@toomanyteens, my daughter is 24 now and just an amazing young adult. But she didn’t show her appreciation for me until the day she graduated from college. I doubted myself plenty along the way but tried to keep the door open no matter what, and tried never to take any criticism she made of me personally. It was HARD. But she was listening all along. She acted the crappiest toward me when she was struggling, because I was the safety net and she knew I would always be there for her, no matter what.
I haven’t read the whole thread, just got to this message, but I wanted to give you this word of encouragement.
OYE! The boy is back. He refused to consider sticking it out even though my daughter, his step father and the drill sergeants all tried to get him to rethink it. He was discharged for “lack of appropriate effort” and somehow thinks he is going to join a different branch in 6 months.