I got the 'Kid in a Box' today...

[Dana from Tulsa (TJ's Mom)]

I was working late tonight and my husband called me to tell me that the box came in. I said "DON'T OPEN IT!!". I think he thought I was crazy. I called TJ's girlfriend/fiance, Sam and told her we got the box. She wanted to know if we had opened it yet. I told her that I had not opened it. She wanted to know if I cared if she came over and opened it with me. I said "sure, I'll wait for you to get here". Robert (my husband) smarted off that he can guarantee that TJ is not in there...hardy har har... He's not near as funny as he thinks he is. Anyway, Sam got here and we opened it up. It was odd to me that everything was just crammed in there..tshirt was inside out, his legs on his jeans were rolled up and inside out... I just learned on here tonight that they have a box in front of them and someone screaming hurry up! I guess it makes more sense now. Talk about emotional!!!

[Debra]

Dana, somehow when Kate arrived at Great Lakes, she used her cell phone to make the "I made it call". In the background I could hear the Welcome to Great Lakes, recruits......It is no wonder his t-shirt was inside out and things crammed in the box! You have the weeks ahead to look forward to his every letter and you will read them over and over! My thoughts are with you, it is a long, but well worth it journey.

[Dolores]

Hi Dana - I was going through the main page and saw the word "box" and my heart sank all over again. My sailor has been in the Navy since 2003 but the one thing I remember as being very upset over was when I got his box of personal property. It earmarked his life in the military and the only thing going through my head is he is no longer mine to spoil. So when the box was opened by our daughter and my husband and I saw his shoes, pants and shirt - I couldn't help myself but KICK IT!! I cried for about 3 days straight just looking at boxes ... the beginning of your journey as a Navy Mom!! Welcome to our world and if you need anything or just someone to talk to about the rollercoaster of emotions that go along with just being MOM ... please don't hesitate to email me or contact me on my wall. God bless you, your family, your soon to be daughter-in-law and I pray that your son will go through GL training like a breeze and through battlestations. Please extend our thank you to your son for his courage, strength and for his love of country. God bless and God speed.

[Sues]

The box seems to be a heartbreaker for most of us. Everything last thing that tied your son to you is sent back ~ the Navy doesn't need nor want it. The good news is, you will get your son back and he will bet better, stronger, more mature and just a better, well rounded version of the kid you sent to them. It may be impossible to believe that now but it's true. And trust me, he has everything he needs for day to day living and then some. Good luck to you. Hugs.

[Colleen]

When that box came and I saw what had been sent back - everything we had bought as per the DEP book plus a jumble of clothes and his shoes AND his DEP book - I said to my husband "I don't know if he is even still alive. He couldn't keep anything he took." That was on Thursday. Then he called for about 60 seconds Friday night which was a huge relief! And I am looking forward to the new and improved Brandon - but I realized the other day that things have been forever changed by this decision. I know it's for the best but I can't help but wish I had some of that "before" time back!
I've read that "man is the only animal that cries because he is the only one that knows the difference between what is and what might have been." Ahhhh...

[Sponge Dawn aka Sponge Mom]

Yes.. The anticipated box.... Mine seemed to have made a journey accross the united states before it reached me. I never got the I'm here call..I had given him a phone card that we found out later was a dud. His form letter went to his dads house cause he knew I would of pestered his recruiter for his addy, and when he was stripping down out of his civilian cloths, he said they were screaming so bad at them he completely forgot his address! Thus shipping it to his grandpas address... I asked him.. How in the world do you forget your address, but yet remember grandpas? I got the box a couple days before I got my first real phone call. So, by the time I got it it had already been opened! My dad called me and asked me "Angelina, why in the world would your son be shipping me his dirty smelly cloths? Dont they have a laundry mat there at the base?" That's how I knew I didn't get the box. What would of been a tremendous emotional event, turned out to be just about a three ring circus. My dad shipped it to my old address which in turned forwarded it to my new address. At least his civies saw the world! I can look back now and laugh at what I had to go through just to get the poor kids cloths... Just wait until the letters start coming and you are stalking your mailman for them! That's a riot!

[James' mom]

Hi Dana. Thankfully, the box went to my mom's (Noni as she is known to everyone) but my imagination is extremely vivid and I keep picturing them yelling at him to hurry and now him with his shaved head in fatigues or whites...you know. I can't help getting choked up, especially since my mom told me he sent his cell phone. He never goes ANYWHERE without his cell, and it was equally as difficult when I dropped him off and he gave me his laptop. He used to take these things into his "office" (aka the bathroom). Now I will have them both, and it seems grim. On a lighter note, God bless you and your family and may you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.