Traveling to BCT Graduation

On the morning of June 30th I thought that September seemed like a lifetime away.  Now I chuckle when I think about how easy it is to go 10 weeks without seeing him.  At that time though, it was torture.  Our family has a history of doing everything and anything together when it comes to my boys.  Traveling from Maine to South Carolina was to be no different.  Mother, father, brother, four grandparents and a girlfriend headed out in two vehicles on a Monday morning with a shared desire of one thing....TO SEE OUR SOLDIER!  

**the box on the right hand side had his PlayStation in it...pretty sure that was the toughest thing he endured in 10 weeks...no gaming!

My stomach ached the entire trip.  Not cause of traveling.  I was so anxious that every mile closer I got more and more excited.  We stayed over night in Virginia...have to admit I don't really remember where...it was very close to Virginia Tech though cause I remember my oldest son spotting the big VT in a nearby field.  To me stopping to spend the night on the way was a waste...I had a destination to get to and Virginia was not it! 

Lots of cheers for this road sign when we drove past.  We stayed at a LaQuinta near Fort Jackson.  I would HIGHLY recommend that one again for any family staying in the area.  It was super close to gate 4, clean and we had all positive contact with the staff.  We had the pleasure of having two other families stay there that I had contact with during the last 10 weeks.  It was so incredible to meet these fellow Mom's face to face!  To this day the McGuire's and Oberg's remain close friends.  

Tuesday afternoon once we checked in we rode around the area.  Totally stalked Gate 4 at Fort Jackson!  We were able to get our car passes that day.  OMG I was inside the gate!  OMG my son was somewhere inside that gate!  OMG I could barely breathe without just bursting!  It was really hard to chill and relax that evening.  We did though...and we did it with a great family :)  We had a great evening sitting by the pool with the Obergs.  It was the first real face to face conversation I had had with another Army Mom who knew exactly what we were feeling at that very moment.  

The BEST part about Tuesday evening....HE GOT HIS PHONE BACK!  He could call us without it being timed, without it being in a long loud line, and I could hear in his voice that he was just as excited to see us on Wednesday as we were him.  I went to bed that night with one thought and one thought only....we survived to Family Day.  I would see and hug him the very next day :)  Ohhhhh I can hardly wait to share with you that day!  

Sending you, your family and your Soldier lots of love and support
Faith