And So He Grows

I've mentioned before that the KH and Older Son are in Civil Air Patrol, which is the civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. The KH was a cadet for several years way back in the 1970s in Ohio, and it was a major life experience for him. Older Son joined the local squadron when he turned 12 last year. Since then, he's participated in many really great events and programs, but last week he took part in the most important CAP cadet experience: Encampment. This is boot camp for CAP cadets, and it is just as tough for them as real boot camp is for new military recruits. We knew he had no idea how tough it was going to be, and we wondered how he would do, and how it would change him.

Saturday was graduation day. It was the culmination of a week of 18-hour days, grueling physical training, enforced silence, endless drill, and a wild roller coaster ride of teenage emotions. For Older Son, it was a week of firsts: getting up at 5:00 am; learning to make a bed with military precision; standing perfectly still for hours on end; facing and overcoming seemingly impossible obstacles; eating, sleeping, and peeing on a schedule...and his first shave. Which I missed. For some reason, this one detail represents for me everything he experienced during this intense week of change and growth.

He's only thirteen; I still think of him as my little boy. But at the same time, he's turning into a man before my eyes. Even as he drives me crazy with his messy room, his bizarre, testosterone-driven decisions, and his endless drama of teen angst, he has moments of remarkable maturity, impressive competence, and genuine responsibility.


There are brief, shining instants when I see past the little boy he has been and the half-grown adolescent he is to the man he is becoming, and it is inexpressibly poignant.

It is a mother's job to raise adults, not children. Doing her job well renders her obsolete. It will be many years yet before my kids are truly grown and gone, but every now and then I can see the future in my little boy's eyes, and I wonder what sort of man he'll be. Will he be strong and competent and responsible? Will he be compassionate and thoughtful and reliable? Will he be the man I am trying to raise? I don't know; I can only watch and wait and hope.


But for now, in this moment, I have never been prouder of him.

Yarn, Ho!

Last week, my family got to do something really cool: we went for a ride on an aircraft carrier!

As a kid, the KH spent several years as a cadet in the Civil Air Patrol. In fact, he became the highest ranking cadet in his state, and eventually went into Air Force ROTC in college. He didn't go into the Air Force, but he did end up spending seventeen years as an aerospace engineer before becoming a lawyer and embarking on a new career.

Civil Air Patrol was a huge part of his growing up years and he's always wanted to join again when our boys were old enough to do it, too. Older Son turned 12 last year, and sure enough, the two of them joined the local squadron. This means they get to do all sorts of exciting things. They've been on overnight trips, worked the air shows, gone flying several times, witnessed a combat training scenario for soldiers on their way to Iraq and Afghanistan, and tagged along on a C-117 refueling mission out over the Pacific. Usually Younger Son and I are excluded from these activities as non-members (he's too young and I'm too, well, girly), so we stay home. But this time was a family event for the ship's crew, so we got to go, too.

Aside from having to get out of bed at 4:00 AM to make the 5:00 AM check-in, it was really fun. (I don't really remember the first three hours, but I'm told they were fun.) The hangar bay was set up as "steel beach" for a barbeque, and there was a bouncy for the kids and demonstrations of various ship's activities. The ship was open for touring, so we climbed up and down lots of ladders and worked our way through various hallways, poking our heads into placed they had no business being.

The kids had a blast. I think this is the only time they stood still all day:

I liked watching the ship's operations, like the way these tugs came to haul us out of the bay:

Did you know they still haul the mooring ropes aboard by hand? I didn't.

As you can see, I wasn't the only civilian hanging out on deck:

Of course, it is still a military vessel, and we are at war, so there was plenty of security in evidence. This was one of our escorts:

And another:

And these guys were stationed on every side of the ship:

I kinneared this guy because I wasn't sure if I should be taking his picture and I don't like pissing off guys with guns.

And there were a lot of guns around. I was leaning on this convenient armrest...

...when it occurred to me to wonder what it was:

I don't think it's supposed to be an armrest.

We certainly weren't the only ship out there; San Diego is a Navy town:



These are Marine Corps helicopters:

It was pretty cold and foggy first thing in the morning and we got rained on for the first couple of hours.

See the sign on the back of that ship? Isn't that a great way to greet sailors on their way back from deployment? That's what they see as they enter the harbor.

Eventually it cleared up and became a beautiful day.

And the pleasure boats came out to play:

By this time, I'd pretty much had enough of life at sea and settled in to do what I do best:

I can't swear this is the only time anyone has ever knitted on the tarmac of the U.S.S. Peleliu, but it's probably a good bet.

The added advantage was that this spot gave me a front row seat when a sudden flurry of activity indicated something interesting was about to happen:



And that is exactly where my camera card announced it was full and I totally missed the actual touch down on the deck.

We were on board for about ten hours altogether, and I think that was enough for me for one lifetime. I can't even imagine what it must be like to live on that ship for months at a time. I was completely exhausted by the time we got home, and it was a full 24 hours before the bed stopped rolling whenever I closed my eyes. And I got to spend the day up on deck. Most of the sailors probably spend their days in some tiny room inside the ship and then return to their tiny quarters to sleep. Honestly, I don't know how they do it. I do know I'm incredibly grateful that they do, so that we don't have to.