Oh, Brother... future Marine?

So, Brother has completed his enlistment into the Marines, a process capped off by the very precise placement of a "Proud Parent of a Marine" sticker in the back window of my parents' vehicle. I think that last maneuver is still a little premature -- the kid doesn't ship out for boot camp until May 18, and he's got until three days prior to change his mind. He's to use the next few months to lose 20 pounds; his weight is the reason for his deferred enlistment.

And even though he's got months and months to chicken out, I'm not sure he will. He seems pretty excited about his decision to join the government's most strenuous military branch. Last weekend, at my parents' house, he proudly displayed his mostly recently obtained military swag: a small tin crammed with brochures on what it means to serve in the Marines, an introductory DVD and bumper stickers. At dinner he ate a fraction of what he would have normally consumed.

So, if he goes through with it, I'll guess we'll know by boot camp whether he's cut out for military service or not. There are only two ways this thing can go: he'll either make it, or it'll break him. Who knows? Maybe he'll surprise me...

I forgot to mention two side effects of Brother's military enlistment: He now tells really off-color jokes that he has apparently learned from the various other recruits he's met at MEPS, and, on his most recent trip, he met... a girl. She was enlisting in the Army as he was completing his own enlistment. I know nothing about her except that she ships out to Basic next month. She lives nearby, though, and he's been seeing her pretty frequently. So, I guess we'll see about that, too!