February 26, 2022

I am proud to announce that my nephew Tanner Sarris is now officially a Navy Seaman.  He followed his dreams to travel the world and fight for our country, if needed, and signed up to go into the Navy after high school.  It took a bit to get him into the service which is funny considering in the days of the draft if you were breathing you were in, however, today there is a lot of paperwork and red tape that must be sorted through.  The government required all of his medical records including a broken toe he had as a toddler from a medical facility that Nicky didn’t even know if it was still around or not.  But through it all, and jumping all the hoops, Tanner was accepted and was shipped off to Great Lakes, IL on December 7, 2022 to begin what he thought would be 8-weeks of Boot Camp.  To Tanner’s surprise when he got to Great Lakes they informed him that Boot Camp was now 10-weeks and that some of the physical challenges that he had been training for now needed to be accomplished in less time than he thought.  I’m so proud that through it all, Tanner persevered and completed all the physical challenges and goals that were set for him. 

Nicky, Phillip, Mano and myself set off to Chicago, Illinois to see Tanner graduate in the middle of a “fluke” snow storm.  24-hours before our scheduled flights we were all getting notified of “possible” travel delays.  As you can imagine, Nicky was panicking that she may not be able to get out of the warm state of Florida and head into the frozen tundra to see her boy graduate from Navy bootcamp and equally, I was terrified that Mano and I would get out of Texas and arrive in Chicago, but Nicky and Phillip would not.  I couldn’t think of anything more heartbreaking for a mother than to not be at her son’s graduation, so we begin to pray that it would all work out. 

It was a fun travel day going into the unknown but God had us all in his hands and we all arrived safely in Chicago for the graduation and weekend festivities.  The weather was not crazy when we arrived but as the day progressed it got crazier and crazier.  By the time we got our tickets for Friday’s graduation and got back to the hotel the snow was falling and the driving was crazy, but we made it through it all thanks to Mano’s driving. 

Friday morning, we all jumped up early, 5 am, and headed towards the Naval base to get our seats secured for the 8:30 am ceremony.  We arrived on base and were able to get ourselves checked-in and settled in plenty of time for the festivities.  If you have never been to a military celebration, I must say that you are missing out.  It was an amazing ceremony with a lot of sentimental moments but more importantly than that with moments that make us all realize that these young men, kids really, have signed up to head into war to protect us and our country, if needed.  As many of you know, my husband, Mano, is a Marine who was deployed 7 times during his military career and while we were waiting for the ceremony to begin, and during the ceremony, he commented many times that being there in that moment was bringing back a lot of memories of his graduation from Marine Boot Camp.  We were all honored to be there not only to celebrate Tanner and his accomplishments but to see all these young men move forward on the next step of their military journey.  Proud doesn’t even begin to cover how we felt.

The ceremony was amazing.  The men were incredible.  The energy was great.  The moment will forever be remembered.

After the ceremony we were finally able to give Tanner a big hug and congratulate him.  I don’t think I will ever forget seeing my sister hug her son for the first time in 10-weeks.  It was an amazing moment.  Something that I will forever be grateful for is that I was there to witness.  For those of us with grown children you know those moments where your heart feels like it’s going to explode out of your chest because you are so happy to see your children following their dreams and becoming adults and at the same time it’s the same moment where you grieve that they are no longer your babies.  That is the moment that I witnessed between my sister and Tanner.  I swear I could remember and see in my brain the moment Tanner entered this world, and also see this moment where he was now officially “a man”, and it all seemed like it went by in just the blink of an eye.  Where did the time go? 

Mano and I were blessed to have Tanner as part of our family while I was in the middle of my cancer journey. Tanner came to Texas on two separate occasions to help us with whatever we needed and helped he did.  Tanner would do anything we asked him to do.  Grab groceries, run me to the doctors, drive Christian to school or school events, feed and walk the dogs, help us make dinner, and so much more.  We were blessed that our government was dragging their feet getting him cleared to join the Navy.  I know that it was God’s plan for him to be able to stay with us and help and once I was better, the road for him opened up wide and off he went.  God is so amazing with guiding our paths. 

So what is next – what comes after Boot Camp?

Tanner is still in Chicago for the next year in A School, which is awesome.  Other than the cold and the snow, Chicago is an amazing place to be, and Tanner doesn’t seem to mind the snow.  Chicago is a quick trip from Florida and a quick trip from Texas which is a win-win for all of us and the hopes of long weekends where we can go visit and enjoy spending time with Tanner during his liberty leaves. 

To say that we are proud of Tanner is an understatement.  We are all super proud of Tanner and we can’t wait to see what the next chapter of his life brings.  It just proves that if you dream big and put it out in the universe and have faith in God, you will be able to accomplish anything you put your mind too.

Cheers to you Sailor Sarris – you have a fan club bigger than you ever imagined!  We love you very much!

Xo,

Mom, Dad, Uncle Mano and Cocky