The dreaded day where he would leave his life behind. Anthony decided he wanted to join the service years ago because he wanted to get out of Jersey and make a life for himself. The timing was poor though. Everything was starting to turn around when it came time for him to leave. He was doing good at his job and his relationship with me was going strong. He officially signed up about a year before his original leave date of July 10th, 2012. Anthony, being the way he is, asked for his date to be move up because he was cranky and had a bad day so he wanted to leave sooner. The months leading up to that day seemed like they didn't even exist. All the time spent asking questions and wondering how he will do didn't even matter. Nothing could prepare me for what was about to happen. I tried to put the brakes on time itself but we see how well that worked. I savored as many moments as I could. The last week he had as a civilian was the hardest. He was still home with me but time was running out. We practically counted down the days, all of his "lasts". His last meal at home, his last day at work, his last time with me, etc. Now it was real.
His mother and I, along with his brother and grandpop, went to the hotel were the new recruits were to stay at the night before their leave date; from there he would be taken to Fort Dix. We had a nice dinner and had a couple hours to spend before he had to head to his room. Anthony's brother and grandpop said their goodbyes, but his mother and I would see him the next day so we saved the tearful moments for later. The next day we went up to Fort Dix to see him swear-in. His mother and I took the 45 minute drive staying fairly quiet. The emotions were rocking back and forth inside us. We were so excited and yet so very sad. We were so proud and yet so scared. We went through all the security and were escorted to where Anthony was being held. There he was, in a crowded room of new recruits. We had the luxury of taking him upstairs to a quiet waiting room where the recruits who had family with them could wait. Here in another room he swore in. Our hearts swelled with pride.
After, in military tradition, we had to hurry up and wait. The hours seemed like forever. The agony was being prolonged. At one point we just wanted him to go so we could get it over with. Then the time came. The families lined a walkway just outside the front door. Out came the recruits, envelopes of instructions in hand, while the families clapped and cheered. It was a very surreal moment full of emotion. Anthony got the chance to give us both a last hug and kiss as he got onto the bus to the airport. It was a struggle for his mother and I to keep ourselves composed. We knew we had to be strong for him. Ironically, on our drive home we saw the buses on the highway and caught up to them. We must have embarrassed poor Anthony while we called him from the car and he waved to us. We heard him say, "That's my mom and girlfriend...they have to come home this way anyway."
And so it began.
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