Sometimes You Just Gotta Make 'Em Laugh

In one month, our oldest son will 'celebrate' his 2 year anniversary as a member of the United States Marine Corp (OK - 'celebrate' is probably not word he would use but you know what I mean.)  He is doing a great job serving his country as a US Marine.  And he was just promoted to Corporal - oh, yeah.  So proud!

I came across something today that brought back memories from those first 13 weeks of his Marine career - the dreaded days of boot camp. As a parent, I could not imagine not having contact with my son for that long - especially knowing what he would be going through as part of his training to become one of "the few and the proud." We knew once his feet his those yellow footprints at the USMC training base in San Diego, his life would never be the same.

Before he left for boot camp, we went to the parent info sessions, where we were instructed on what we could not send him - and the list was LONG - no cookies, or treats, or gum or candy, no books or cd's or magazines, no clothes or money or even a cell phone card.  Nothing that you would normally send your 18 year old son when he first leaves home to explore the big, big world on his own.  That was sooo hard.  What is a poor mother to do?

However, they did tell us to write - a LOT.  They reminded us that our sons would have a lot of bad days. And that hearing encouraging words from home could make the difference between whether they got through the next day - or not.  We took that to heart and wrote him every day.  I confess, however, that finding something interesting to write about every day was a little challenging - especially when we always needed to keep it positive.

I was having one of these "writer's block" days when sons #2 and #3 got a hold of my camera and decided to do a little freestyle photography.  The results were hilarious and I suddenly knew what I would be including in Chris's next letter.  They say a picture's worth a thousand words.  These snap shots, however, were not only priceless but I knew they were exactly what Chris probably needed after a long day of drill instructors, 10 mile hikes and MRE's.  I cropped and pasted them onto a single sheet of paper, giggling the whole time, and prayed that this little package of love would bring some much needed joy to Chris' day.  After all, sometimes you just gotta make 'em laugh.

Want to see what I sent him?

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Is it driving you nuts yet?

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Get ready to LOL!

*snort*

I am so proud that I could do my part to support and encourage our military.

Be blessed...



"A cheerful heart is good medicine..". (Proverbs 17:22)