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Comment by MN Mom of MM on May 9, 2011 at 5:29pm

Welcome Carrie, This is a great group of ladies.  I am in Mankato.  #1 and only (son) started his journe Nov 2 last yr.  PIR was Jan 7, and grad from A school April 22.  Now he is on T-track doing watch waiting for Power School to start.  He is in the Nuclear power field.   It is a roller coaster ride,  but being able to talk or just listen with the moms on N4M really helps.  Ask any questions you have and someone knows the answer.  Really wish I had taken part of these groups before my sailor started.   

Comment by I'm Laurie the Sailor's Mom! on May 9, 2011 at 5:24pm

The video links I just posted were so important for me because I could visualize just where my son was standing when he made his phone calls home (we got an 800 number, by the way; worked great), what his bunk looked like, his cubby for his possessions, the hallways he was walking, etc. etc. It comforted me to know where he was.

Comment by I'm Laurie the Sailor's Mom! on May 9, 2011 at 5:21pm

During boot camp I watched these videos over and over looking for clues about my son's daily life in Great Lakes. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdHt56NdERo&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYREP-35Ylk&feature=related

 

And finally, BattleStations 21, basically the final test. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jibm7kyIGcM&feature=related After your child passes, you get your "I'm a Sailor call." I got my call over a year ago, and this still brings tears to my eyes.

 

 

Comment by WINavymomofJeremy(Carrie) on May 9, 2011 at 5:15pm

MNSunshine...Thank you! I'm brand new to all of this..my son wants to enlist this summer and he will be a delayed entry and would like to be a SWCC..if I remembered that correctly...so this is the very begining of our journey....its been a topic of conversation for a long time now but now in the last cpl months has become quite serious...so here I am after the help of my son..he sent me the link for this site awhile ago so here we are!

Comment by MNSunshine on May 9, 2011 at 4:59pm

Thanks Laurie!

I heard about the questionaires.  Thanks for some more ideas.

My son is only 19 and he decided to propose to his girlfriend before he left, so I'm certain I'm not first on his list of people with whom to communicate.

 

Welcome Carrie!

My son left just last week (Wednesday).  His recruiting station was Maplewood.  I know there was another recruit leaving out of Maplewood within the week ... any chance it's your son?

 

Looking forward to getting to know you all.  I will not, however, be able to make it to the get together Saturday; my daughter has a soccer tournament.

Comment by I'm Laurie the Sailor's Mom! on May 9, 2011 at 4:51pm

MN SUNSHINE:
My son has never been a good correspondent, (prefers texting to snail mail) but he would fill out "questionnaires"  which I sent him at least once a week. I asked specific questions about his ship, mates, the food, the schedule, his feelings, etc., leaving a couple of inches of space between questions for him to fill in his responses. I learned far more than I ever would have if he had been struggling to fill in a blank sheet. One of my first questions was why his trouser legs were rolled up on the pants he sent home in "The Box."

Comment by WINavymomofJeremy(Carrie) on May 9, 2011 at 4:22pm

Hi Everyone...this is the begining of my journey with my son so please bare with me as I learn all I need to learn and get more familiar with everything!

I look forward to getting to know other MN moms!

Comment by MN Mom of MM on May 6, 2011 at 11:19pm

Hey Linda, never would have thought of milk and food coloring... but I like the idea of a paw print signature.  Mine would have been the cats paw.  I am free and planning on the 14th.  I will check with Kelli.  Anyone else between Mankato and Chilis wanting to ride with?  Let me know.

Comment by mn linda (nuke MM ELT Groton CT) on May 6, 2011 at 9:27pm

I did the same as tls -- I wrote a journal type letter on my computer and included pictures -- the dogs, grandson, whatever.  I asked him questions as to what he was doing and about the food, etc.  But most of the letters were telling him what was going on at home and occasionally I sent him the baseball stats.

One letter I decided to have the dogs sign it with their paws.  I didn't want to put their paws in anything that would hurt them, so I put food coloring in milk, dipped their paws in it and put it on the letter -- ended up just a blob of red.  I told him what I did and his response was 'food coloring + milk + paw = NOT'.  So the next time I bought some water-based acrylic paint and dipped their paws in it and put it on the paper -- that worked -- then washed their paws quick.

Comment by tls on May 6, 2011 at 3:02pm

HI MNSunshine ... yes, his recruiter should be able to give you his address before you get "the letter".  May not be 72 hours, but should be within a week.  I started writing letters to my daughter the day she left, so that when I got the address, they were ready to go.  Then I posted the address on her FB wall (check with your son first), so that her friends could write too.

 

As far as what's in the letters, I told my daughter everythng ... like Julie, things that were going on.  I would type the letters on the computer and embed photos as well.  She loved it.  I actually ended up getting requests for letters from others in her division because they said they ALL loved reading my letters!  She wasn't much into news, so I didn't send clippings ... but you can.  Make sure you keep him up to date on the stuff that he likes --- sports teams, major events, etc.  Keep the letters easy and fun ---

 

My rule of thumb was that for the first few weeks, I sent only letters --- only in white envelopes.  Nothing to bring attention.  Once she was there awhile (about 4 weeks in), I did start to send larger envelopes --- but understand that EVERYTHING is readable by RDCs ... so don't write anything that will make them mad or embarrass him.

 

I also would periodically post something on her FB wall (as a surprise), letting her friends know that I would be printing the wall and sending it to her.  It gave her friends that didn't write a chance to communicate with her on "their terms", and she LOVED the printout! 

I did send my daughter a large envelope --- go get one at the U.S. Post Office.  They have the "if it fits, it ships" envelopes --- I think a few months ago, the postage was $4.95, but it may have gone up.  That way, he can stuff as much in there as he needs to and it will come home.  I sent it to my daughter addressed to her, and promised her that I wouldn't open it --- so she felt "safe" sending everything (not that it was a big deal -- she ended up sharing all the letters with me anyway).  Throughout the course of the 8 weeks or so, she filled up 2 of those envelopes and sent them home --- and then still had a ton to give me at PIR!

 

I'm probably the "newest" mom so far (next to you), so if you have any questions, feel free to let me know.  I'll message you my cell phone number too .... hang in there!

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