Growing Up

“Cowards die many times before their deaths;
The valiant never taste of death but once.
Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,
It seems to me most strange that men should fear;
Seeing that death, a necessary end,
Will come when it will come.”
William Shakespeare from Julius Cesar

So, yeah, I went out again last night, but this time I only had three drinks. Didn't even feel a buzz...Went with my new favorite Amerretto Sour, had a Sex on the Beach, and then some guy handed me an Alligator Piss (Peach Schnapps, Southern Comfort, Amerretto, and Sour - looked like Mt. Dew). I had a ton of fun last night, though...Got to hang out with Derek and Jason, whom I really haven't seen since high school almost five years ago...We kept talking about how old we're getting and everything...It was weird...It sucks that I'm reconnecting with some old friends before I ship out...

Which brings me to the real topic of this post...I went to breakfast this morning with my dad, like we always do on Saturdays...Somehow we got on the topic of what he's gonna do with my room when I'm gone...He told me, "You realize this is a life changing thing. You won't be coming home once you're in." Then he went on about how it'll always be my 'home' and everything. He then told me how he moved back home after he served in the Marines, but his dad kicked him out. "When you're done with this [as if my military service is going to be short-term], you grow up and move on." I swear I thought he was going to cry! And it made me want to cry! Leaving my dad will be one of the hardest things I've had to do, but I told him that eventually I was going to have to grow up. I wasn't going to be one of those people that live with their parents for the rest of their lives. It just seems like the totality of the whole situation finally hit him. His baby is growing up. Ever since I enlisted, it seems like I've done a lot of growing up. It's weird. It's almost scary. But I'm 22 years old, time to grow up...I've lived with my parents my whole life and had everything handed to me.

Things just seem to be hitting me a lot harder lately...