OT - Empty nest now

[indianamusic]

Today my wife, Susie and I went to Indy to MEPS (an intake for all military branches) to see our youngest son being sworn into the United States Marine Corps. We have 6 children and for the first time they are all out on their own. John Mark is 18 and is right now on his way to San Diego to MCRD (Marine Corps Recruit Depot) for 13 weeks of very tough boot camp. If all goes well and he is not injured, he will graduate in early October. He will be in the infantry.

Our oldest son, Michael is in the Indiana National Guard full time based here in Indiana at Camp Atterbury. He will be deployed overseas in the spring.

Our middle son, Daniel is a Marine combat videographer/photographer now serving in Fallujah, Iraq. He is quite good - go here: http://charlesmoman.smugmug.com/
and click on Daniel and you will some of his excellent work, plus photos taken of him in Iraq.

So, it is very different around here - nice, but different. Susie leaves on Friday for a 2 week camping trip with out Boy Scout troop to Colorado. So I will have no excuses for not getting work done on my new musical, plus trying to finish up my Lilly Endowment fellowship project. I have almost half of the song lyrics finished for the 2 act musical - so things are moving along - thankfully. When school starts on August 12, it is hard to get as much done composing wise.

Very off topic, but I thought some might like to read about this. I know some of you already have experienced the empty nest as well.
Well, not any of you young whipper snappers!

[Styxx]

My hats off to him!
All six of yours are out?! :wow: I have six, two are out but the remaining four WILL NOT LEAVE! Please tell me how ... please! :o

[Larry G. Alexander]

You have some good-looking kids and I salute your boys for their service to our country.

Regards,

Larry Alexander

[indianamusic]

It has not been TOO hard to get them all out! :)

My oldest, Jennifer - 29 (and husband and daughter) lives about 20 miles away and is a weekend ICU nurse.

Sarah - 26 - is recently married and lives in San Jose, CA. Works for a lawyer at the moment.

Becky - 24 - our wanderer - is very single and has done a lot including going to China to teach English for a year - missionary work - taken care of ski condos in Montana - and now is in Colorado working at a Salvation Army summer camp - she stops in for a while now and then. She is now an EMT and looking for a job out west.

And the boys you know about.
It has been quite a ride.
And we are thankful for every moment of it.

[Raymond62]

I wish them (and you of course) a save journey back home, eventually. You must a proud father...... )(~

Raymond

[buckshead]

Both my sons have left home now and my father, who lived with us, has now passed on so we are on our own. Its actually very nice but we have quite a big house and get lost in it. (Where are you?). It can be very weird at first but we get on and thats important. (My youngest son works for me and although he lives 200 m away we keep in touch over the internetwebthing all day, but my wife misses him as she never gets to talk.

[indianamusic]

We live in southern Indiana.
Our house is not so big, so getting "lost" takes some effort!
With six children it has been a while coming, so we have been slowly but surely getting used to a less and less busy house.

When I bought this house 20 years ago, I also bought the one bedroom house right next door. I offered it to my mother to retire in, so she has been next door for all of these years. She is 85 now and recently had colon cancer surgery - doing well - no chemo or radiation is needed. So we help her and she takes us out to eat all of the time. Some day when she is gone, then it will be even more "still" here.

Of course, being a composer and music teacher, it is not totally quiet here - ask my wife! We have been very blessed here, even with life's normal ups and downs.

[efiebke]

Very beautiful family. . . I can see that you're a Proud Pop! Thank you for sharing. :)

Ted

[Thomas J]

I hope that you enjoy your new-found freedom. Just curious - I graduated from IU Bloomington. I attended compliments (in part) of the GI Bill. I was in the USMC and went to MCRD in San Diego too. When I was in, they told you what your MOS (job category) would be. You couldn't request - you took a test then they placed you wherever they wanted. I turned out to be a radio operator. You know, the guy with the radio and whip antenna on your back. Anyway, you said your son will be in the infantry (0311). Has it changed - can you now request and be granted whatever MOS you want prior to your enlistment??

Tom

[indianamusic]

My son, Daniel was guaranteed a position in media.
His first choice was photography and second was videography.
He got videography with a Marine Combat Camera Unit, but he also does photography as well.

John Mark just chose infantry, period. He had a very good ASVAB score and could have chosen about anything, but he wanted infantry. I continue to be surprised by his choice.

I got my Masters in music at IU in 1973 - I live about an hour away in Seymour.

[fastlane]

I was a single parent with just a daughter that moved to go to college when she was 16. I remember sadly cleaning up her room as it seemed like it had all happened too quickly. She's 29 now and she and her boyfriend are living with my mother who is also 85 because my mother needs a little help.

My daughter's mother lived in Kokomo off and on back in the 70's. Shortly after I met her here, her boyfriend was found dead in his strip center apartment from undetermined causes. He left a 10 million dollar estate that went to his grand daughter because the daughter was legally insane. Rumor has it that he was in a different kind of family that you don't leave alive.


Phil