Today I had to drop my kid off at the airport so he can report to his first USAF assignment.
I know its normal for your kids to go their own way, be it marriage, school, work, military service. But Man you still miss them. It makes you feel old and you wish you can go back to when they were little so you could squeeze just a little more time with them.
And life will never be the same. Congrats to your son on his decision, where's he going?
Quick story:
When Kate was about 4, we were sitting on the couch watching "The Little Mermaid." Got to the end (ANYONE WHO HAS NOT SEEN IT, STOP HERE!) where the mermaid gets her legs and runs off with the prince, and Kate started to cry.
I said, "Kate, what's wrong?"
She said: "She's leaving her father!"
And I thought to myself, "YES!"
Forward about a quarter of a century. At the wedding, when it came time for the father's toast (which I urge all fathers to avoid if possible), I mentioned "my little mermaid," just because that's how I think of her. I was surprised to hear a ripple through the crowd. Most of them, as it happened, had heard the story.
Made me very proud.
- oldman
