My "Private" Son

In January Ford joined the Utah National Guard. It was something he had been thinking about for a few months. We let him think about it for those months to see how serious he was about pursuing it.
Ben, my Brother-in-law, happens to be a recruiter for the UNG, but he never approaches his relatives. They have to come to him. Anyway, he came over after Ford  contacted him and explained to us how it works, what benefits there are, what the commitments are and such. I know it's not for everyone but there are lots of benefits to it. We had to fill out paperwork indicating our approval since he was still a minor.
On Jan. he went up to SLC with Ben to officially join and be sworn in.
Am I worried? Of course. What mother would not be?
But I have seen the excitement he has about him when he comes home from drill weekends. I have seen his confidence in himself shoot upward a great deal and I imagine that when he gets home from Basic he will be less a boy and much more a strong, confident man.

And this was the boy that my DH and I joked about sending to military school cause we just didn't know what to do with him! Oh, the irony of it.

*I have pictures of him being sworn in, but I am new to my Mac and can't figure out how to rotate them. I'll add them when I get it figured out.