The day my son left for basic training, his dad and I went into the terminal with him. When he left to board his flight I did pretty well ... no tears, just a big hug, a smile and told him I was proud. Then we walked around the corner to a window in another part of the airport where we watched his airplane taxi away from the gate, and out toward the runways for take-off. By this time I've let myself cry and I'm pretty much sobbing and going through tissues one after the other. Months later he is at home on leave, and the subject of the airplane came up, and his dad described the scene. Turns out he wasn't on the airplane I was watching! My son thought that was hysterical, and we laughed about it for years.
I know you aren't laughing today, but you will. You'll feel so proud when you see him in uniform for the first time, and you'll know he is part of a group like no other.