(Not quite) Home for the holidays
When my son graduated from the Naval Academy, I quickly discovered there were still many lessons for me to learn. And my daughter’s graduation from the Air Force Academy taught me that wasn’t an isolated issue. Once you get past that difficult first year (at either academy), there’s a certain cadence and while it remains…
Feelin’ some kinda way
May seems so long ago, like a lifetime has passed since I shed the title “military academy parent,” something I’ve held dear for these past nine years. When my daughter crossed the stage, accepted her diploma, shook hands and delivered her first salute as an officer, all I felt was pride and joy – proud…
In case you thought Commissioning Week was perfect
I waited nine years for my first military academy Commissioning Week, so believe me when I tell you I soaked in every moment. And judging by my Facebook feed, so did all of the USAFA 2025 parents. But just in case you thought the week was perfect for everyone, let me share a little story,…
The Parade of Lasts final stop
In just a week or so, I will mark nine full years as a military academy parent. You’d think with that kind of history, I might have seen it all. As the father of a 2020 USNA graduate, I never experienced a Commissioning Week. But despite some logistical challenges (which I will address in a…
Soundtrack for the Parade of Lasts’ homestretch
While I have fully embraced the Parade of Lasts, consciously or subconsciously I have more or less kept the reality of Commissioning Week at bay. Perhaps it’s because I got swept up in the excitement about my son’s Naval Academy Commissioning Week, only to have the COVID-19 lockdown turn that upside down. It could be…
Parade of Lasts: Final weekend edition
I had just finished filling the last plate for breakfast and we sat down to dig in. “Wow,” my daughter said. “This is the last weekend we’ll be together before Commissioning.” I paused, coffee mug in mid-air. This would, in fact, be the last weekend we spend together before the mid-week Commissioning frenzy. We had…
The Parade of Lasts turns a corner
A fellow Class of 2025 parent made a Facebook post today – this will be the last Spring Equinox for our children as cadets. A stop on the Parade of Lasts I hadn’t even thought of. But as the week winds down, the AFA Class of 2025 heads to Spring Break for the last time…
A holiday play in three acts
Prologue Among the torrent of thoughts and ideas washing over me as the December holidays approached, was a moment of reflection for the parents of our military academies’ Classes of 2025 and 2028. Parents of the other classes were likely in their new groove, but the first year and final year parents experienced something different. For…
The Parade of Lasts and countdowns
Someone posted recently on one of the (many) Air Force Academy parent pages that we were 200 days from the Class of 2025’s graduation/commissioning and just 100 days from learning initial base assignments. The wheels never stop turning. As I read that post, I was riding the high of being with both kids for the…
The military academy roller coaster
Now in my ninth year as a military academy parent, of the many lessons I have learned, none so consistently gets reinforced than the experience is a roller coaster ride. The mix of highs and lows can tax your adrenal glands and your emotional strength. This Fall brought that lesson into focus for the Air…
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My Kid The Cadet 