| As parents it is within our nature to love, protect, | | | | but this time I thought it was more of an attention |
| cherish, and nourish our children from birth and | | | | getter, due to his odd ways of acquiring it, and his |
| beyond, through the thick and thin, parents are | | | | further interest in attending college and majoring in |
| supposed to be there for their children no matter | | | | psychology. |
| what! | | | | Well, he did attend a semester of college, when one |
| When your child is born you're life changes forever! | | | | fall morning we got the "forgotten" call (or what we |
| No longer is your life centered around you, yet now | | | | thought was forgotten)with the exact words..."Mom, |
| you have the responsibility of having another human | | | | Dad...I joined the United States Marines". |
| being to care for, an extension of yourself that you | | | | At first I was confused, and stunned as to why he |
| helped create and bring into this world, so your | | | | would leave college to join the Marines. My wife and I |
| instinctive nature takes over and you start to do | | | | were puzzled to say the least and very worried that |
| everything any loving and caring parent would | | | | he'd made the wrong decision, yet during the fury of |
| do...You start loving your children even before they're | | | | emotions, we came to the conclusion that we must |
| born. | | | | support his decision, and not be selfish in our own |
| The birth, the first interactions, the first steps, the | | | | quest to still manage a degree of control over this |
| first birthdays, the first day of school, their first | | | | young mans life. |
| baseball game, their first school play, their first day | | | | I think this is where we parents go wrong...We still |
| middle school, their first day of high school and | | | | hold on to the yesteryears and still see our children |
| before you know it...BANG! A 17 or 18 year old who | | | | as the 3 and 4 year olds who need our constant |
| has their own ideology about life. | | | | guidance when in fact it is us who really need theirs. |
| To most parents this is where the rubber meets the | | | | Anyway, I'm not going to get into parenting 101, or |
| road, this is where the crossroads take place. The | | | | the psychological aspect of parenting, and so forth, |
| moment for us occurred early in our sons life (15 yrs. | | | | yet I will say this...SUPPORT your child's decision in |
| old to be exact) when he came up to us and | | | | joining the Marine Corp, even if it does not sit well |
| showed interest in becoming a United States Marine. | | | | with you, and please look at how the positives |
| Our son saw a recruiter at his high school late in his | | | | outweigh, the mostly perceptive negatives. |
| freshman year and was very impressed by the | | | | The next step I took after hearing my son out, and |
| whole make up of the recruiter and what he had to | | | | coming to my senses about how this is what "He |
| offer. At first I did not take him serious because at | | | | Wants" for his life not what his mother, and I think is |
| the still tender age of 15, or so I thought, he'd get a | | | | best for him, is some online research. |
| girlfriend, think about his buddies, get too tangled up | | | | With his ok I started surfing the net for everything |
| in his studies, that the marines would wind up LAST | | | | Marine and came across a wonderful informative site |
| on his to do list. | | | | detailing everything he could expect from USMC boot |
| Not a chance...As he approached his senior year of | | | | camp and how to approach it mentally and physically |
| high school he again mentioned joining the Marines, | | | | from someone who's been there and done it. |