouring rain that made everything so dark that the only thing you could see was the light stick of the guy walking in front of you. 
But he's made it through this too and so now things are pretty much done and passed. 

The next few days will be spend working on Graduation ceremony since this is a big step for all the new soldiers and their families and everything has to off without a hitch. Although I strongly believe the families wouldn't care all that much if it's perfect or not, we just want to see our children/spouses/family members and friends. Want to see what has changed in them over the past couple of months, want to hear more of what they have learned and how they feel about everything.  We just want to sit across from them at a dinner table and talk, want them to show us where they've spent all those past weeks, want to take them off post if possible and maybe spend an afternoon swimming and hanging out. And I'm sure us mom's just want to watch them do the most normal, regular things that before we haven't paid much attention to in years.

Hubby and myself will hop on an airplane Tuesday, grab our rental car at the Airport and head to St. Robert from St. Louis, about a 2 hr. ride. Once there we will check into the hotel and then head to Fort Leonard Wood to see where we have to be the next morning. Wednesday morning we'll be on post going through some briefings of how the next couple of days are suppose to work and then we should get to spend the day with Erich on post. He has to be back in formation that evening and we'll head back to the hotel, full of different emotions I imagine.
Thursday morning will be the time of graduation, our son in a Class A uniform standing tall and proud. After that he might get the chance to be just be a regular person for a little while, getting of post, doing things everyone else does. 
Although he has learned a lot during BCT and has grown up tremendously I'm not sure if it has really sunk in yet that his life won't ever be like it was before.

Friday will be a day of us doing whatever he would like to do. Saturday we'll have a nice breakfast together and then we'll have to head back to the Airport and get back home while he will go back to continue is education into this new world of his - also called AIT (Advanced Individual Training).