As I was sitting in the stands at Matt's graduation Friday, I kept thinking, "He's loving this.  This is what he imagined as a kid playing army men."  It just gave me a feeling of peace for him, that he really is living his dream.  I only cried once, when the speaker spoke about a soldier making the ultimate sacrifice and that he had never really thought about the fact that the soldier's mother also made a mother's ultimate sacrifice.  So true.  Mothers and families.  Every loss devastates a family.


I have never been more proud of my son, though.  Watching my step-grandfather pin on his blue cord for Turning Blue was awesome.  It was like things had come full circle.  My own grandfather died while serving in WWII and so having my step-grandfather there was the next best thing.  Matt was very honored that "Paw Paw" did that for him. 


I'm so glad we were here to be a part of this with Matt.  The weekend has been wonderful.  I don't want to leave tomorrow.  Don't want to cry, but I probably will.  Hopefully, I'll be back in a few weeks to pin his wings after Airborne school.