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Comment by Anna on April 16, 2018 at 6:41pm

Andy'sMom,

I'm so happy you found the info on the Blue Candle!!  It got me through my daughter's OCS time and several deployments my son had, including on the ground in Afghanistan!!  And I got such a chuckle from you comment about your boring life when writing letters to your son!!!  I felt the same way - what can I possibly write about next?????  So glad your son is almost finished!!!  Hope you enjoy commissioning day!!!!

Comment by Andy'sMom on April 16, 2018 at 2:02am

Anna 8,

I love the Blue Candle Event!  This is the first I have heard of it.  From now on,I will always say a prayer for our sailors when I see a blue candle!  I think I will have to find a couple for myself!

Comment by Andy'sMom on April 16, 2018 at 1:59am

MBmom,

My son is one month away from graduation/commissioning.  The first 3-4 weeks are the worst!  I scoured every web site I could find to help me get thru it.  The facebook friends and family page really helped.  I wrote 2-3 letters a week.  (I realized how boring my life was after a while!)   All I wanted was to know he was doing ok!  That old saying became my mantra:  No news is good news!  The first time I heard his voice, I couldn't talk I was crying so hard.  Once he made it thru the 3rd week, I knew he was going to be ok.  It got much better.  We made a secret facebook page for his friends to join and posted updates on there.  It was so wonderful seeing his friends "like" and comment on posts.  This really becomes an extended family, and we are all in this together.  Lean on us, as one day we might have to lean on you.  Start to think about your LOs CandiO box. Decorate it and start collecting items for it.  There is a youtube video by NavyDave that is helpful to get a glimpse of what is going on.  

Comment by Anna on April 15, 2018 at 4:58pm

MBmom,

Even though you will not get much response back from your LO, keep sending encouraging letters to them.  When my daughter went through OCS, she said she loved getting my letters and would read them at night in bed just before falling asleep.  I would copy and paste cute pictures from clip art and then write my letter around them.  When she was going through room inspections she commented on how they came in with rulers to measure everything.  So I found a cute picture of a ruler "figure" and other similar funny pics just to make her smile.  Once they get email privileges, we could communicate easier that way but she still liked the letters from home.  Make sure your loved one knows your email address from memory and not just from their email contacts list.  They will be using a military assigned email address and will not have any of their personal contact lists.  If you're unsure, send them the addresses in your next letter of anyone he or she may want to contact.  Phone numbers also, they won't have their cell phones until the very end.  Other than that, just keep encouraging them, and if you believe in prayer - - pray!!!!  There is also an "event" on this website called A Blue Candle Event.  Members will light a blue candle of any kind, to keep positive thoughts for their sailor.  I did this every time my daughter had a big test, inspection, or any other event, and every time I'd see the candle burning I'd say a prayer for her.  Just something to make me feel like I was helping her in some small way!!!  Good luck to your LO!!!

Comment by MBmom on April 15, 2018 at 7:59am

Our LO has been in OCS one week and we are all still adjusting. I am very proud but wish I "knew more" about what to expect and what comes next. We have made reservations for graduation weekend and that felt productive. Does anyone have strategies for this adjustment into a whole new world?

Comment by M's mom on March 23, 2018 at 12:39am

travel101,         (P.S.)  About hotels, search for hotels in "Middletown, RI" which is actually closer to the base gates than Newport.  There are lots of reasonably-priced chain hotels in Middletown. We stayed at the Holiday inn Express in Middletown, and it was pretty close to the base.

Hotels in Newport are more resort-type and therefore more expensive, especially after Memorial Day, when Newport will be crawling with tourists.  Make reservations early for summer graduation!  You can always cancel if your son gets "rolled" back three weeks because of injury or failing something.

Read back on our posts here as far back as you have time, and we may have answered many of your questions already.

Comment by M's mom on March 23, 2018 at 12:28am

Welcome travel101,

As Andy'sMom wrote, do not send "care packages" at all until week ten, when they become Candio's (Candidate Officers.)  Then you may send a box, but even then, it is NOT supposed to contain any food items.  It used to be, they could get cookies and such, but not anymore.  Just send letters only now, and make sure everyone to whom you give his address to knows this. 

Anything besides letters sent the first few weeks will be confiscated as contraband, and the recipient will likely have to do a large amount of extra pushups as punishment even if they didn't ask for it to be sent!

Just send lots of encouraging letters, telling him to hang in there no matter what happens.  Eyes on the Prize! 

Comment by Andy'sMom on March 22, 2018 at 12:57am

Welcome, travel101!  

For now, just write letters to your son.  "Care packages" have to be opened in front of everyone, and it singles out your son. He will eventually be able to go to the NEX for items he needs that he did not pack.  However, that changes in week 9 with the Candio box!  My son is 3 weeks in front of yours.  The first 2 weeks were pretty tough not hearing from him, but when that first letter arrives, it's like a lifeline!  

Comment by travel101 on March 22, 2018 at 12:26am

Hello Mom’s! My son just started OCS on the18th. Any suggestions as to what I can include in my care packages? Also any suggestions of hotels for graduation?

Comment by Anna on March 16, 2018 at 8:41pm

Just another comment about candio boxes.  My daughter graduated 17-12, one class behind M's mom, and since she's always watching her weight she asked for small microwave foods, healthy snack bars, single serving coffee packets that just needed mixed with water, and stuff like that.  When her class was in charge, her duties were transporting the indocs back and forth to medical and whatever else they had going on.  She missed many meals at the chow hall so was very thankful that she had something to eat in her candio box!!!!

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