We went to Great Lakes, IL last weekend (it is about 30 miles north of Chicago) to see Trevor graduate from Navy boot camp. We went with his wife Jessica and their son Shad (who is 20 mths). It was a fun, quick trip. Here is what we did:
Thursday - We flew out Thursday afternoon. Shad is still young enough that he did not have his own seat. He did very well moving from lap to lap. Jessica had brought some things to keep him busy and I did too, so between us, he managed to stay fairly occupied. He did really well on the plane. We got to the hotel, up by the base around 11pm.
Friday - Up early, ate breakfast at the hotel. We stayed at a new Marriot Springhill and it was really nice. The breakfast had everything. Shad loved pushing the elevator buttons and was quite a good traveler. We got to the base and checked in, high security, We got seated aroud 7:45, the ceremony was at 9. It was very crowded, they had 820 graduates. They came marching in at just after 9 dressed in their whites, really an awesome sight. The ceremony ended at 10:30 and we spent the next hour with Trevor showing us a few things on the base. He had a meeting at noon, so we went back to the hotel to nap Shad (and us) and wait for him to call. We went out for Chicago style pizza that afternoon and had him back by 8pm.
We went into Chicago, stopped by Wriggly field, went to the Navy Pier and found an even better pizza place for a late lunch.
We drove up the lake coast to Northwestern so Sterling could take a picture of the football field (strange thing he always does:) The drive was beautiful and the houses, wow!
We were looking at houses and taking pictures when we saw these two dear just wandering around. I was sitting in the car taking this picture, he was maybe 10 feet from me. Shad thought it was cool.
We had to get Trevor back by 8 again, so headed to the hotel. His next training is more specific, he is in special operations, and it happens to be at the base across the street, so he did not have far to move.
Sunday - Jessica went and got him this morning. We took our time getting up and going. Decided not to find the church, since we could not go to the one on base that Trevor had been going to. After breakfast, we set out to find a park where Shad could run around.
We also ate late lunch at Hackneys, one of Sterling's "diner" picks. It was really good.
We had to catch our plane by 8pm so needed to take Trevor back by 5pm. I think I was the only one who teared up. (I'm such a whimp). The flight back seemed long and squished. Shad was antsy, but did well. He cried some at the end cuz he had been awakened abruptly. It was only about 15 minutes, as we landed. He was "fit to be tied." Jessica was doing everything she could think of to calm him but he would have none of it. I'm sure it will be something we giggle about as the years pass.
All in all, it was a nice trip. I'm so glad we went. Even though Trevor has been married 3 years, it was the first time that I felt like I was intruding on this moment. I really felt like I was the outsider. Not that they made me feel that way, they were wonderful. It is just that, I guess, I was kinda letting him go, in my mind, from my perspective, on to live his life with their family unit.
Trevor, I am so proud of who you have become, so proud to be your mom, so proud of what a good husband and father you are and so proud to see you wearing that uniform and making the commitment to serve your country.
2 comments:
Aww, thanks for sharing all your pictures! You got some really good ones! And uploading to Blogger is a pain!
I've never been to Chicago but am DYING to go. Mark served his mission there, and I think I would just LOVE it.
So glad you got to go and share with us. I know what you mean about the relationship you have with your son after he is married. I had a similar experience with Clayton when he graduated. We were happy to be there and so proud but he is not my little boy anymore. I know that is how it should be.
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