The second week of RASP 1 (Ranger Assessment and Selection Program) training has begun.  Matt seems to have fared quite well in the first week.  I was surprised by a phone call from him on Friday morning.  They apparently get weekends off.  Wow.  I told him I was a little disappointed, because I thought it would be harder than that.  Weekends off?  He assured me that it is "plenty hard."  Several guys have already quit.  Matt said Thursday was their hardest day and two suffered heat exhaustion with core temperatures of 108 degrees.  He strained his knee, but after a night of rest it was feeling much better when he called on Saturday.

Today we got a letter from him which was written on his second day of training.  He says he's "getting some good training."  Let's hope so.  He seems confident that he will not have a problem finishing the program.    Praying that he does, because I know this is what he really wants. 

Matt's been home for a little over a week now.  It's really great to have everyone home.  Unfortunately, I am going to Dallas on Tuesday and won't be back until Sunday which is the day Matt leaves to go back to GA.  I want to go, but don't want to go.  I'll cry.  Sick of crying.

Once he's back he will take his PT test and if he's in the top 160, RASP will begin.  So, probably won't have the daily contact with him that I've gotten reaccustomed to.  If he is in the 160, then that training will be 8 weeks.  He said probably no contact for the first 4 weeks.  For me, it's like going back to basic training.  We won't see him for at least the 8 weeks.  Not planning to go back to Ft. Benning until RASP graduation.  Maybe he'll be home for a few days at Christmas.  Being so far away for so long is really difficult.  What I hate the most at the moment.

"Never been happier to be doing what I'm doing. I love this country and everything it repred(s)ents. I can only hope to fill the boots of all the guys that came before me and live up to the sacrafices they made"

That was Matt's Facebook post on July 4th.  And I didn't cry when I read it! 

He's still in pre-RASP with not much new going on.  He does get to come home next week for 17 days leave.  We're all excited about that!  Just can't wait for him to be home. 

I pinned his Airborne wings today.  So proud of him.  I know he feels great to have accomplished this.  It's all so bittersweet.  Onto the next step...RASP...Ranger Assessment Selection Program.  We watched them pick him up for pre-RASP.  They didn't get on the bus fast enough and had to all get off and do pushups.  Some of them with their packs still on their backs.  I felt so bad for them!

It's hard to look at these kids and think that in four months some of them will be Army Rangers.  They look so young.  I'm sure some have lived a lifetime in their short, 20-something years, but to look at them they're all just beginning.  They are all just beginning and what they want to do is serve their country.  So noble.  It just amazes me.

Matt completed his first jump today.  He started the day with a 1:53 a.m. text to me saying he'd call me as soon as he had his phone and "I love you."  I was calmly worrried all day.  He finally called about 4:00 p.m. and said they were done.  He said he was freaking out on the plane (silently, to himself) and was the last to jump.  Because of that he was at the end of the drop zone and heading for the trees.  That freaked him out, too.  He was able to guide himself away and had a good landing.  He's ready to do it again tomorrow.  My 30/30 prayer commitment is easy with a son like Matt.  30 minutes of prayer a day for 30 days.  I know I'm praying way more than that!

Although he hasn't loved every minute of this experience, he keeps reiterating that he's doing this because he wants to serve his country and for what he loves and misses back home.  I think in a text to Chris he said he was tired of being lazy while other people were defending his freedom.

It's so strange to be with him when he's in uniform and watch people thank him for his service.  That makes me cry.  Everytime I have to call USAA about his car insurance they say, "Please thank your son for his service."  Cry, cry, cry.  I just can't help it.  When we were at Mass the weekend of his basic graduation a lady sitting in front of us stopped to thank Matt.  Chris and Matt were both looking at me like I was crazy because I was crying.  "Are you crying?"  I said, " Sometimes I cry at Mass." 

Matt begins Airborne School tomorrow.  Today he's a little bored, a little lonely.  Breaks a mother's heart.  Even as they move into adulthood, you still want to heal all their hurts and fix everything for them.  It's hard to hold back.  They have to experience the difficult situations of life just like we did.  It's like the butterfly emerging from it's cocoon.  Without the struggle it can't fly.  The struggle of getting out of that cocoon strengthens it's wings.  It's really hard for mom to stand by and watch and not try to help. 


So I just let a few of his friends at home know he's feeling down and asked them to give him a call sometime today but not to tell him I asked them.  Hopefully, that will cheer him up and get him through the rest of today.  Once he starts tomorrow I think he'll be okay.  He hasn't had many days to himself over the last four months and being stuck somewhere with no friends and nothing to do is a little overwhelming.

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.