Basic Training

I remember the day Dwayne left for Basic Training like it was yesterday. It was the first time we had ever spent apart from each other. I remember dropping him off at the recruiters station for them to take him up to Richmond where he would spend the night then head off to Fort Benning, GA the next day. I remember trying so hard not to cry and I did good, I didn't cry until after the van left. The recruiters office was in the same shopping center I worked in so I went over to the store I worked at to hang out and talk with the other lady that worked there for a little while, to kind of get myself under control.

I remember him calling me from Richmond that night and me thinking there is no way I was going to survive without him, how was I going to be able to handle weeks with him away? Little did I know that that was how we would spend the majority of his Army career, lol.

After that phone call it was a little over a week before I heard from him again. He was able to call me for 10 minutes every Sunday as long as they didn't get into any trouble, so most Sunday's I heard from him. I cherished those 10 minutes!

I remember the feeling I got when I would see a letter from him in the mail. There are no words to describe how happy those letters made me. He would send post cards to Wesley, he always go so excited to get them from the mailbox. He would have me read them to him and then would hang them up in his room.

He was at Basic for almost 4 months. His basic was longer than most because he had to come home during for a death in the family so started all over again when he got back to Ga. I can't remember the date but his graduation was in November. I remember how excited I was flying down with Wesley to go to it. Thinking about it I can feel those butterflies in my stomach again. The first night we got there we weren't able to see him but we did talk to him on the phone. The next morning we got up early and got ready for what they called Family Day. I remember hardly being able to sit still during our cab ride to the barracks. Like always with the Army they had to talk before we could be with our soldiers. I truthfully don't remember a word that was said because all I could do was stare at Dwayne with the biggest and I am sure dumbest smile on my face.

He was able to get a pass for the day to spend with us. We hung out at the mall and the showed us around Fort Benning. We hung out in the hotel room watching cartoons and playing with Wesley. It was a great day.  Was so hard to drop him back off at the barracks that night.

The next day was the graduation. I don't think I have ever been prouder of him than I was that day when I saw him marching out onto the field for the ceremony. He looked so handsome in his dress uniform. And yet again I can't remember a thing that was said at the ceremony, I just remember him standing there looking all handsome, me being proud and Wesley pointing all excited at his Daddy.

He got another pass for the day. I had completely forgotten but once I started typing this all out I remembered we went out to eat with some other soldiers and their families after the ceremony. Then we went back to the hotel and just hung out enjoying some family time together. And again it was so hard to drop him off at the barracks again that night.

The next day Wesley and I were flying back to VA and he was flying off to San Antonio to do his AIT at Fort Sam Houston. We actually got lucky and got to spend some time with him at the Airport since our flights were leaving around the same time. This time I wasn't as strong as when he left for basic. I remember him holding me and me just crying my eyes out. I remember crying for half the flight back to VA. I am sure the people around me probably thought I was crazy, lol. Now that I think back on it the graduation from basic is a lot like R&R during a deployment, it is a reminder of what you are missing. While I would never have given up the chance for either it was always harder to say goodbye the 2nd time around.