It's hard to beat a person who never gives up. Babe Ruth

Well, I don't know exactly why, but I have been crying off and on since Jim called this afternoon. His orders came today and he is SO excited. He is going to be stationed just outside of London. I knew that was his first choice, but his second choice was the Washington, DC area and I figured with all the Intelligence agencies there, that he'd probably be there. I'm really happy for him because he has wanted to live in Europe for awhile.....even thought about backpacking around the summer after h… Continue

Who knew that a half-page letter could bring such relief to a mother's heart!

Jim says, and I quote, "It isn't all that bad, honestly". He also said, "And I have really good news! Because of the time my division got here, we only have to be here for six weeks instead of nine." I am so happy to hear this! I wonder if it is because he was in DEP and had already completed some of the basic stuff and went in as an E-2 .....or because we spent a small fortune on dental work for him when he got his b… Continue

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of the Navy Moms who take the time to let us newcomers know what to expect!! Because of y'all, I survived "the box". They don't let them keep any of their stuff, do they? Jim had bought an inexpensive watch for boot camp so he wouldn't ruin his good one - back it came. Same story on his comb, deodorant(!), pictures, toothpaste, etc. - seems they let him keep his stationery, stamps and address book. I had put in all of our relatives' and friends' addresses,… Continue

I'm trying to be mature about this....my husband found a message from Jim on his phone this morning. Here I am, even taking my phone into the bathroom with me so I won't miss his call, and Ace says, "Wow, I don't know how I missed this call"! I know it's a small thing, but I hardly slept last night because I didn't want to miss his call. On a positive note, we did get to replay it enough to decide that he sounded confident and in good spirits - and now we have it on tape if we want to hear it ag… Continue

Big day for Jim, our 18 year old son -- can he really be leaving for boot camp in a couple of hours? He left Chattanooga yesterday afternoon with some other DEP kids - up to MEPS in Knoxville, TN. He called me to say he was mailing his cell phone and iPod home since he's not allowed to have them. He is so used to having and using both of those whenever he wants, it's going to be a big change for him. He called again later last night to tell me about his roommmate, and said he'd call me from Chic… Continue