This week I traveled to the middle of nowhere.
And I mean that literally.
Fort Leonard Wood sits deep in the Ozarks of Missouri — two and a half hours from St. Louis, surrounded by trees, history and not much else. On the way we stopped in a town called Uranus to buy fudge — yes that is a real place, yes I bought the fudge, and no I will not elaborate further — and had dinner at a Chinese restaurant operating out of a repurposed Wendy’s, nestled between a Dairy Queen and a Kwik Kar Lube. The food was questionable. Not a shocker. The Ozarks contain multitudes.
The purpose of my visit? Not the food. Not the fudge. To watch my son Shane graduate from Basic Combat Training.
The base itself was built in 1940. Thrown up fast for a war that hadn’t started yet. Low slung red brick buildings that haven’t changed much in over 80 years. Nobody was going for aesthetic points here. Built for purpose. Full stop. The highlights of the base? A bowling alley and an actually pretty decent Army museum. We skipped the bowling alley — knowing full well it was going to be the place to be — and spent a few hours at the museum instead. Worth every minute.
Shane came to us in 10th grade and sat his dad and me down with something to say.
He wanted to join the military. Didn’t know which branch yet. But he was certain. This wasn’t a phase. This wasn’t a teenager talking. This was Shane — methodical, quietly determined, the kind of kid who says something once and then just goes and does it.
So after high school he moved to Reno. Moved in with his grandparents. Got a job. Got a car. Started training. Stayed on the path he had chosen without fanfare and without wavering.
The last time I saw him was mid December. When we said goodbye we both knew — next time I’d see him he’d be a soldier.
No pressure.
I made the trip with his dad — a Marine veteran, so he had opinions about the Army — and our older son Peter. We were met by my dad, an Army veteran who served in the mid 1960s, and my stepmom. Shane’s grandparents.
Three generations. One moment. A lot of feelings nobody was fully admitting to.
On Family Day I got my first glimpse of Shane in months.
It was jarring.
Shane has always been known for his hair — a la Patrick Mahomes. Gone. Head shaved. Face slightly weathered from weeks of hard work and whatever Missouri decided to throw at him — sun, rain and apparently snow too.
But it wasn’t the haircut that stopped me.
It was his eyes.
There was something in them I hadn’t seen before. A quietness. A settledness. The look of someone who had been genuinely tested and came through the other side knowing exactly who they are.
In ten weeks they took my kid and gave him back to me as a fully realized man.
I was not prepared for that. Nobody warns you.
The graduation the next day was something I will carry for the rest of my life.
Watching Shane officially become a soldier. Watching Alpha Company 1-48 break into the Army song at the end of the ceremony.
And my dad — 87 years old, Army veteran — standing right next to me singing every single word.
Some things live in your head on repeat — there when you need them. This will be one of them.
After the ceremony Shane wanted to celebrate.
On base. Because we were stuck there.
He chose Panda Express. Orange Chicken.
For as much as things change in some moments — I can still recognize my kid.
There is a lot happening in the world right now. I won’t pretend I’m not parts terrified for what my son’s future may hold. That fear is real and it’s mine.
But I am so proud of a kid who heard all the noise and didn’t listen to any of it. Who chose his path in 10th grade and never looked sideways. Who did the quiet work of getting ready while the rest of us were busy spinning in news cycles and confusion.
There are moments in your life when time stops for just a second and your world shifts a little.
This was one of those for me.
I know everyone has them. I just wanted to share mine with you.
Regular programming resumes next week — new construction, market updates, Vegas Confidential and all the rest.
But this week I’m just a mom who watched her son become a soldier.
— Jennifer
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