D-O Phone Home---He Made It!!!

The past 2 weeks have been quite the roller coaster ride. The excitement of arriving at GYA, the fear of the unknown, 2 phone calls begging to come home, separation anxiety/home sickness, wanting to quit, and now the excitement of making it past "acclimation period" better known as "hell week(s)"!! And that's not just for Dillon...that's for me as well. I have been going through so many emotions....fear, guilt, sadness, anger...just to name a few. I think I have been more of a basket case than Dillon, but I knew I had to stay strong and not let him know of my insecurity.
After the first 2 unscheduled calls during the first week and a couple of letters home saying how much he hated it and wanted to come home, we hadn't heard anything...nothing. But, they said that no news was good news. Steve and I had planned a visit up to his sister's house near Rogue River in Oregon. I have to say that it was actually great to have something else on my mind. Everyday has been thinking of Dillon, wondering what he is doing and if he is ok? Then going to bed feeling sad and guilty about not being there to comfort and protect him. So anything to fill myself with busy work was great.
We got on the road around lunchtime on Friday, and made a stop or two along the way. In the past, when I had travelled to Oregon with Patrick and the boys we always stopped on I-5 just north of Weed at a rest stop and had gotten in the habit of taking pictures there over the years. So, I decided that even though Dillon couldn't be there with us on this trip, at least "Dillon's Head on a Stick" could be there to keep up with tradition. So we stopped and took a couple of pictures with a snow capped Mt. Shasta in the background.

We even enlisted the help of a 9 year old boy to take a picture of both Steve and myself because no one else was around. Which was actually a little weird. We eventually saw his dad, so felt better about leaving, but didn't his parents ever tell him not to talk to strangers? Even though we did need him to be our photographer, it seemed a little strange to solicit his help. Hopefully his Dad grabbed him by the ear and told him not to talk to weirdos like us....(grin).
We continued to head North on I-5 and the sky was absolutely beautiful. We opened the moon roof and I thought it would be a great time to get Dillon in the pic. The below shot is taken in the car travelling about 70mph with the top open and trying to not lose Dillon's head from the pull of the wind. He looks very majestic, wouldn't you agree?

We finally arrived at the Smullen's, (Betsy, Pat and Rachel) around 7p.m. and were greeted with smiles, hugs, and dinner. They have a gorgeous farm of 14 acres and are trying their hands at being hay farmers. We got caught up on all the happenings and laughed the night away. We finally hit the sack around 11:00 and then spent the next day seeing more of the area.
I had spoken with Patrick about when Dillon might be calling home and he had found a notice on the GYA bulletin board that said Platoon 3 was scheduled to call home between 9:00 and 10:30a.m. on Saturday morning. We stalled leaving until I had heard from Dillon. 9:30 rolled around, then 10:00, then 10:15 and nothing. Finally we had to make a decision to head out and hope that there was no interrupted cell coverage. I still wasn't sure if Dillon would be calling me or his father, so I trusted that I would get the call when I supposed to get the call and headed out to enjoy the day in Oregon.
There was a firefighter show going on at the airport. They had a display of several pieces of equipment that they use to put out forest fires. Below is a picture of Steve and I with the Smullens in front of an old Airline jet that was now used to transport fire fighters and equipment to the scene of a fire.

We met Pat's mother, Val and then headed into town for some lunch and a stop at Harry and David's. As soon as we walked in the door, we saw it....."Dillon's Gourmet". It was the obvious chance for our next photo opp.

Too bad Dillon hates nuts or else I would have gotten him every kind of nut roll they had. It carried his name after all. We had fun shopping and getting all kinds of goodies along with some wines to take home. I also found a cute card for Dillon and figured I would drop it in the mail on the way back to Pat and Betsy's house. I was writing Dillon a note when we pulled into the post office to drop it off....then the phone rang. I didn't recognize the number, but answered anyway...no one on the other end. The phone rang again, the same thing. Third time was the charm. All I heard was, "Mom...It's Dillon!!" I was so happy...and here I was sitting in a car with 4 other people and I could barely contain my emotions. It was so comforting to hear his voice, and I could tell by the tone that he was in a good mood. He said, "I made it Mom. I got my uniform!" I was so proud of him, and better yet, I could tell that he was proud of himself. He could only talk for 5 minutes, and it only seemed like 2 minutes had passed when he had to say goodbye. He told me that it sucked, but that he "loved" his platoon (except for 3 of the boys)and that he was going to stay. My heart jumped with joy. I was so happy that he came to this decision on his own. He asked me for a journal, Kiwi polish for his new uniform boots, and some pictures. He said the food sucked. I had read a couple of posts on the GYA bulletin board from mother's saying that their kids liked the food. I'm sure those kids were probably used to eating things like fish sticks, hot dogs, and sloppy joes. Dillon has been used to onion pie, feta stuffed tomatoes, pulled pork that had been marinated and slow cooked by Kyle, etc. We will have to bring him an extra special lunch on family day. He is so excited for everyone to come for Family Day on Sept. 11th. (I will be sending out more news about that very soon.) He asked that I be sure and thank everyone for the letters. He still doesn't have time to write everyone but is very thankful for all of your letters, notes and cards. I told him how proud everyone was of him and what a great opportunity he has been handed. Before I knew it, he was interrupting me to say goodbye. I told him I loved him, hung up the phone, and cried. I miss him so much and wish that I could hug him, but I am so happy that he is at GYA and that he is finally doing this for himself, not just for us.
When I got home last night, I looked on the GYA website for more photos. There were 198 new photos, but there was only 1 that I needed to see. He looks so strong and confident. That's my boy. I love you Dillon!!