My son ships out Jan 7,2009

[Trish]

I am sad,excited and not really ready to see him leave. I am very proud of him and I can't wait for his graduation sometime in March. I hope he does well. I am so used to having him with me and I guess it's time to cut the strings at 19 but wow I get all upset just thinking about it right now. Since he is my only child I know this will be hard for me. I hope this website helps. :(

[Jacqueline Manning]

Hang in there Trish. I joined in April and my son left for Boot Camp on June 30th. I am still here helping other Moms like yourself adjust and adapt to this wonderful Navy life.

[Trish]

Thank you...both of you. After I wa son the pc last night I went into my sons room and just hugged him and cried. He told me this afternoon he felt so bad for me. I will be OK after I know he is OK and on his way in the Navy. But since my husband died in 01 it has been my job to be mom&dad and to protect him with everything I have. He reassured me he would be fine. He said "mom it will be a bit tuffer than football but you know I can do it" and that made me feel so good. I recently bought a Harley in August....maybe I just need to focus on other things while he is gone. And I will be hanging in here with all my new friends! :)

[Paula]

Hi Trish, my son is also 19 (turned 19 in BC) that was hard. I am a single mom but have 3 boys but just as hard to see him go. If you need to chat, cry, yell or BRAG feel free to contact me byt Email or phone. This is a great site and you will have all the support you can handle.

[e-mail]
267-767-7083 cell

People who are not in the military do not realize this is not just a change for your child but the entire family! You will be just fine, write letters every day!

[Stephanie]

Hi Trish,

My son PIR'd in May and is now stationed across the country from me in VA and I in CA. He is my only son, my only child and we have been a team since day one. It has been hard...dont let anyone else tell you its not, and espcially since this is our first holidays apart I am a wreck all the time .. however this site has been a Godsend to me as I have been a member since close to its inception. I spend my time helping out when I can and finding other things to focus on however I do have my moments when I cry like a baby. You WILL get through this and we are here for support. Add me as a friend and feel free to contact me anytime! Thats what we are here for!!

Big hugs comin atcha!!
Stephanie

[Auralei - Mom of Chris]

Hi Trish, I can identify, my son left for BC in October and PIR'd last month. Even though I can call him now, it's still rough sometimes, and I still want to "do" for him like I've done for almost 19 years. Boot Camp was a roller coaster here at home, but after those first couple of weeks things do get somewhat better, especially once you start getting letters from him and vice-versa, and if they earn a phone call home, it's heaven :) The best part of this whole experience, aside from my wonderful new Sailor son, are the friends and support I found here. I hope you are able to go to your son's PIR, it's the most amazing experience, and seeing the pride in their face is something you never forget.

If you need an ear, or a shoulder, I'm here - hang in there, and welcome to the wonderful world of Navy Moms :)

[Trish]

You girls are great! My son is sitting here next to me and reading some of the replies and I know this forum will help me through my rough times that are coming. Thank you all.

[navymomBonnie]

Trish: This site is a god send. My husband was very supportive and he knew my son would be fine. My husband was a Marine, but I didn't know my son would be fine. He is my only son and I was a single mother raising him. We are very close. So I found this site and all the emotions I was feeling were right here being experienced by so many other mothers. It saved me. My son is now in week # 6 and it is true once the letters and a phone call came THEN I realized he was safe and quite happy. He is now happier that bootcamp is ending soon and that he will move on to preBUDS. Which is his dream and passion. I am an avid researcher of information when I learn something new and this site has been invaluable to me. The most exciting part is that I have met moms whose sons are in the same division as mine is. So I write my son and tell them what they say and then he relays the info to the guys. He also says that the info I gain from this site is sometimes the first time he is hearing about stuff (I guess because they are so busy) and I verify, of course, all the info with him, and all the info I have learned on this site has been accurate. This is a huge comfort, also. My son played football in high school and he always says to me: Mom, Man Up. So I do, but it is hard those first few weeks. We are all here for you with our support.

[Carla Street]

Knowledge will help tremendously, as will being in a group that understands.

One of the first things we try to make sure you know about is what we call the "box". They don't have storage at the
RTC (recruit training command aka boot camp) so they box up their clothes and send them home for us to store.
Remember, they will come back and it's just storage but it can feel pretty symbolic.

I'd advise going to www.navy.mil and just browsing. One thing that helps is education and being able to start
understanding some of the lingo and getting a sense to it all.

Think about journaling and/or scrap booking. I kept a journal because the phone calls can be pretty amazing.

Start writing about your thoughts to him in letters and also about day to day things. Some Moms have say
taken and photocopied on the back of the letters pictures of things at home. Or funnies from the newspaper, or
sports scores. They don't have much room so the more you condense, the better it is.

Send a deposit slip from a local bank account so he can use that too. As well as an address book and no more than
$20 for his billfold. They have them buy at the NEX (naval exchange) all toiletries and clothes will be bought there.

This is a good link for boot camp. It helps to have an idea of what is going on. I thought it was an especially good one.

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/navyjoin/l/aanavybasic1.htm

Enpower yourself Trish. It really does help and they are living their dream, not just talking about it!