<p>Came across it earlier today and as I read it I knew we ALL could
relate.</p>
<p>Having a young adult at our Service Academies, today takes on an
entirely different meaning.</p>
<p>God Bless our children
God Bless our families
God Bless the United States of America</p>
<p>HAPPY BIRTHDAY USA!</p>
<p>Great story peskemom! Okay, this dad is a professional journalist, so the big question is did he hang around and take thousands of pictures??? ;)</p>
<p>I have moist eyes, a runny nose, and a lemon size lump in my throat. Wow.</p>
<p>I hope he did take thousands of pictures; he probably has access to really good cameras.</p>
<p>Happy Birthday, USMA!</p>
<p>For those of you who recall the July 4th post about this....here is a follow up</p>
<p>Diane Peske
wife to John '72/10
mom to Janell 10/24
Vista, CA</p>
<p>^^^what a great story- thanks for posting!</p>
<p>Hey navy2010 and everyone
in 3 hours my kiddo will finally be home again!!! It hasn't happened since Christmas....I'm one happy momma - :-) GO NAVY!!!!!!!</p>
<p>Congats Peskemom. Now, don't hug that baby to tight. I still can't imagine not seeing my kid for that long.</p>
<p>dianne- enjoy every minute you get with your dd.... have no doubt you will bombard her with tons of cookies and other delights from the "Peske Kitchen Extraordiniarre!" (one of these days I will have to pry that recipe from you!)</p>
<p>we,too, finally got the thorpedo home Sunday afternoon and we get to have him for three whole, wonderful, glorious, delicious weeks!!!! (well, minus the time at the gym, lax field, friends, relatives, sister-time, etc, etc, etc)......gee, think he'll give 'ole mom and dad a few hours before he leaves again? :/ </p>
<p>What I would give to slow down the world just a bit! Father Time can be especially cruel sometimes!</p>
<p>I was very moved by Jon Scott's article, too.</p>
<p>You see, we'd just dropped off our oldest son... Who looks to serve his country in active duty when his training at USMMA is complete. And many of the same feelings resonated in our hearts, as they must for all academy parents.</p>
<p>So, I wrote him a note. Emailed it to him. Felt good about what I said and shared. </p>
<p>My big surprise? Jon somehow made time to respond to it!!! And responded directly to things in my email, and only things in my email. I was one of literally hundreds or thousands ... It was very surprising for anyone to take the time, especially these days. </p>
<p>*These are some very special kids that go to these academies.<br>
And more often than not, they are a great reflection of the very special families they come from. * We've had such excellent support from the more-experienced parents mentoring us lesser-experienced ones along. It's an amazing ride! And it's good to know we're not this roller-coaster(nay! Rocket-sled) alone. </p>
<p>And thanks you, Jon, for framing those feeling so well, and sharing them with a slightly larger audience !</p>