Nine weeks ago, Thomas and David Crum went to Parris Island and became Recruit Crum, Thomas and Recruit Crum, David. Yesterday, they graduated from Boot Camp and officially became Marines. We are very proud of them both!
Right from the start, I knew we should go to their graduation. I didn't know that graduation was at 9:00am. I also didn't know that you should get to Parris Island early to get through vehicle inspection. When I learned these things, my resolve faltered. But in the end, I am very glad we went!
We started our preparations on Monday, by putting the children to bed a little early. We kept moving their bed time back so that Thursday night, they went to bed around 6:00pm. I got up at 1:00am to get showered and ready. At 2:00am, we woke the children up, hoping they would go right back to sleep in the Suburban. Nope, not gonna happen. They were very good and watched DVD's on the way down. They stopped the DVD's in time to see the sunrise as we drove onto Parris Island.
We got there earlier than I thought we would and the vehicle inspection was very quick - just a dog sniffing the outside of the 'Burb. But I was glad we got there early. The bleachers filled up quickly and we had a time saving seats for the boys family and freinds. In addition to us, there were 27 people who had come just for their graduation. They had all stayed near-by and visited with the boys the day before. It was wonderful to see how many people cared about them!
The graduation ceremony was very impressive. Afterwards, we got a chance to visit with the boys before they headed home. Their brother Matthew took this picture on the parade ground. We had a picnic lunch while most of the traffic cleared, and then drove home. Even with a stop to do some shopping. We were home by 4:30pm, tired but very happy and proud!
