The Home Front
It’s that time of year- graduation! Those joyous yet bittersweet events that we as parents must navigate with our children as they achieve this goal we have worked toward together for their entire lives. As parents we are so proud to see them succeed but must let them fly the coop and learn to navigate their new reality of college, work, marriage, or the military. 
Our son Caleb received an appointment to the United States Air Force Academy(USAFA). So, instead of enjoying his summer after graduation, he was to report to boot camp in June. After Caleb’s high school graduation party, David and I quickly had to pivot from celebratory mode to the task of preparing him for boot camp. While we were so proud of his appointment and looked forward to his adventures, we had to let our son go. The day came, and the four of us, David, Caleb, our other son Joshua, and I boarded the plane and flew out to Colorado Springs. We stayed for a few days at a cabin so Caleb could get acclimated to the high-altitude climate. We visited the Garden of the Gods and took it easy while anticipating the day when our son would join the United States Air Force. The day finally arrived. David and I put on a proud, happy face. Caleb never saw me cry, but I sure felt like it. His goals, accomplishments, and future plans were a joy to us and a point of family pride. 
We arrived for in-processing at USAFA at the appointed place and headed into the building. He got in line and went through several points of access. We stood right beside him supporting him every step of the way, just like we had his entire life. And then, we came to that line. I’ll never forget that line. The line. The line drawn on the floor that meant that when crossed, he would be a cadet at the Academy. We couldn’t cross that line with him. He had to do it by himself. That line hurt my momma heart. But as David had told me before – we have to let him make his own decisions and support him. After Caleb crossed that line, we were no longer able to walk beside him. From that point onward, we were supporting him from a different perspective- prayer and phone conversations when he needed us. At that line, we were escorted outside to a tent. There were bales of hay for us to sit on, and tables with sandwiches and chips for us to enjoy. As I struggled to swallow a bite of the sandwich handed to me while I was sitting on that bale of hay, with my momma-heart still struggling with this situation, I said with tears in my eyes, “I feel like I’ve just traded my son in for a sammich.” (One of our granddads used to say sammich. Sometimes I use comedic relief in stressful situations to lighten the mood and help with coping skills. It’s an old-timers way of saying sandwich in Southern vernacular.) At about that time, buses pulled up and the new cadets filed out of the building and boarded buses. I watched him as long as I could get a glimpse of him… my son whom I had birthed, loved, raised, held, taught to walk, talk, dream, ride a bike, and to love the Good Lord above… stepping into the next chapter of his life.
With tears in my eyes and a sammich in my hand, my heart was both broken in two and yet bursting with pride. I breathed a prayer to the Good Lord, “God Bless and protect my son, God bless the United States Air Force, and God bless the United States of America!” We are proud to say Caleb graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 2007 with a systems engineer degree, decorated for his service to his country in the Afghanistan War, and achieved the rank of Captain. As a veteran, he now works in the private sector as an aerospace engineer. So, from this parent’s perspective: Celebrate the graduates on achieving a lifetime goal…and give their parents a big old hug. They just might need one. And enjoy one of Caleb’s favorite meals: Country fried steak and gravy!
-Danna Standridge
Author of Happiness is Homemade Y’all!
Read her faith story at www.birminghamchristian.com/issues.
Join her in the kitchen on Facebook @DannaSwannStandridge and YouTube @dannastandridge8749.
Serve up this Standridge Family favorite to the graduate in your life!
Country Fried Steak and Gravy
Ingredients:
1 lb. cube steak
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup flour
Salt and pepper
Cooking oil for frying
Gravy:
4 tablespoons pan drippings
2 to 3 tablespoons flour
Salt and pepper
1 cup of milk
Instructions:
Steak: Pour cooking oil in a large skillet so it is 1 1/2 inches deep and start heating it. Mix flour, salt, and pepper into a shallow dish. Pour buttermilk into a different shallow dish. Coat each piece of steak in flour, buttermilk, then flour again. Place coated steak in hot oil. Cover and cook about 6 to 8 minutes per side or until golden brown. Reduce heat. Continue cooking uncovered until juice runs clear when pierced with a fork.
Gravy: Heat drippings, stir in flour and continue stirring as you slowly add milk. Keep stirring until gravy thickens. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve over steaks or biscuits.
