Home at last and Reflecting

Dorothy and I have made it home at long last. One week ago we flew the red eye express from Portland to JFK. Monday was R day and Nicole was processed into West Point and took her Army Oath. She has begun the long and rigorous training program established to make her into an officer and a leader of men and women of the US Army.

Dorothy and I left Tuesday from Laguardia and flew the Delta Shuttle to Chicago's Ohare. There we spent the remainder of the week hanging out with Dorothy's brother Chris, his wife Laura and their wonderful Kids - Maddie and Chris.

It was very much a roller coaster of emotions for me this last week. I know that Nicole is in good hands and that she will be something special when this is all over.

GOD BLESS AMERICA AND GOD BLESS THE UNITED STATES ARMY

So here I am sitting here alone the night before Nicole J.L. Miller reports for her beast week at West Point. Today was the track picnic. Great to finally meet coach Knute Hjeltness - a 4 time olympian from Norway and Nicole's throwing coach. Also met the rest of the staff and got to meet the new Commandant - General ____________ (cannot remember his name). A very nice day. We then went down to Highland Falls and bought a bunch of stuff - shirts, etc.

Anyway, as I sit here alone it isn't hard for me to reflect on everything about my relationship with my daughter. We have become very close over the past few years, ever since her mother moved 350 miles away. Tomorrow will be tougher for me than for her. I am letting go of somebody who is very special to me. But I am not selfish - she needs to go and become what she is meant to become. I know she will continue to excel at whatever she does. I have no doubts of that whatsoever. And I also know she will always be my little girl!

GO ARMY

Vancouver USA now - things are a little better now that we have left the Willapa Valley. Stopped by the Menlo Store and got some snacks to go. Kay was shedding tears as we left. Then up the Valley to say good-bye to good friend Andrew Friese. He is taking a big step as well = going to Gonzaga. Now we are at Dorothy's, finishing up the packing and helping grandaughter Gracie Rose Phelan celebrate her third birthday. She is running - er rolling - around the house on her new skates. She has fallen a dozen times but just gets right back up and keeps rolling on. Nicole is at Wal Mart buying a couple of little things for the trip over. Our ride gets here at 830 for our Jet Blue flight.

And now we are off - Next stop - The United States Military Academy at West Point, New York state. I can't believe it still.

So we are winding things down here at the Miller House. Nicole is eating a bowl of cereal and I am taking care of a list for Nathan to do for the next week. Paperwork is all finished. I have packed away the map book so I can get from JFK to West Point (I hope). We will be leaving in an hour. I just looked at her facebook site and teared up looking at the State Track Meet photos. That was a highlight, special, special weekend. State Champion to West Point New Cadet. What a ride to be on as a parent. Stay tuned!

Welp, the countdown is on. This is Wednesday june 23 and in 2 days we fly off to JFK on the Jet Blue overnight exprss from Portland International. Time is drawing very short for Nicole. I would like to know what is going thru her mind but she isn't saying.

Hi - My name is Kevin Miller and my daughter Nicole is going to West Point. She was given her appointment in early December 2009 and soon after sent in her acceptance letter. My mission with this blog is to describe my experiences as a father of a daughter who is a West Point cadet. First though a little background: I am a Fire Chief for a Fire Department in SW Washington. I have been with that Fire Department for 28 years. I have served as the chief there since May of 2006. My daughter will graduate number 3 in her class on June 12 - 1 week from today. Last Friday, May 27, she won the state 2B javelin title on her very last throw. She PR'd by over 5 feet to win that event. To say that I was happy would be a huge understatement. I was totally overjoyed and still am. Talk about dramatics - to be behind by over 3 feet and to throw the spear 5 feet further on your last throw to win a state title - pretty tough to top that, unless it is to receive an appointment to West Point.

Nicole applied to West Point in February of 2009. Her original goal was to go to the University of Portland, apply to their ROTC program and then come out as a 2nd Lt. nurse. U of P has a great nursing program and Nicole always wanted to be a nurse. But then I was talking to a friend one day at the fire station and he suggested that Nicole apply to WP. I took that idea home and Nicole's first impression was - that's a long way from home. A week later i came home from work and she was finishing up the initial application.

She decided to turn out for track. The idea was to get an additional athletics letter to build up the resume and to get into shape for the physical test necessary to gain acceptance to WP. She had turned out for track her freshman year but decided not to turn out her sophomore year.

Luckily for Nicole, a throwing coach from a neighboring high school decided to jump ship and move to Nicole's high school: Willapa Valley. She took up the Javelin and immediately showed promise with the spear. Her throwing coach gave her alot of help and boosted her confidence. Her distances improved with each meet until she qualified for the state meet with a personal best throw of 118'+ at district.

In the meantime, Nicole was hooked up with a very nice gentleman from Washington DC by the name of Dr. Roth. He works for WP as a mentor to Minorities and small school candidates and his main job is to assist candidates with getting their SAT and/or ACT scores improved. Mr. Roth called the house one afternoon to talk to Nicole. Instead he got to talk to me. I mentioned to him that Nicole was at track practice. He was impressed when I told him that she threw the Javelin and was even more impressed when I told him the distances she was throwing after just picking it up. He told me that he had 3 kids who graduated from West Point and all 3 were track athletes there. Mr. Roth knew the throwing coach and he was going to speak to him about maybe recruiting Nicole for the WP track program.

A few weeks later Mr. Knute Hjeltnes called and told me he was interested in having my daughter as a track athlete at West Point. I was totally blown away. And Nicole, well, Nicole just needs a few words of encouragement to get her into the weight room so you can only imagine what being recruited by a major university would do for her. It became her passion. She attended Washington State's track camp and worked out in the weight room all summer long.

Next edition: I will speak to how being a recruited athlete helps gain admittance to West Point.