Taylor is officially a United States Marine, and Jeff is one proud big brother. This week we spent some time in Parris Island attending graduation ceremonies, and learning a bit about what the last thirteen weeks of his life has been like. We could not be more excited and proud of the man he has become. And Taylor, if you're reading this, please excuse all of the "civilian terms" that I'm about to use...
We woke up at 5:00 a.m. to watch the new Marines take their morning run on Thursday, and while I recognize that I cry at the drop of a hat, this experience really was inspiring. Especially because, at this point, we hadn't seen Taylor.
Thankfully, he is taller than most and we knew he had on "port holes" (aka glasses), so we managed to figure it out, despite them all having the same hair cut and looking oddly alike.
We were able to see Taylor on Family Day, which was the day before his graduation. This was the first time he'd seen his family [or anyone other than his fellow recruits and drill instructors] in three months:
He may speak a little deeper, stand a little taller, and he may wear his "trousers" a bit higher -- but he's still Taylor. He shaves with a real razor blade now, calls his shirts "blouses", and I noticed that he eats with his left hand by his side. Oh, and he's been on a 4:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. schedule since he left home.
Above is the bathroom in the barracks. They were a thing of beauty -- even Gary had to get a shot:
After "liberty" was over, Jeff and I spent some time with Gary and Dee -- who didn't stop smiling the entire time they were on the island -- followed by an early morning graduation the next day.
Oh, and my favorite moment came after the ceremony -- when big brother decided to do this...
Apparently, Taylor has had a little bit more experience keeping a straight face...
Love,
Ryan and Jeff
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