We also got a lot of comments about how much of our son’s life we were missing–his sports/activities/proms/romances, nightly dinner-table conversations, his friends coming over to watch movies or play games, etc. I learned from others here to reply, “You’re right. We missed a lot, but he missed nothing, and it’s not about us.” It got old but, as @one1ofeach pointed out, there was no comparison between his experience and what his friends were experiencing here at home. It really was hard to miss out on all those things, and it didn’t get any easier when, three weeks after BS graduation, he left for the military and never really came home again, just a bit of leave here and there. So, I still feel a bit cheated, but have zero regrets about our choices, and I KNOW he has no regrets. Ultimately, that’s all that matters.
ETA: And then came the remarks about the military. “What?! After that fancy boarding school, he ends up joining the Army? Did the money run out? Did he flunk out?” It never ends, so you just can’t care what other people think.