The McGarrets embark on a new journey with Noah. I hope you enjoy. All spelling and other mistakes are all of my own making. As always, thank you to all of you reading, reviewing and favoriting. It brightens up the day.
H50 - H50 - H50
My special young man Noah,
You graduated from High School today. You're not my baby boy anymore. With every step you took across that stage this afternoon my heart grew bigger and fuller with pride. There was not a prouder father in that auditorium. Your shoulders were squared back and your head held high just like your 1st day of Kindergarten when you were scared of the unknown but knew that this was something that needed to be done and that by holding back you would be missing out on a lot of adventures.
Gone are the days when I carried you off to bed and tucked you in for the night. You always were the dirtiest little boy out of all the kids when the Ohana had a get together and it took nearly a whole bar of soap to get you clean. Some nights you fell asleep in the bath and we just put you to bed in your towel. You never need pj's for a good night's sleep, you liked your pj's but you never needed them.
My young man we sure had some adventures along the way. They started in grade 1 when we brought you back from the hospital with your arm in a navy blue cast. You've been around Uncle Danny to much always calling Grace his Monkey and you decided you wanted to be our Monkey and you showed your friends on the playground how you could jump from 1 bar to the other. The playground supervisor said you would have made it all the way if you didn't sneeze ! You were weary of the monkey bars for a while but like a true McGarret things never kept you down for long. Mom and I should have known what your career choice would be when you chose the navy blue cast.
Then there was the time we welcomed Alaska into our family. You came home from playing in the park with a squirming barking backpack. You put the pack down, dipped your hands in and triumphantly showed us Alaska. A messy dirty starved Husky. We were told in no uncertain terms that you found him and that we were keeping him. It was one of the few times we could not reason with you or make you see sense. Once you set eyes on that puppy you decided that he was yours and no one was going to take him away. We did what everyone would do to try and find the owners and took him to the vet to see if he was maybe chipped but nothing came of our endeavours and Alaska became part of the family and he still is today. Loyal to a fault just like you. We also had some chickens on the property and some wayward birds and cats and bugs and hamsters and who can remember what else.
You are such a thoughtful child and always tried to include all of your friends in activities and camps and sports. There was always an extra class mate coming with us on camping trips and school outings. You always made sure that no one was left out because their parents couldn't afford to send them along. That might explain why your allowance never lasted you through the month but you never complained. You know that life is more about family and caring for each other than the latest games and phones. Now if only you could help your sister Lilly learn that lesson. Don't think we don't know about the times you helped her buy a new pair of shoes or earrings when her allowance runs out. She's had you wrapped around her little finger from day 1 and it warms our hearts to see what a close bond you have. We might not be the parents of the century but seeing you together makes us think we at least did 1 thing right.
Now this sounds as if you were the perfect angel while at school and we know that isn't true. You tested your boundaries as any teenager does. For as long as I live I will never forget the call we got from Uncle Danny a few weeks after your 16th birthday. You told us you were going to Mark's house to watch dvd's. You never gave us any reason to not trust you so we let you go. Things got out of hand as you know but you had the presence of mind to realise that you were in over your head and you called Uncle Danny. Now we all know how Danny can clear a room with his charming personality. He called to give us a heads up and to make sure that we didn't say or do something that we would regret later. To say that we were disappointed is an understatement and you knew it the moment you set foot in the door. I will never forget the look on your face. You knew you messed up and that it would take a lot of hard work from all of us to get over what happened. You worked hard and showed us that we could trust you. You also realised that as the older brother you also needed to set an example for Lilly. You showed us what kind of a man you were going to be one day. You were scared but knew that nothing would be accomplished by hiding or lying. You stepped up, took responsibility and learned a big life sesson. Always take responsibility for your actions and don't blame others for your decisions.
Now the next chapter in your journey is about to begin. You have 1 last summer left before you go off to Annapolis. Your mom and I can't even begin to tell you how proud we are of the decision you made. The only thing we want out of life for our kids is for you to be happy and content and we would never pressure you into following a career that would not make you happy and feel fulfilled so we tried to never put pressure on you to follow in our footsteps. It was a choice you had to make on your own.
My time at Annapolis made me the man and father and husband that I am today. You will be tested mentally and physically like never before. You will be driven to the point of exhaustion and wanting to give up and just pack your bags to come home. When that happens dig deep and know that you have the guts and the strength to push through. That the pain and exhaustion is temporary but that the reward will be worth more than you can imagine. You are already this incredibly passionate and courageous young man. Roll up your sleaves and trust your instincts. You will meet new people, share classes with people who have different beliefs than you. Always remember to treat them with the same respect that you would like to be treated with. Just because you don't share the same beliefs doesn't mean they are lesser people.
Never doubt yourself and know that we love you. We will always be here for you no matter what. Nothing you do can make us love you any less. Always live a life that is honest and true.
Dad