Mother may I?

Jessica, take 3 steps forward
Mother may I?
Yes you may....

After months of pondering, Jessica made it official today- My sweet little girl has enlisted in the Navy. She spent the past 2 days at MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) where she took her final ASVAB test, had her physical exam, walked like a duck in her bra and undies, chose her job and was sworn in late this afternoon. Much to the surprise of everyone that knows her, the job she has chosen is MA (Master of Arms) which is a military cop. Her first choice would have been a Corpsman (Medical) but those jobs are just not available right now. There is a chance that if one opens up before she goes to bootcamp she could get it but for now she is happy with her chosen job.

Honor~ Courage~ Commitment

Honor- honesty, fairness or integrity in one's beliefs or actions.
Courage-Mark Twain said it best "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear-not absence of fear.
Commitment-a pledge, promise or obligation.

Those three words will become her life for the next 4 years. During the ceremony today they were told that inside of each of them they have more than the Navy will ever ask for. I believe this is true, Jessica has yet to learn what she is really made of and I believe she will surprise herself. She is fearless, confident, strong willed and has a soft heart. She wants more out of life than what has been dealt her and she intends to go out and find it...and she will. Everyone that knows her is so very proud of her but no one is more proud than I am. For now I will enjoy every day I have with her because I know in the not so distant future I will be opening my "kid in a box" and filling my lungs with the smell of her and taking that walk down memory lane, the one that takes us, just her and I, back to the hospital bed where the world was quiet and dark except for the nightlight above us, when she looked me in the eye as I promised to love her forever...

It's funny how much life is like a childhood game... Jessica jumped thru hoops and then waited for clearance to go to MEPS and when it came she was sure this meant her journey was beginning. At this point we don't know when she will leave, only that it will be sometime before June 22, 2010. Which to her must feel as though she is standing on the lawn waiting for them to say "Jessica, take 2 giant steps forward" to which she will reply "Yes, Sir!"