PIR 10/15/10

Nathan's mom - you're not alone! No call or letters here yet. Trying to wait patiently but it's tough. Glad to be back at work so at least I'm distracted a bit. We have to hear from them sooner or later :)

Okay, I have a confession....I called the and left the chaplain a phone message because I want to make sure that my son has the opportunity to go to church. I also want to the church leaders to know who he is and check on him. The chaplain hasn't called me back and who knows if he will. Isn't that what the chaplain is for?

Well no letter for me today either! Was dissappointing but I'm blaming the holiday (it's what I do when I'm wiating on stuff) that the mail is always behind a few days...I sure hope that a letter comes for all of us this week...Hugs! We all hafta keep strong!

I know wewill all get letters this week !! I know they dont always get to write thier first week there but they should deff. gotten to write this past sunday!!! keep your heads up ladies!! We will all get letters hopefully this thursday or friday!!

Good Morning to all. No mail yesterday and am going out of town tomorrow for 5 days, so if I don't get a letter today, then I will have to wait till I get home to get anything! Its so disappointing. Am crying at the drop of a hat. We need 2 rooms so we are staying at the quality inn.

Good Morning Everyone. No letter for me either yesterday. I was so disappointed. I know my son doesn't like to write, but I told him even an "I'm ok Mom" would do it for me! He left 3 weeks ago today. I took him out for breakfast... I wonder what he's having for breakfast today? This is SO HARD!!!

With our group and the letter issue, we noticed a "pattern" in when we would get them. Im in AZ, so my letter day was Wednesday, midwest was Tuesdays and and ca and far east was thrusdays. They usually get to write on sundays, however, for our group, one of the divisions had little contact. Seemed to be an issue with a few in the division "getting the hang of it" and unfortunately, all can be punished for a few. Remember, no news is good news, and for those that do get letters, share what you feel comfortable with. Alot won't get much. Some of our kids just arent great letter writers. Mine, we did write every sunday, but most of the time it was short and not alot of information, as he was always tired and then he got sick, so he choose that "free time" that they get to write letters on sunday to sleep.

Division 948 - you may get to see pictures of your SR 2 weeks prior to their PIR on the Navys facebook page. PIctures are posted of the performing divisions, so you may get a glance.

Welcome Ashley! I love this site... it just makes what I'm feeling seem ok. It's nice to know we're not alone!

No letter for me either ship 12 div 347!!! i better get one by the end of the week or i might need to resorte to my cookie dough ice cream for comfort !!!!! haha j/k but i really do want a letter or call this week!!!! : ) Keep your heads up ladies

@ ashley...thanks for making me laugh! Yes, I hope we all get a letter or a call soon. I did have a strange dream the other night. My son was sitting at the end of my bed and he told me that four boys went home. I asked him if he felt like he was going to make it and got his usual response, "MOM I'M FINE." He looked great in my dream. Very strange......

Yes, I was just talking to my mom and I told her I am not having fun right now. I need to laugh. So she started to fake laugh and totally cracked me up.....so let's all laugh, even if it is fake.

No, I am not psychic......I just had a strange dream and want to laugh. I'm sure my son is fine.

Hey Ashley, did you draw your profile picture? Also, I agree too, thanks for everyone's friendship and support. Everyone here has helped me learn something more about the Navy and what to expect! You are all awesome!

deemedic - that's my biggest fear too! So I guess not getting a call is a good sign...

demedic & pink helmet....That is a good way to look at not getting a phone call....no news is good news.

Hi ashley bob12, I certainly agree, your artwork is beautiful! Well today is 3 weeks that my son is gone and I, too, am anxious to get a letter. His recruiter seems to think that they got a chance to write on Sunday and we should be receiving a letter soon. It's not soon enough as far as I'm concerned (LOL). Hurry up!!!!

Hello Everyone, I just wanted to let you all know what i've recently learned. My husband got a short phone call home monday bc they needed me to send out some paperwork. SO i got to talk to him for a breif minute. I wanted to let you all know that he send he had just received my letter from aug 30th this past saturday and had got a chance to write back. Also he said they should be getting their first phone call home sunday, but not to hold him to it. So hopefully we will all be receiving letters and phone calls this weekend! :) GOD BLESS YOU ALL AND YOUR WONDERFUL FAMILIES! <3

Chris, how did you husband sound? How is his ship and division doing? My son is in the same ship and division! Thank you for giving us the heads up!!

Regarding phone calls - I HIGHLY suggest that you write down, in advance, questions you have. What happened in our group, you are so emotional about hearing from your SR, and the time goes very quickly, you may not get the informaotin that you need or want. On average, and this is only an average, they get about 25 minutes total when they do get to call, other than the final "Im a sailor call, then its about an hour. The area code is 847, so keep your phones close and I again, if you get a call from your SR, post it, so that others in your divisoin know to keep an ear out.

I hope you everyone of you gets a letter this week. I am 2.5 weeks past PIR and just reread my letters, the change you will see as the weeks progress is amazing.

Chris'swife and trashar - Thanks for the information and the encouragement...just what I needed to read after making another trip to an empty mailbox :) Staying positive in PA.

Hi everyone! I'm new to this group.. but the no letters & phone calls are old to me too! 36 days & COUNTING! YAY! :)

Awesome! That's the kind thing I like to hear. I'm trying to stay positive even though I'm so use to talking to my hubby everyday. I'm sure everyone hear feels the same way. Thanks ladies! Let's bring on the phone calls & letters!!!!

Chris's wife thanks for sharing. Good to know Sunday might be the phone call day. Sooo glad you got a call and were able to talk to your husband. I hope they need more paperwork from you so he gets to call again.

Welcome Kaleena!!!!!!

thanks :)

Does anyone know if there is a limited amount of people that can come to graduation? I understand you have to be on a visitor list but do they have a limit? We have 5 or 6 family members wanting to go.

I'm having the same problem ....the form letter says 4 people for graduation; however, I have a bunch of people that want to attend. Any suggestions?

Well we haven't even received the form letter yet. Can you tell me when you received your letter.

My son arrived BC on August 19th....I got the form letter I believe on August 30th. It is cool because some of the other mothers got theirs the same day....this is a great website!

Regarding PIR - you will get the 4 that are on the list in for sure. Depending on how large your group is, you "may" be able to get more in. What happens is that they seat your 4 first, and then once it starts and everyone is seated, if there is extra room, then they will allow them in. OUr group only had 5 divisions, so it wasn't in issue.

Calls - yes, they can get an extra call for good perfomance, that happened with my sons division. Please don't anticipate calls based on other divisions, it will drive you crazy.

PST's - alot do miss times in the beginning but remember, their RDC's are invested in getting them through. They may end up with extra IT to help them, but I don't know of anyone in our PIR group that didn't make it due to times. I will say, keep sending postive letters, news from home, etc, it's what keeps them going in BC.

One note - lesson learned the hard way by someone in our PIR group - do NOT write anything on the outside of the envelope other than the addresses, as they can get in trouble for that. ALso, don't sent musical cards, they may end up standing at attention, singing the song for awhile if you do.

My boyfriend left on the 24th I hope his mom gets it soon.

Hi Ashley,
I I would love for you to meet my son on PIR day..... he is an artist too and your drawings are so much like his..... and thanks for offering your artistic knowledge to this group.

That's for sure... You are one of kind.... He is so good that my husband who did not have any appreciation for art.... sees art from a totally different point of view now....Yeah, I would love to meet all of you during M&G, although I was reading someone else past experiences at the Ramada and I am having second thought about that particular place....

Glad to share my information, hope it lift some spirts! :) 10/15 will be here before we know it!! :)

Hi Everyone! I just wanted to share that my sister who lives about 65 miles south of Great Lakes received a letter from my son today! I haven't gotten one yet, but I'm hoping that it's because I live in CA and it takes longer to get here! I'm optomistic for one tomorrow. I think this bodes well for the rest of you in divisions around 344!

He told her that it's not as bad as he thought. They spend a lot of time standing at attention and they don't get to talk during meals. He also said you have to make your rack a certain way in a certain amount of time. This makes me laugh because I don't think the child ever made his bed when he was home! :)

Hang in there ladies - we can do this!

Welcome Kaleena! My son is in division 344 too! I hope I get to meet you at PIR!

......."Hectic but a very happy day"....
I can't wait

Thanks Chris'Girl! I hope you get one soon too!!

Thats so awesome she got a letter !! This makes the rest of us hope thiers something in our mailbox by the end of the week!! Hopefully!!

Oh Pink Helmet that's wonderful! I'm so glad that at least your sister heard from him. I'm in AZ so I hope you're right. We may get that letter tomorrow! I think that they expect it to be worse than it really is. So that's a good thing that he said it isn't so bad. They must have a new appreciation of how easy they had it at home ! (LOL)

Thanks Pink Helmet. :) my husband is in the same div.... also my hubby never makes a bed so thats pretty funny.. maybe they will start new habbits :)

Ok - Here's the scoop!!! I just got off the phone with Anastasia's. They don't have a "Meet & Greet" per se, but they do have a back room in their restaurant that seats 60-75 people for dinner. I went ahead and reserved that for Thursday the 14th at 7 pm for us N4M's! They are located very close to the Wal-Mart that is apparently next to SpringHill Suites.

If you guys could help me out by RSVPing to my inbox with how many you think will attend, that would be great. They are asking for a loose head count so they can staff accordingly

Can't wait to meet you ALL!!!!!

Ref; Anastasia's - thanks Pink Helmet -- count me and my company in (4 in total)

Making the bed the right way as they learned there does not stick with them..... Not even making the bed at all.... My husband is an Army Veteran and my 14 years old boy makes the bed better than him.... Sorry Ladies... I don't want to brake your bubble but.....

Thank for all the warm welcomes everyone! Pink Helmet- you just made my nite! I'm excited to hear that she got a letter! YAY! There is hope! I hope to meet you at PIR also. :)

it looks like ship12 div344 has a TON of the sailors with wives/girlfriends/fiances ;) too cute

Pink Helmet, I went on Anastasia's website. www.eatatanastasias.com. You can click on their menu to see what kind of food they have. They even have coupons!

Good Morning! Only 35 more days!!!!!

Ashley - my mail doesn't come til 5 pm so I have to wait even longer! Argh!!!!!!

wow seeing thirty five days doesnt seem that long anymore. i cant wait!

Good Morning! Soooo... I'm at work and I don't get home until almost 7 in the evening... Ladies keep me informed if you get a letter... I may have to leave early today if you all get yours!!! :-)