Milestones.

Steemit is a place where Milestones are acknowledged and celebrated. It was pointed out to me today that I had reached a reputation score of 60. That is certainly a nice milestone. It has been so long in coming that I have stopped watching for it. There is a sense of accomplishment in that. I tend to put more stock in reputation than followers, which is an aspect of Steemit that I feel is abused a bit.

It appears, on that front, that I am about to hit a milestone as well. I am eight followers shy of 1000. What does that mean to me? Not much, really. I would rather have 50 people upvote my posts than 1000 followers. I can guarantee you only a handful of those 1000 have ever read any of my posts, never mind actually following them. I keep my followers list manageable. Because I actually want to check my feed and see people I have interacted with and enjoy reading. If I follow everyone, how can I possibly keep track of them? I guess it is doable. With discipline. But let me go on record as saying I am not a fan of the Follow feature. It doesn't appear to be used the way it was intended.

I had intended to expound further on milestones and Steemit related matters. But I got a call from my son this morning. He just finished AIT a couple of weeks ago. He has not yet been "handed over" to his unit, but he received a phone call from the readiness NCO at the unit he was to join next month. They are going to expedite the handover so he can deploy with his unit to Afghanistan.

As a veteran, there is a sense of pride in me. As a father, I can't help but see that young kid in his over-sized shoulder pads playing football with a ferocity that betrayed his size. A ferocity that earned him the nickname Savage. That kid is still the one I hold in my heart. It is hard for me to accept that he is a grown man now. A baby grown man, but an adult, nonetheless. It is a milestone. A real milestone.

I was swelled with pride when he graduated boot camp. The pride arose again just two weeks ago when he finished AIT. Yet here I sit, my head swimming with possibilities. I feel the need to prepare him. But the Army has done that. And will continue to fill that role. The Army can't replace me as dad. But they can ensure that he is ready for whatever the future holds. And I can offer the advice of a father and veteran to help him keep his head in the game.

Milestones are important things. They are benchmarks that help us remember the important events in our lives. It is great to share those benchmarks in a virtual community like Steemit. It is fun. There is some gamification in the rankings. It is there on purpose. It drives participation in the website. But the real milestones in our lives are the ones where we cut the apron strings. The ones were we watch our children mature in adults and surprise us with their keen insights into the world. When they don the uniform of the United States or join the workforce, or get married, or present us with our first grandchild. These moments are moments to be savored.

So as stressed as I am right now, I now that I should also reflect on the importance of this moment. When called, my son stepped up to the plate. He is enrolled in college already for this Fall. He could have gotten out of this deployment with little effort. When I gave him that option, it wasn't even a consideration. I get that. It is his turn to serve. And I know he will serve with distinction. I am proud. It is a milestone for us both.