Boot Camp Moms (and loved ones)

Katharine - UGH! how rude! PR help needed indeed! Maybe you will get a personal letter this week and a phone call this weekend? 

Shanny - great idea on Katharine throwing her son's name out there in his PIR group...

party - hi! thanks for all your well wishes - and that goes for everyone. All the rain we had was a blessing with it came to that gas explosion/fire. Now if only we could get the rain to stop as the ditches are poor here and our property is the lowest spot and we become the drainage for the whole street!

party - I only half replied to you - my mind is all over the place. Went grocery shopping and told myself enough is enough for today but part of me wants to tackle pots/pans and one last cabinet in the kitchen. I just want my goal to be done!

You may not want me purging at your house - I am brutal. I have few sentimental items and that is it. 

We hope to move out of state this year and hubby's work is more amicable about it - they have to deal with state income tax where we want to move and normally it is a big headache and permission is needed but they have all their staff working remotely and put it out there they are open to anyone moving just about anywhere. So we want to strike while iron is hot!

I thinking writing privileges are up to the RDCs as all my kids said they could write nightly.

LadyBlueFire,

I concur. This COVID is a pain. 

LadyBluefire - I'd love it if you came and purged. I am pretty good, my husband is great ..... the kids .... especially our oldest. We are now sending her home with a box every time she comes to visit. She comes every 2-3 weeks. She still has 3 crates in the garage, he closet is jammed floor to ceiling with boxes, I think there are 4-5 in the attic, and her old furniture is still full. I sometimes wonder if she is sneaking stuff back into this house. 

I have 8 boxes of charity from last week. I still have so much to go through, but I can only "do decisions" for an hour or two at a time, and then I start getting weak (or just tired).

We are moving in the spring too, but I am focusing more on getting the house ready. The upcoming rainy months are good for the decluttering. 

One of the Moms on my PIR FB board posted: 
I know the website to check records is down right now. I was on with our are router when you posted that. He was trying to check something for me.

I sent the rude RTC response to the Recruiting office (who had told me to contact RTC). I told that I had read a rumor that there were database problems all over, and should I message back tomorrow? This is his answer:
This number is who owns the record but he cannot access that database so I don't know what he would be able to do all of the sudden tomorrow. 

Is rudeness contagious? Should I bother the "person who owns the record" tomorrow? I don't want to be one of THOSE moms, but recruiters across the country have given out Divisions before and after ROM. Is this just a Seattle thing?

Katharine - This is only my personal opinion not info from any source - but my perception is that each recruiting office adheres the the "rules" to some extent based on the strictness of their command. Yours may just be holding to the letter of the law a lot stricter than others do. 

I really feel for you and if I wasn't a few more years into this I would most likely be writing another email to PA explaining the situation and ask them what there policy is for when a form letter is likely lost in the US Postal service. But I honestly don't think it will help. 

DavesMom2020 - B'sNukemom posted the info in a discussion above but not sure if it is elsewhere visible on this site, I have not looked for it. My suggestion - for those of you still closely associated with your recruiting office is to contact them directly and them them know your own experience and what you feel would be beneficial for their new recruits and families. You can also let them know about N4M. - Again, my personal opinion - people are in their own boxes and they don't always know what else is out there, unless you help share it with them - Nicely and politely!

As for Sandboxx during ROM - Partyofseven - I think BelovedbyHim had said something about them not getting forwarded but regular mail was suppose to. 

Shanny - Check with a tree person about your Mulberry tree. You could look up on Google. There are ways that people kill stumps without having someone else do it, but a tree person might help with the grinding of the stump and the stuff they pour down to kill. I have heard of the wives tales but will refrain.

VintageGal - So sorry to hear about your SR - It is tough, we want to hug and comfort our kids. They have feelings and emotions to and this is hard on them as well. Know we are here to support you as you send your love and encouragement to your SR. 

Kim - I concur with LadyBluefire - The admins have always stressed to us to wait for the FL before mailing, because they may not have an accurate address. The reason for encouraging a contact to a recruiter is after 5 weeks of not receiving a FL, especially since we have had several not receive one. 

Northwoodsmom - mine was one who told me after the fact of not going to church services so that his bunk mate could attend and he did tasks for his shipmate in return. 

Everyone my thoughts and prayers are with you this evening. 

Chipmunk,

Hey, Let's try that again. Lol

Yes that is correct. I checked and regular mail gets forwarded but Sandboxx does not. I remembered that one. Lol

How was your day? Mine was busy but it's been a good Monday. 

Hi Partyofseven, 

Mine was a good but busy day. Accomplished some of what I wanted and needed and other stuff still to be done.!

I am glad you had a good Monday!

Shanny - Thanks for helping out today!! I had to laugh at the comment about your SR and his hands. Bleach water is no fun!!

Navymom1975 - Welcome to the group!! 

Chipmunk:  i had written to him and told him about the lady who was calling and writing RTC about bleach water. I am sure the guys had a laugh over that. And when. He called me he made sure to mention it. And he made sure to ell me if I did that he would kill me in my sleep!  

I hope it didn't seem like i was butting in...  I always know if I give bad advice someone will correct me. And I try not to say anything if I am clueless-which I am most of the time. 

@chipmunk Thank you for the welcome

Shanny,

No you are not. We are all learning to. We all help each other and help the other if something was said wrong. I've done it a few times lol and the ladies have been helpful about it.

I love the story about the bleach water to. I use it every day at the day care where I work. So I get it. Lol 

Chipmunk- No it's not. I got a few spots on one pair of pants and one pair of shoes. Lol 

New Navy mom, from Illinois, and just feeling completely over whelmed. I know it will get better with time, I know he will make it, I hope I do ;) 

NavyMom1975:  welcome to the group!!!  You have found the right place and the right group of women to help!  Please feel free to ask any questions you may have-as they always tell me here-no question is a dumb one. 

I am in week 8 with a PIR (graduation) expected for my son this Thursday!  It is completely overwhelming. Welcome to the group!

partyofseven:  as soon as I give advice or answer a question,  I second guess myself. Not really the most confident person. But I'm trying. 

Shanny - I understand. I have been on this site for three years now and there are times I still get reprimanded or told I don't know what I am talking about. Which is why I start saying, IMO, a lot. And then my husband has to remind me to not take it personally either!! I had asked for your help because I am not on FB to know the different groups and who might have been able to figure something out. 

I also look at it this way. We all volunteer our time on here, even the Admins - which I am not one, just to clarify - we do what we can to help out, to encourage, to answer questions as best as we can. It really is a group process and we all pull together hopefully as a team, just like our SRs are being expected to do.  For some, there part is to just read and glean and that is okay. For others the more active they are on here, the easier it is for them to get through the day and they feel like they are helping another and that is also okay. Some of us, just don't like questions left unanswered and we want to be on, but other duties are calling for us to get done and some are doing things behind the scenes that we may or may not even know, just to keep this group going. Whatever part we play, our goal I think is to be as helpful and understanding as we can. But sometimes,  we might say something that doesn't come out just exactly maybe as it should - or sounds too tough or too harsh and that is when my husband reminds me, I have to brush off and forgive and forget. 

Chipmunk:  i am stalking the board this week until I see any kind of update on BS21. Because I know at some point I hope to get the call this week. Nothing got done today. Nothing at all. Because I kept checking my phone. And I was afraid if I put my phone in my pocket, I wouldn't hear it ring. So I have tried to be helpful today. Haha. My eyes are like no more lady no more screen time. 

Navymom1975 - You are welcome. I posted some things in your discussion above. One of our regulars on here is unavailable for awhile but she likes to say, "We haven't lost a mom to BC yet and we won't start with you.!"  - The emotional roller coaster is hard and we learn to go with the waves - Semper Gumby - Always flexible, along with "No News is Good News" and "Answer all phone calls - and hang up on the telemarketers" (just make sure you confirmed it was not your SR or sailor calling you first!!) are all things we learn to live by. 

BC is your training ground as well to prepare you for when they go to school and then out into the fleet!!

Partyofseven - I avoid bleach as much as possible for that very reason. We use a lot of vinegar and baking soda in our house as well as Lysol is always handy, It is a good bug killer especially since we had animals (so no bait) and kids who did not like spiders!

Shanny - My eyes are like that by the end of the day as well!

Chipmunk- I do to. What is IMO? 

Vingear and baking soda I'll remember that. 

My eyes get like that to at the end of the day.

Shanny, you have about anytime time for your call. But don't get so anxious ok. It is so exciting but nerve racking to. Lol 

Navymom1975- Welcome to our group. Sorry I got to chatting and forgot to say it. So, welcome to our group. We are glad u are here. 

No question is wver dumb and someone will answer you.

There is some good information for you to read. It is very helpful. 

You qill learn the words No news is good news. And boot camp does prepare us parents to as our SR's go thru it so do we. 

Welcome again.  

Partyofseven:  IMO= in my opinion 

Shanny,

Thank you. :) 

Katherine-  I have been following the emails  however I have no answers to give.  I guess as a last ditch you could write a letter, make copies and send one to every DIV with his expected PIR date but it's a really long shot that one will reach him.  (Plus a waste of postage but, I guess it depends on how desperate you are. ) There are always SR's who don't get mail because their parents never find us here or the FB groups.   He's 3(ish) weeks from graduating  so it sounds like your only real choice is to wait.  I am truly sorry and if I could tell RTC what to do, and thought they might listen,  I'd have them be more helpful. 

Yes they get thousands of emails from parents every week.   That is a standard reply.

Katherine-  I have been following the emails  however I have no answers to give.  I guess as a last ditch you could write a letter, make copies and send one to every DIV with his expected PIR date but it's a really long shot that one will reach him.  (Plus a waste of postage but, I guess it depends on how desperate you are. ) There are always SR's who don't get mail because their parents never find us here or the FB groups.   He's 3(ish) weeks from graduating  so it sounds like your only real choice is to wait.  I am truly sorry and if I could tell RTC what to do, and thought they might listen,  I'd have them be more helpful. 

Yes they get thousands of emails from parents every week.   That is a standard reply.

Shanny - Thanks!! 

Party - I am sorry!! I rarely use acronyms but that is one I think I learned from on this site some place and had to look up. I think people also use IHMO for "in my humble opinion" - Not sure. 

By the way, even my sailor told me this - if searching Google for something related to the Navy - I put in my acronym or whatever - Navy, and I am more likely to come up with an appropriate reply. 

VintageGal - I am sure your mail will be much appreciated by your SR. It can be really hard to readjust to our expectations and in the middle of our valley it can seem like a really long time that we are stuck there. 

I know this is really far off the path but where my brain is at this time of day. I was in labor with our eldest and had a student doctor checking on me. He told my husband that I should have this baby before the morning - which was only about 4 hours away at the most, probably but all I heard in my mind was "this is going to take forever, because it won't be morning until tomorrow which is a long time off, since I have been in labor since the afternoon." In other words or perspective can be very off! So keep encouraging as much as possible!!

*our perspective

Katharine - Hugs! Prayers for your SR and you!!

VintageGal,

I'm glad you posted. And I know it was hard talking to him but now he knows and that was good you were able to remind him that yes it is only temporay. 

He will love his mail. Big hugs to you!!

VintageGal - that is so great that he was able to write his siblings. Mine wrote his brother the first time around but after that it was short. 

Chipmunk (you were the last, but not the only, and not the first today) thank-you for all the hugs and wishes. If it were not for all of you, I may have gone mad.

One of my PIR parents PM'ed me. It seems that there have been a few problems with "mail people" in this TG. One of the Divisions is on their third because of covid, and some parents in this Division are just now getting their personal letters. COVID!!!! AGAIN!!!

So I will be patient and retry all known avenues tomorrow. So far, I should count my lucky stars that my SR has not called me with the covid call. No news  is good news. It will all work out in the end. My boy is strong and will be fine with a delay in letters from me .... more than I am without letters from him. He is busy and I need to keep busy too (my daughter and I picked about 60 pounds of apples today to process ... we only have two trees!!! ... and there is the attic ... and the garage .... and the squashes .... and pickles ... and tomatoes .... and dogs' toenails .... and the closets ....). 

You gals are my rocks and I cannot imagine trying to get through this without all of you being there to hear me rant and complain and whine. I am off to bed ... I am taking sage advice from wise owls that have reached out to me, and will be getting up before the crack of dawn to pursue my quest. 

Happy autumn/solstice eve to everyone (I cannot believe my long summer nights are half-eroded). Hugs to all the ROM-moms (your kids will be fine ... they are young and healthy), New-moms (you will all do better than I have), and nearly-grad moms (we are all looking up to you and counting our days/hours). 

I *know* I will have better news when I come back tomorrow ......... OR ELSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

VintageGal,

You got letters today!!! Whoo hoo. I'm glad he sounds better. I'm sure it wass hard for him to see the hall but he will see it again. That's good to know they got a powerful speech now prayers for all of them to get healthy.

I'm glad he wrote his siblings. U know they love hearing from him. 

That what happens when my mind is racing faster than my fingers. Lol I meant to say I'm glad you posted and let us know what was happening. 

Katharine,

You are very welcome. I believe it. It does take a qhile for them to train someone to do the mail. Keep being patient while you are waiting. Big hugs!!!

Katherine - I’ve been watching your post closely all day. You are definitely being trained on tolerance of bureaucracy!!!!  I’m sorry for the frustration you must feel. I would be in the same boat if it weren’t for my son’s recruiter’s quick response (just hope the address he gave me is correct).  I still have not gotten the FL!!  I did ask my sons recruiter if he had access to all SRs addresses, and if so, could he help you. He responded that he can only see his recruits... Did you say your SR is a son? Maybe our SRs are in the same division since we both haven’t gotten FL. On FB, a parent from a town about 20 miles from me got her FL on 9/14 (same PIR as my son). Anyway, my SR address is ship 12, division 391 if you want to send copies of letters there on the off chance your SR is there too. I anxiously await good news from you. 

Outside of going back to ROM, in his letter he said that Wednesday is his favorite day because he gets to go church and he has a new favorite bible verse Proverbs 2:22. He said it really apples to boot camp. 

We just watched “Faces of Boot camp” which we hadn’t watched yet. I had only seen Boot Camp: making of a sailor. The Navy allergies are strong with this one. I’m so proud of him and I wish for his peace of mind right now. 

I saw that all of you were super busy taking care of house work and work in general. I haven’t seen the status on the fires. I hope it’s dwindling for our friends on the west coast. Our Vegas skies were a bit more clear today. Thank goodness. Please! No more zombie apocalypse looking skies!  

I hope everyone has a restful night zzzz :) 

Thank you Ladies, I see all the Love and compassion and how you rally around each other trying to help and it makes my heart smile. I needed to see and feel this because the world seems to be so full of hate and I get so discouraged but through all of your genuine kindness I can still find hope. Thank you and God Bless!

Chipmunk & LadyBlue - Thanks you cautioning on possible inaccurate address. We did send a sandboxx letter in hopes it would reach our SR tonight. Also sent our first letters after making copies. If the eventual FL address is different we plan to resend. Sending did give us a little comfort though, LOL. We will keep you posted.

Navy1975 - these ladies here are great so read, read, read!!! We are from the same state as you. Hoping it makes letter sending quicker down the road lol.

Kim - You are welcome! Personally, with the way things have been going from what we are hearing, the current mail situation, etc. - I think if I was in your shoes, I would be trying every avenue possible to connect to my SR. Being aware that the address may be incorrect at least lets you know that you should be paying close attention when your letter does come. 

Katharine - My summer was very busy during BC and it is what kept me going. My summers always end way too soon though and I start loosing daylight and I slow down! And yes count your blessings.

VintageGal - The only medicine for Navy allergies, is to let them flow and then fill your cup with some goodness and love to send to your SR or others. 

Everyone have a great day!!! Another busy one for me. 

NavyMom - as what the seasoned moms on here say - “we haven’t lost a mom yet” welcome!

Shanny - hugs! What an exciting week! You can kinda get an idea when he will call (day wise) they try to do groups of 4 for divisions and common sense would say in div order based on day of training.

Katharine- when  I am done here (hopefully this week) I will be right over! With 5 kids we had a limit on everything - 10 of each, pieces of clothing to toys. Now all I have left of my Navy kids are 2 totes and a few things too big for totes. We have no garage but we do have a Harry Potter closet for the tool box and then my laundry room doubles as some garage storage and a busted up shed where we keep bikes and lawn mower. Good luck today and may you get a regular personal letter from your son!!!!

Vintage - once they are on to A school and then the fleet their struggle at RTC will be as distant to them as the pain of childbirth, lol. You know it hurt but you can’t recall the depths of pain, ha! LOL I said this to you and then read your follow up comment about childbirth, hee hee! It is the simple things that make me laugh.

Northwoodsmom - BNMH!!!!! There is more compassion in the world than the media would like us to think.

Kim- your son is still in P Days and they can’t get mail then, I am not sure how long after training starts they can as one of the recruits has to be trained on mail. If he is moved to a different division the SB letter will not forward and I am not sure what happens to a letter that arrives to a ship before the recruit does. He won’t be at that address until the end of P5. Right now your son is on ship 1. I would print that same letter out and mail it to the same address you sent that one to just to make sure he gets it. SB letters only arrive at RTC same day or next - but it still takes a few days or so to get to our kids. My SR who PIR 10/22 is only on day 3 of training and it may be early yet for him to get mail. I am restraining myself big time not to mail off yet. I have been writing to him daily since August 27. Perfect timing as August 26 was the last day I could write my 3rd SR as you should stop writing about a week before PIR. This week I will mail off the letters. I should be getting my FL tomorrow or Thursday.

kim - reading is key - I see you did make copies of letters already, which is a good habit to get into in ALL of your letters. Anything that gives you comfort is good to do. I did send a SB letter to my 3rd only because he was so down and I wanted him cheered up ASAP but the funny thing was he was only said for that moment and I ended up being sad til his next letter came and in that he was all pumped up and excited - what a rollercoaster!

LadyBlue - Thanks for the info, you are good at this lol. Yes, Kim and I (this is hubby Troy btw) were under the impression that he was in P-days last week since his ROM should have ended on the 15th and his PIR appears to be on 10/29. It appears we are getting ahead of ourselves. With all that said we can still be satisfied that No News is Good News!!!

Kim/Troy - trial by fire! 4 kids shipped out this year - February thru August. 2 of them had to do the 14 day ROM. (so far 0/3 seeing them graduate - my 3rd got pulled just before they marched for the video as a kid said he had chest pains)

Mine arrived on a Thursday so his P Days and Training Days start on Fridays. Weekends do not count.

If yours last day of ROM was 9/15 then today would be P5 and he would  be moving to his ship and your Form Letter will be mailed out today. Your first call home you can expect around 10/10. Mine I expect on 10/3. I made a calendar for mine - you can adjust for your dates to get an idea.
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I kinda felt bad - like I was telling a kid Santa isn't real - emotions aren't logical so doing w/e makes you feel better can't hurt anyone!

LadyBlue - This info helps a lot! Obviously part of our struggle has just been wondering what they are doing day to day and and being new to BC process we've obviously made assumptions. We truly appreciate everyone's guidance. If you don't mind me asking what can we assume he was doing last week after arriving onboard RTC leading up to P-days?

Kim/Toby - I can't tell you what he was doing in ROM as once  I got a handle on it with #3 they switched to Ft McCoy - which I think they learned a few things there like bed making and some marching but anything else would be conjecture.

I could tell you what P days used to be like - Shots and exams. Blood draws for special forces, EOD (not sure what that means), Divers, Aircrew. Form Letters. DEP test, Life insurance, setting up direct deposit.
Eye exam, measure for glasses (birth control, lol) and female birth control.
Dental checks, x rays, shots. 
Military law training (UCMJ), 1st work out, PFA test..

Good Morning Ladies and welcome to all of our new moms,

Keep those phones on hand and those ringers on loud as you don't want to miss any calls. 

Prayers for letters and calls to come in.

Shanny- It's any day now you should be getting your call. It is so exciting you are almost there.  :)

Kim-Troy, it's good to have you on here. Yes, the mail is crazy right now but like LadyBluefire said patience is everything. You should be hearing something soon. :)

VintageGal- Good Morning. Happy Fall to you as well and to everyone!!! That's why I always say if you feel like crying do it. It truly is good for our soul. 

Also, your son sounds like mine. He said the same thing except it was you have Bentley mom. Bentley is my grandson. Lol  My Sailor is my baby. So yeah. I'm right there with you!! Lol

Same here my class is getting ready to start. 

LadyBluefire- Good Morning. 

Katharine- Prayers for you to hear something today. Big Hugs!!!

Kim/Toby - the rest of the weeks are being condensed and some things are eliminated. So I could not tell you what each week holds.