HE GRADUATED from Basic Training! I went to Fort Leonard Wood MO for the ceremony and Thanksgiving. It was FREEZING cold. Got to meet his grilfiend too! It was an adventure. It was a Murphy's Law Trip. The day before the trip, I got one of my sinus infections and my eyes were blood red and my vision cloudy. Just great. I tried everything to try and clear it up, but to no avail. THe whole trip was downing sudafed, my eyes hurting and my vision being like I was looking through a cloudy lens. My 1st flight was delayed....no toilets and then the electric start for the engine didn't work. (Was wondering if I should walk off the plane at that point.) Then after running through DFW to NOT miss my connecting flight, THAT flight was delayed. So I was late getting to St Louis. Meet the girlfriend, pick up the rental car. I give her the GPS and tell her to put it in. I put my bags in the back and then hop in the car. Now, Fort Leonard Wood is supposed to be about 2 hours from St Louis. We drive 2 1/2 hours and still see no signs that we are near the base. I turn to GF and ask her what did she program into the GPS. She looks at me and says "I thought you programmed it.". LOL. We were headed for Louisiana. Okay, we re-program the GPS....another 4 1/2 hour drive. We get near the base, we can see the base on the GPS but we can't find the main gate. The GPS keeps trying to take us on a dirt road. It is midnight and we can't see a thing. We drive around for an hour trying to find a gate. FInally we find one and it is CLOSED. But there is a sign with a phone number to the Military Police. We call them and they get us to the main gate. By the time we checked in the hotel and I put my head on the pillow, it is 2 a.m. We have to get up at 6:30. Oh, and by the way, we missed FAMILY DAY which was a 3 hour visitation.
So, we do the graduation thing and Thanksgiving and had a blast. The changes in my son were amazing. The Drill Sergeants did an amazing job in such a short amount of time. He is not quite a man yet, but he is well on his way. I was so proud!!! It was a very emotional time for me.
During this time, from lack of sleep, I dropped my make up bag in the toilet (the water was clean). Then I dropped my hair brush in there. Kept the lid closed after that. LOL.
So, go home with no drama until it's time to get my checked bag. It isn't there. They find it at DFW and I get it the next day (Saturday) in the morning. A couple of hours later, I break my ankle. Yes, you heard me right....I broke my ankle. The bright side....it happened AFTER my trip. I would have been heartbroken if I had broken it before or during my trip. Oh, and my eyes cleared up on Saturday! LOL....this was a trip that I won't forget!
So, now he is off to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio for his medic training.