Preparing for Life Changes by Thad Angelloz

No one can give you an instruction manual on how to traverse the part of life when your first born leaves the nest.

One day you have a newborn baby in your arms with a future in front of them that seems distant in nature but honestly goes by too fast. Enter our oldest son, Griffin.

Recently, he wrapped up his last shift at Chick-fil-A before leaving for Marine Corps boot camp in less than a month. Are we prepared for this change in course? Nope, not really.

You see Griffin’s story is one of a young man who felt a calling to be a defender of freedom. The same freedoms all of us hold near and dear to our hearts.

After visiting a recruiter in high school, he felt something inside him that he simply could not escape.

While he gave college a shot and even competed on a Division I track and field team as a javelin thrower for a fall and spring semester, the call of service to his country was one he could not ignore.

So, this leaves us, his parents, preparing for a major life change that no one can prepare you for. In different ways, it is something that most parents must face eventually.

What we must face is the realization that our children will become adults and set a path for their own lives away from us. Of course we will always be there to guide, support, and love them, but the minute they leave us life changes.

For our family, Griffin is the oldest of four, so to say things will be different is an understatement. Gone will be the days of familiarity that comes with knowing he is nearby even when he is out and about.

While it did not happen as much due to his previously busy schedule with school and work, gone to will be those evenings where we all were able to sit at the table and eat together.

As we close in on this abrupt change, we are filled with all sorts of feelings ranging from immense pride to dread. The dread comes from the leaving.

You see when you leave to join the military, your departure takes on a different shape than sending a kid to college or packing them up to move them to another state for a job opportunity.

Basic training in the Marines spans 13 weeks during which the only way you can communicate with your loved one is through letter writing.

In a world where everything is so intricately connected there are still ways to be disconnected from the world around you.

While the list is small, Marine boot camp continues to uphold a tradition where the focus is on building camaraderie within a platoon and focusing solely on the mission at hand, which is transforming yourself into a soldier.

While we are proud to share our son with the world, his leaving will be extremely challenging on us as parents.

Trust us when we tell you that others close to him, including his grandparents are and will be feeling his departure fully and completely as well. The hope we have is God protects him and all his fellow platoon mates as they embark on this challenging and rewarding time in their lives.

Luckily, we have distractions in the form of three other children who are busy with a plethora of activities.

We are all collectively hoping these distractions make the time between us telling him goodbye to saying hello again short.

We have already planned to attend his graduation from boot camp and anxiously await that moment where we can be reconnected as a family.

Given that our son is shipping out right after Flag Day it is our request that everyone keep these young adults in their prayers as they make the ultimate sacrifice on behalf a grateful nation.

God bless him, them, and our United States of America!