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Comment by lojogo Ship 11 Division 057 on November 30, 2010 at 4:22pm

Thingamabob, Hang in there. It was a little over two weeks before we got our first letter. I know how you feel. We will hear from them more once they are out of BC, at least that is what I am told. Something to look forward to. When is your daughters PIR, our sons is 1/14/11. We are counting the days, hours and minutes til we see him again. Miss him soooooo much! Take Care.

Comment by Lynne on November 30, 2010 at 4:17pm

Well let me pick up from Dianne for a sec here...I agree with her about trying not to miss PIR. In regard to non-refundable airline tickets...Orbitz has a new thing where you can buy insurance for 44.95 that makes them refundable for almost anything...so be sure and check that out...I got that insurance for my son for coming home from A-school, just in case. The guidelines are really, really liberal.

In terms of PIR, I too initially thought my son was going to be Grad N Go until he was ASMOd the last week. He still graduated on time but ended up being in Chicago all weekend. Okay so initially I wondered about going too. I am handicapped, can't walk, had to bring help with me to get in and out of the car and lift my wheelchair etc. and I thought lots of work for a one day event.

Well let me say, first there is the meet and greet and you meet all the people in this room you have been bonding with fo weeks. People who understand what you are going through, the road you have travelled, the bumps along the way, and who will be your support system in the months and years to come. You put a face to a name, a hug to a word, a smile to an image. It is a priceless.

Then Friday morning begins so early. You wake up with this churning in your stomach knowing that your hard work of being strong and encouraging is coming to fruition. You dress with this anticipation of everything people have told you about PIR and drive and you see the back up of cars miles long waiting to get in. You pull up to the gates and see the Navy guys checking cars in and follow along as they park and you can feel the tension and anticipation rising as you are simply floating along to the Great hall.

You enter that Great Hall and it is loud. They have videos playing, Sailors are helping you get seated and everywhere you look loved ones of Sailors are looking awe and anticipation of what is to come. You can see through these windows as people gather and you know that something great is about to begin. Suddenly your eyes are drawn to the balcony as members of the performing divisions come in and sit down. Then things begin to quiet down and from the corner you see a performing divison of drums lift their sticks and boom the beat begins and you feel that beat and I promise that as i write this I begin to tear up again...it is like yesterday...the cadence, the march, the songs, the prayers....and then when the announcer says ladies and gentleman please stand as your sailors Pass in Review and they open these huge doors and you see this sea of sailors....you will be so very glad you came...whether it is for one day or the weekend...it is a once in a lifetime experience...and one you will never forget...

But, that is just my two cents....lol

Comment by thingamabob on November 30, 2010 at 4:01pm

Still awaiting that first letter :( Tonight will be 2 weeks that my daughter has been in BC. If I am this worried and concerned now then how will I be when she is so far away in Florida? Although she'll probably be able to write and call more when she is. Just really missing her.

Comment by lojogo Ship 11 Division 057 on November 30, 2010 at 3:19pm

Hi MartysMomBarb! I received my first letter too. We were out of town for Thanksgiving and it was there waiting for us when we got home. Hope yours was as good as ours. It really put our minds at ease. Our Sailor sounded awesome. Can't wait for the phone call though, hopefully this week. I bought a Phone holster so my phone is on me at all times. Take Care!

Comment by diannep on November 30, 2010 at 3:04pm

MartysMomBarb: Congrats on the first letter! Happy dance time for you!

Comment by diannep on November 30, 2010 at 3:03pm

susan: Are you sure that they don't have a "change" fee on your flights if that should happen? That happened to me with my son. Asmoed a week...new PIR date. Had my flights already. But when I changed them, the new dates were cheaper than the original dates, so the $150 change fee actually was like $89.

As far as "is it worth it," Well....it is really a very personal decision for you. But don't forget, not only will you have PIR day with them, but most probably part of the day at the airport with your sailor the next day. They are bussed out very early in the morning to wait for flights....you are allowed to meet them out there, get a military gate pass (with ID) and wait with them. We didn't know this when my son went through...I was not very active on this site then...a shame...as he was sitting out there for about 6 hours and we didn't know. His flight was delayed a couple of times and by the time he called me, it was too late to get there.

I hate for anyone to miss PIR if at all possible, but understand the $$ part of it. Some who will be able to visit them during A School save their money for that instead. If that is a possibility for you, why not ask your recruit which they prefer? Many times, the recruit will make the decision on which would be a better time for him/her to see you.

Comment by Mossgirl4 on November 30, 2010 at 3:03pm

I'm also from NC and checked airline prices - huge!!! I'm now considering driving up!

Comment by susanm(ZEKESMOM) on November 30, 2010 at 2:56pm

I'm just wondering that my self. It's going to cost us a small fortune to fly 3 of us from North Carolina. Why is the air fair to Chicago so, expensive? I've found some deals of Priceline and others sites like that but the trip is non-refundable so if something happens and my son doesn't graduate of that date, I'm out that money.

Comment by AshJewell on November 30, 2010 at 2:50pm

I need some advice (= If my husbands div. is Grad-n-go is it financially worth it to make the 8hour trip to see him for such a short time? Dont get me wrong, I want to see my husband more than anything in the world, but I'm just having doubt if I should, being 6mos pregnant then, make the long trip and spend the hundreds of dollars for a few hours? Is it wrong of me to be thinking this?

Comment by BarbAnn(Ship 7 DIV 047) on November 30, 2010 at 2:32pm

Is so very happy I got my first letter fron son today...

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