Snippets from Letters 5/29 & 5/30

[TickledTink]

I got two letters, mailed Tues 5/31, received in San Diego Thurs 6/2 written with RTC paper and envelopes.

 

Letter 1, 5/29:

 

- "Things are hard here, I'm not gonna lie.  Every day is a 16 hr day and every minute is planned out."

- "The hardest thing to get through is all the yelling they do."

-"That remaining 6 weeks feels like an eternity."

-"Do you think I'm doing the right thing?  I used to think the RDCs enjoyed treating us like this, but the longer I'm here the more I see that they do care, they just can't too nice about it."

"Boot camp is a dark place sometimes.  Nobody says how much they like Boot camp, but everyone always talks about A school and getting out of here."

-"I sit and wonder sometimes, what have I gotten myself into?  Maybe at the end of the 6 weeks, I'll have an answer then."

-"Sundays are free time from 7AM until 1PM.  I get to iron, fold, clean and write letters."

-"I miss everyone so much, but I miss you the most.  Yeah, I even miss the dog, too."

-"I miss good Mexican food so bad!  You need to eat some for me.  It's been strange to eat 3 meals a day."

-"I fight every day to hold back the tears because I hate being away from you.  There are days I wish I had just stayed home with you.  If this is how it's going to be all the time, then I won't make a career out of this.  I want to see my kids grow up and spend my time growing old with you."

-"Every Sunday we start with a 60 minute phone call and every time we screw up, we lose time off our call so next week we shall see how long that call is."

 

Letter 2, 5/30:  (much more upbeat)

 

-"Memorial Day has a new meaning for me now that I'm in the military."

-"I think we have 39 or 38 days left, there is no real way for me to tell.  They just tell us what to do and then we do it."

-"There is so much that goes on here, I can't put it all in a letter, but I'm sure it will make for some interesting conversation.  I have gotten a taste of what Brandon went through and if he can do it, so can I!"

-"I know it's a little random, but I was wanting to go to Disneyland the other day."

-"Also, I miss my bed!  You can imagine what the sleeping situation is like here.  And a private f***ing shower!  You can imagine what that is like, too."

-"You better have beaten Epic Mickey by now!  Just saying!"

-"I have made some friends to help the time pass.  My bunk mate is another [same last name] from South Carolina.  There are also 3 guys from San Diego."

-"Everyone says that the time flies right by?  I know it's not flying by, but the days seem a little shorter, so that helps."

-"I almost have so much going on that I rarely think about things outside of these walls.  I think that is the point.  I think of you often before I go to bed at night."

-"Oh another interesting fact...Chicago has random weather.  We never really know what it's going to be like, but it's cold every night."

-"The RDCs only let us out to practice marching or to go to another building to do something."

-"The only week I'm looking forward to (besides the last week) is the week we get to shoot.  I'll do just fine with that."

-"I swear I feel like this place is a prison sometimes.  I only serve an 8 week sentence."

-"I feel proud to be here, but that only gets me so far and I need some comfort to be able to continue on."

-"If nobody is really leaving the military right now then things can't be that bad and Rob said it was pretty good, though I don't feel like I'm gonna stay 20 years, I want to spend time with my family.  I don't want to be absent from their lives all the time."

-"There are 2 other guys here who are also 27 and 1 who is 29.  So I'm not the oldest, but I do at times feel like I am too old for the new generation, a lot of them are 21 or younger.  At least I am too old to go out with them and do stupid stuff.  As long as I have video games and the gym, I'll be ok"

-"There are 3 other guys in this division who are goin gto A school with me.  I won't be completely alone there, and I could have a chance at making new friends.."

-"I may never see any of these guys again, but we went through some s*** together and I'll never forget them."

-"Even though the Navy is trying to change me so I can do the job they gave me, I think I'm still the same dude, except I cry more than I used to [in 9 years I have seen him cry only a handful of times, he's usually not a crier] because of being away from you.  I hope the Navy never takes that from me.  I want my heart to hurt while I'm away from you, you deserve that much after all these years.  I think this whole experience has made me appreciate everything more, including you."

[joel's_rackie]

TickledTink: this is so nice of your husband.. Got a 4 page letter from Joel. I am so glad that our SR are in the same division.. I guess the only thing we could do now is pray for both of them and also their whole division. Thanks for sharing this.

* we totally should meet when you visit your family here in the bay area!!

[linda23]

priceless,,, I am crying!