Phase 2-Almost Done!

Yesterday brought a very welcomed letter from Aaron. I know his days are extremely full and free time is very limited, so we are grateful for each letter he is able to write. Tomorrow is his last day at Camp Pendleton, then he will return to MCRD on Sunday for third phase.

He commented on a letter from me that contained lots of questions--if he thinks that's bad, wait till he gets my "questionnaire," 2 pages of typed questions with lines for answers! It contains all those burning questions I have that he never seems to answer. We'll see if I get that back...

Aaron was disappointed with his results at rifle qualification last Friday. Considering he STILL has not gotten his portholes (glasses) and was shooting with 6 year old glasses with the wrong prescription, we are happy that he PASSED! No, he didn't beat Will as he was hoping, but we are thankful that he is making continuing to progress toward graduation. He said 7 guys failed, so my heart goes out to those families who will have to face a graduation delay.

Aaron has enjoyed his time "up north." He said neither hike was horrible, but his back was hurting quite bad after the 8-mile hike last Saturday. He assured me that there was no pain in his fingers--you can be sure that I reminded him to load his pack properly to avoid "pack palsy." He is excited to go back "home" to MCRD, mainly because it means Phase 3--the homestretch.

Aaron kept mentioning Will's graduation throughout the letter. He is looking for the "right time" to ask his Senior about allowing him to attend. Senior's "bad mood" from the platoon not coming in first in range was NOT the time to ask. He continues to ask about Will, knowing what was at stake with the pull-ups, asking for us to send updates (we send all Carol's posts to Aaron). He even said he had a dream about Will. "I miss him almost as much as I miss you guys; what I would do to hang out with him for a little bit...Last night I dreamt that Senior let me go to Will's graduation and you guys were there. It was a really good dream. We got to hang out a little bit. Then I woke up and I was really upset...I just pray that Will didn't get dropped."

Aaron continues to struggle with homesickness; letters, pictures, prayers, and the finish line continue to keep him going. To those who are contributing in any of those ways, a big thanks--we are so grateful. We miss him so much and can't wait for our reunion. He is on track to graduation on October 10th--5 weeks from today. You are all welcome to attend; please leave a comment or email me at miller741@charter.net for more details. We'd love to fill the grandstands!

Just another reminder to keep Will in your prayers as his platoon starts the crucible at 2:00 am on Tuesday, and for the following 54 hours--intense!! You are almost there, Will--can't wait to see you as a US Marine!