Mom's Turn

[With Brian on business travel, it was Jackie’s turn to blog]

Good things come to those who wait.

We have had no contact with Graham since he was inducted on June 28.  We send letters daily, and we know others are sending them as well. The tangible act of putting pen to paper or printing out the next installment has been a kind of prayer, trying to knit in words of strength, encouragement and comfort while not being cheesily inspirational or maudlin. He doesn’t need to know our fears or how much we miss him. We also throw in clippings from the newspaper we think he’d like, sports updates on his favorite soccer teams and the occasional cartoon. But NO photographs, which are confiscated and used against the Cadets.  

Yesterday, July 9, we received two postcards from The Cadet, handwritten in his childish scrawl, with some words that were indecipherable. They were beautiful.

It’s a good thing they arrived together because the first card contained phrases such as, “I have been assigned more tasks every day than are possible to complete. The days are long and military life has been difficult. I can take some consolation in knowing everyone else has been struggling as well.” It ended with “I am trying my hardest.”

Our first communication with Graham since June 28

Thankfully, the second postcard begins, “I’m doing better.” Whew. He has found a prep school kid who has been helping him learn the military stuff and he really likes his roommate, a lacrosse player from Long Island.  His biggest concern with attending the Academy was a fear of being surrounded by stuck-up overachievers, so we are thrilled that he has found a regular kid who is down to earth.

Communication number 2, doing better!