42\u00a0 bar falls 30.04 2mph S dewpoint 20 Spring<\/p>\n
Last Quarter Moon of Winds<\/p>\n
Joseph called from OTS.\u00a0 He sounded dispirited, demoralized.\u00a0 Drill and military courtesy have tripped him up thus far.\u00a0 His commander has talked about recycling him if he doesn’t improve.\u00a0 He had strings on his uniform, two demerits.\u00a0 Other things, two demerits.<\/p>\n
After he hung up, I went into a tail spin myself.\u00a0 When I drove over to Lauderdale for the Chinese New Year’s celebration, I found I couldn’t listen to the lecture on the Ming Dynasty because the obvious dismay in Joseph’s voice distracted me.<\/p>\n
It reminds me, as I write this, of the first day of kindergarten.\u00a0 I dropped him off and he began to cry, to run toward me as I turned to leave.\u00a0 My instinct said turn around, scoop him up and take him home.\u00a0 Try this next year.\u00a0 Maybe.<\/p>\n
The pain, the deep heart pain, a parent feels when their child struggles has got to be the worst agony of all.\u00a0 Joseph is so dear to me.\u00a0 My instinct is to get in the car, drive down to Maxwell AFB and take him out to dinner.\u00a0 Have a talk, cheer him up.\u00a0 Nope.\u00a0 This is a road he has chosen and one only he can negotiate.\u00a0 If necessary, of course, I’ll be there if it doesn’t work out, but until then he walks on his own.<\/p>\n
I can, and will, write him letters and leave messages on his cell phone.\u00a0 Kate and I will send him cookies, but the rest is up to him.<\/p>\n
I’m ignorant when it comes to military life, so I don’t know how much of this is the process of breaking down and building back up or how much of it is genuine peril that he won’t finish.\u00a0 One thing I have learned about him though is this, when he sets his heart on something he has a dogged persistence that makes things happen.\u00a0 So, based on his past behavior, I have confidence in him now.\u00a0 The pain, though, is still hard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
42\u00a0 bar falls 30.04 2mph S dewpoint 20 Spring Last Quarter Moon of Winds Joseph called from OTS.\u00a0 He sounded dispirited, demoralized.\u00a0 Drill and military courtesy have tripped him up thus far.\u00a0 His commander has talked about recycling him if he doesn’t improve.\u00a0 He had strings on his uniform, two demerits.\u00a0 Other things, two demerits. … Continue reading A Parent’s Pain, A Young Man’s Journey<\/span>