Many people have told me that they were shocked at how much their son or daughter changed after their first few months in the service. I was worried about this because Nick’s personality, I thought, was decidedly not military-like. Since he’s been home, however, it’s like he never left. He is completely the same. I barely notice any changes. He still teases the dog, still laughs at the same dumb jokes and still loves to quote “Simpsons” and “Family Guy.” But that doesn’t mean he’s not dedicated to the Army. I feel he is totally committed. He just has been able to keep the two separate. Of course that can change if he’s deployed, which is a distinct possibility. But for now, we’re taking things one step at a time.

Now that Nick’s been home for more than a week, we’ve been trying to arrange schedules with everyone so we can see each other.  It’s been working out well and my sister and her husband visited from Kentucky. He’ll be home for Thanksgiving and he’s now arranging it so he will come home for a few days at Christmas. During his time here, he’s been wanting to eat out as often as possible and I guess he misses that. And there are lots of nights where he’s gone. He has a hard time understand curfew, but I told him we all have jobs and school and he can’t be staying out all night. Midnight on the week days. He’s still 18 and he still must abide by house rules, soldier or no soldier. He’s listening, but he doesn’t like it. Too bad.

We now know that  Nick’s permanent unit will be back at Fort Leonard Wood,  MO, where he just spent his last few weeks for AIT. It’s good. He’s already familiar with the base and some of the people, so that should work out well. Besides, if Kathy and I want to visit, it’s about a 10-hour drive, which we can easily do in one day. We don’t like to fly.  It’s been nice having Nick around again. He hasn’t changed a bit. He still has the same goofy personality and I am relieved that he didn’t become cynical. He’s scheduled to ship out Dec. 9, but that could change. He might leave early to save a few days for a return trip at Christmas. He can jump in a plane for a couple hundred bucks and be home within two hours. So far, so good.

After hearing that orders typically aren’t given during the weekend, I was fairly certain that Nick wouldn’t fly home until Monday. But around 10 p.m. Friday we got a call from Nick who said he got his orders and already was in St. Louis. His flight departed at 6:30 a.m. Saturday and arrived at 9:10 a.m. in Detroit. He’s here now. He’s staying until Dec. 9. He looks good and is doing well. It’s good to see him. His mother’s doing a lot of his laundry.

Well, we have finally been subjected to the frustrations associated with the Army. Nick was supposed to come home today (Friday) but he has not received his orders, for whatever reason. Almost all the other soldiers received their orders and left Fort Leonard Wood for home. But Nick and a few others have been placed in a holding tank with all their gear while they sit and wait for their orders to arrive. In the meantime, my wife and I don’t do anything in case he calls. There is no way to tell how long this will take. It could be hours or days. And even when he finally does get those orders, he still must travel to St. Louis and find a flight that will take him to Detroit. So now we wait….

We’re still waiting to hear about Nick’s orders and where he will end up with his permanent unit.  He thinks it will be Georgia, but that’s only a guess at this stage.   We speak to him regularly and  he’s real eager  to come home for his two-week leave. He’s expected to fly in to Detroit Metro on Friday, but we don’t have any details.  On Thursday my buddies are heading up north for deer camp so I’ll miss hunting for the first time in 22 years. That’s the way it goes. I look forward to seeing him and catching up. He’s already said he can’t wait for his country fried steak at his favorite restaurant.

My wife and I attended a local American Legion meeting recently and we were presented with a Blue Star Banner. It was an informal, but very nice presentation. Since we’re new military parents we were not aware of the banner, which is a smaller, nylon banner with a blue star in the middle. It signifies an immdiate family member is serving his country and typically is hung in a window of the home. We also bought an American flag that is now hung in the front of the house off the deck. We’ve always wanted one, but never got around to it. Nick joining the Army  accelerated the purchase. We like it a lot. It’s hung above our landscape lights, so we consider that nighttime illumination.

We were really worried about Nick passing his recent PT test because of his battle with pneumonia, which obviously would slow anyone down. But earlier this week he called to say he did it. He made his run with 10 seconds to spare. I know it was a huge relief for him because not passing would have meant a delay in his leave. But he’s still on course to come home in the middle of November. Then today he called to say that he graduated from AIT. They had a little ceremony but there was no way we could go down to Missouri for that. I’m sure he understands. Now he is certified in road engineering and construction and we’re happy for him. For the next  10 or 11 days he goes through another series of physical training,  I guess, before he is scheduled to come home for two weeks. We’ll see how that goes. He’s also waiting to get his orders for his next assignment.  He said there are all kinds of rumors of where he’ll end up. He mentioned Hawaii, but I think that’s wishful thinking. Chances are, it’ll be Georgia. We’ll see.

We’ve been hearing from Nick quite regularly since he’s been to AIT in Missouri. We were worried about him when he called one night recently to tell us he had pneumonia. I couldn’t believe it. He never gets sick. But he was being treated and sounded much better during later conversations. On Saturday night part of the family had gathered and he called. I passed the phone to everyone who talked to him briefly. He is passing all his certifications and is close to completing his training. He’s been driving these huge trucks and doing well.  He is excited to come home in a little more than two weeks and so are we. I think he’s homesick.

Well, I was kinda stuck. According to the Army’s schedule, Nick is expected to arrive at Detroit Metro on Nov. 14 for the beginning of his two-week leave. It could be longer if he is allowed to work at the local recruiter office. So here’s the thing: I was planning to leave for our annual deer camp on the night of Nov. 13. I haven’t missed deer season since college, some 22 years ago. But, to me, it really isn’t much of a decision. I’m staying. It would just seem odd to leave for Up North and not be here when he flies in. I already talked to the guys about it and they are completely understanding. I know he’ll be here for some time and I certainly am not going to spend every second with him. But I’d rather be here when he arrives and just be arouond. I’ve pretty much made up my mind. I’ll definitely miss deer camp, but this is what I want to do.