Time is ticking...

[Sailor⚓GirlsMom]

Today we take my future sailor down to San Diego. Tomorrow morning she swears in and is off on the next chapter of her life. I have been feeling anxiety off and on and I'm not really sure if I should share my emotions or hide them. I have had other military moms who have been through this tell me "whatever you do, don't let her see you cry. Wait till she's gone." I've been told that if they see you're upset that it makes the process for them in boot camp and being away from home harder. Any thoughts on this? Any feedback or advice is greatly appreciated.

[Texasmom77]

As a mom with a daughter at boot, I would say it is okay to let her know that you will miss her.  If you can hold back the tears, try.  I waited until after we left MEPS and got to the car and cried on the way home.  If you do cry, just tell her that they are happy tears because you are proud of her.  Best of luck, and the time seems to fly, at least to me.  Write letters or send cards.  When she talked about leaving, I kept referring to it as her next adventure.  That helped her to know that I supported her and was happy for her.  I never referred to it as her leaving.  I hope this helps.  Best of luck to you and your future sailor.

[Sailor⚓GirlsMom]

Thank you! I appreciate the words of support.❤️⚓️

[lemonelephant]

Good advice, Texasmom77.

Sailor⚓GirlsMom, I left info for you on your My Page.

[Kayla's Mom]

My daughter left on June 20. Our agreement was that I could not cry or I couldn't come to see her off.  I fought back tears during the entire day but stayed strong. Like Texasmom, I cried all the way home and couldn't sleep the first 2 nights. The phone call was even harder, again I stayed strong but cried once I got off the phone. In her first letter, she said that she didn't think she could have gotten on the bus or the plane if I had cried.  There are so many emotions we process as a parent.  I'm so proud of her but I'm also scared and concerned and miss her terribly.  I find comfort in writing her daily. I always tell her how proud I am and that I miss her. But I also try to convey how brave and strong she is and not to give up.  Again like Texasmom, "new adventure" has been used often.  I will tell you from personal experience, receiving "the box" was surreal to me. Her box of personal items that were shipped back home once she arrived is still sitting inside the front door.  A simple plain cardboard box that after 2 weeks I can not bring myself to open and unpack. I know that it just contains her clothing and phone but somehow that little box has significant power over me.   There is an app called Sandboxx that you can install and write your daughter quick notes and send a picture.  While at college, my daughter would text me often and talk about her day, work, or just a simple "love you mom". Although we didn't see each other every day this was our form of communication.  Sandboxx is now my substitute for those precious conversations.  At basic she can only respond with written letters, I find comfort in just sending her those notes to share my day with her.  

Once you receive a letter from her, share her address with family, friends, church, or other groups that you are involved with. She will need a lot of encouragement and I think knowing that other people outside of the family care will help her find strength and keep her motivated.  It is my understanding that she will only have Sunday's to write, and she will not have an opportunity to write everyone and provide her new address so this is something that you can do for her. 

I hope that you find something to find comfort in as well.  We are all in this together, stay strong for your daughter because she will need your strength to get on that plane.  Best of luck and feel free to message me if you just want someone to talk to. 

[drea0615]

I couldn't hold back my tears, I tried so hard but it just didn't work. My only son and my oldest child. I cried myself to sleep for about 3 days and cried on and off for about 2 weeks I thought the feeling was never going away. I got busy to keep my mind off him being gone and I wrote him a letter every night. He graduated on July 14th and he thanked me for writing all those letters he said that is what helped him get through it.