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| Dominic & Missy at the reception the day before R day |
After months of waiting and
preparing the day finally arrived. Dominic reported to West Point on July 2nd. The process went incredibly smoothly.
Dominic had the first report
time which was from 6:45-8:00. He wanted to leave our hotel at 6:15 so we did.
We stopped at Dunkin Donuts but all he wanted was a chocolate donut! That’s
when we knew for sure that he was nervous.
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| On our way! |
When we arrived on campus I
assumed we would have to wait at the security gate but there was only one car
in front of us. Next I thought, surely we will have to wait for a bus at the
parking lot. Nope! There were 10 buses lined up and waiting. The line at
Eisenhower Hall was next. At the top of the stairs I got Dominic to stop long
enough to take a picture. The cadet standing there tried to make him feel
better by saying: “My mom made me take a picture there too!”. We joined the line and five minutes later we
were ushered into the auditorium. Truly this was all happening too fast for me!
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| Dominic is wearing the gray shirt in front of the young man in purple |
We got to campus at 6:35 and
by 7:05 he had walked away from us. This was WAY quicker than I had
anticipated. While I was not thrilled, it was best for Dominic, he was
ready to go!**
Steve and I now had 11.5
hours to explore campus before the Oath Ceremony. We walked to Trophy Point and to Grant Hall
where we saw some cadets on their way to and their from their haircuts. (SHORT
doesn’t even begin to describe it).
We found Thaddeus Kościuszko’s garden
and statue. Growing up my dad had always talked about the Polish Brigadier General that was instrumental during the Revolutionary War so we were happy to send him some
photos! Kościuszko redesigned the fortifications at West Point and was instrumental in the
war’s outcome.
We walked through the
military weapons demonstration area where Steve learned about the different
types of weapons.
We also went to mass at the
Catholic Chapel. Mass was lovely but they sang America the Beautiful at the end
and it brought tears to my eyes! I had been so good about not crying!
We had lunch, went to the
visitor center and of course shopped and then shopped a little more. As our
kids say, we need to represent!
Later in the afternoon there
was a parent’s briefing. All the heads of different areas of the school spoke as well as the
“King of Beast” – the cadet in charge of the cadet cadre. He was incredible,
talk about a self-assured and confident young man! All of the leadership really
re-assured us about what a great place this was and how they want our kids to
be successful. They also shared a little
bit about what these first six weeks will be like as well as the first year. It
really, truly is NOT your typical college experience. Really.
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| Typical day during Cadet Basic Training (BEAST) |
A huge storm passed through
and we thought the Oath Ceremony was going to be cancelled but it cleared up
just in time and everyone found their seats to see the new cadets march onto
the field.
It was amazing to see these
1200 now uniformed young men and young women march onto the field in mostly straight lines. We were thrilled to spot Dominic! They lined up, saluted and took their oath. Then they marched away,
into the dining hall and the big wooden doors closed. They are in the army now.
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| Dominic is slightly forward in the 2nd row of cadets |
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| Still fourth in the 2nd row of cadets |
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| Can you see him? |
** It occurred to me after I posted this that it may not seem like a big deal that we had to say goodbye quickly. The bigger deal is that there is no texting, calling or emailing for these first 7 weeks. Dominic will get three phone calls. One at 7-10 days, one on July 20th and one about 7-10 days before the end. West Point makes sure we are letting them go!
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