Boot Camp Moms (and loved ones)

No news is good news but what if you don't understand the news?

My Sailor just Hangouts messaged me this - 

S:i have to go to thu, wont be a a school for a while 

Me: Ok. You have your phone? "You have to go to thu"? Does that mean you stay at BC until then?

S: no phoone, computer

Me: Why

S: idk on reason

Me: Ook ... too full on the other side maybe? How are you talking now?

S: computer at basic, i should leave before i get in trouble love you all

Katharine:  if he is staying in Compartment, he is in the bootcamp barracks. Usually because THU is full or they are leaving within a couple of days.  My son stayed in compartment for 3 days before they left for A School. There are computers in the NEX I believe. They can be given permission to use them. If A School doesn’t have room, they go into a holding pattern. My son has been at A School for 3 weeks. I got excited he was finally starting classes last week and it was just a one day firefighting/salvage class. So he is back to waiting. They don’t get their cell phones in compartment but they do in THU. 

Ok .... so THU isn't Thursday, it is a place. That makes way more sense!!

He is only going across the street so it's not a huge move for him. Bummed about the phone though. I wanted to talk to him :(. 

THU is temporary housing. Kind of like a holding space. I can ask my son for specifics if you want. He never went into THU. He went from compartment to A School. He is online right now so I can ask

Thank Shanny Since he is just going across the street, it would make sense to keep him in compartment if it is only for a few days. Makes more sense than moving twice. And I read that there is a Pensacola batch in THU that is delayed for a few weeks ..... may as well save THU space for longer residents. 

Katharine:  he said THU is the temporary housing unit on the base side away from bootcamp. He never went in so he isn’t sure how it is set up. But he said he believes they get their personal belongings back only when they leave compartment to go to THU or A School. He thinks they get phone time while in compartment on certain days but he wasn’t there long enough

Shanny - Thank-you. I would have thought that they would get a phone call to let their families know they did not get lost after BC. Even just a 2-minute "I'm on hold ... don't worry". If he hadn't snuck in to some computer, I would have called the posse!! 

Hopefully this won't be a long delay .... I have packages to send! Halloween treats too. 

Well, it's been a very long ten days at our house. Son called on Wed., 10/8 to say he was being sent back because he failed his run. I was literally in the shower when he called. He only had two minutes, so I was focused on encouraging him. So I don't have his new Div. #, I don't know if he has been sent back for three weeks, or sent into the FIT program, or what his state of mind is like. I am going crazy not knowing if he is ok and the "no news is good news" shit is getting old on this side. I am trying to keep busy, but I feel like I'm drowning again.

Hugabugs - I am so sorry to hear this news!! I wish I had more information for you but I am just not as knowledgeable regarding set backs for the run. I have you received my PMs? I believe I have sent at least one to you recently. 

Yes, some things just get old and there is nothing we can do about it, and it is frustrating and emotionally draining on us as well. My encouragement is that hopefully, he is going to a new division and getting a chance to work with others and get his run back on track. 

Hugabugs - Boy do I feel your frustration. I think GL needs to invest in some more phones and let the SR's (and Sailors in my case) phone to give us better status updates, even if it is just 2 minutes. If my boy had not somehow found a computer (one day I'll be able to ask about that), I would have no idea where he was. I don't think a 2-minute phone call when statuses change is too much to ask (and maybe on a phone that is understandable????).

I know they are preparing and training us too, but it may be possible that they overtrain our gentle hearts. I know it was worse in the past, but we are not IN  the past, and are used to a very different world. But I guess they must know what they are doing .... we have the finest fighting force in the world with the finest sailors in the world. And a bunch of impatient sailor families.

Shanny - I am glad that you were able to answer katharine's questions. I was unavailable most of the day. 

Katharine - yes, this is very frustrating and it is totally different with how things are, in one sense, regarding the phones but not really in another sense.  

Most likely there are extra sailors in THU (away from the BC side) in a holding pattern due to not able to travel because of storms any number of things. I know when Nukes have been evacuated from their A school, those who are at GL have to go on hold until they can be brought to the school.

Also, if a sailor is still on the BC side they have never been allowed to have their phone after PIR, even when it was live. Before they started boxing and keeping phones at RTC, if you had a sailor flying out to their A school, they stayed on the BC side and they could not go back to their ship with a phone in their hand after PIR. We had to give it to them at the airport when they flew out that weekend.

hugabugs, I know this difficult not knowing what's going on. There is another Mom on here that just went through this with her son, I am sorry I can't recall who it was. I am praying she reaches out to you. Know that the Navy will do whatever it takes to help him through this. My son had trouble with push-ups and they had another recruit working with him. He passed his PT with more push-ups than he needed. They will put someone with your son helping him with his run. They will run with your son setting the pace, all he needs is the desire to really be a Sailor. Your encouragement means the world to him right now. Don't give up mama, he will make it and your heart will swell even more with pride because you understand the hurdles he had to go overcome to get there. Prayers for your anxious heart, know we are all here for you.

Hugabugs ... I’m so sorry you/he got that news. I hope it’s not for 3 weeks but I really don’t know. That is so frustrating I agree. Hang in there mama sending you BIG NMH!! 

I had a few pages to catch up on .... LOL $935 for photos PLUS $150 shipping?!?!  Is there a link somewhere that you can see what they can order? Just curious - that’s INSANE.

That’s the flag we have - it’s beautiful. Love that cake too WOW that’s talent!!

Kristel2400 - Here you go:

Division T-Shirts, Graduation Photos, The Keel, and DVD of PIR

If you go most of the way to the bottom there is another link that takes you to a picture of the order form. It is not a great one. I think LBF posted it on here a couple of weeks ago.

I just found this on the RTC website. It is the order information for the division T-shirts. My son bought these for us as a gift from him. GL - MWR - Tshirt order info

Hugabugs-- I am so sorry that you are stuck dealing with so much silence and unknowns.  Unfortunately for us the Navy does not care one whit about our feelings and concerns. I know that the "No News is Good News" gets old when you have repeated bouts of silence!  I have no answers but I have sympathy for your feeling and they are valid even if we cannot help with any real answers!

hugabugs, it was Redrover's son who was put back 3 weeks because of a failed run. I haven't seen her on here for a while but her son graduated and is in A school now. Maybe if she sees this she can comment on it because she went through it herself.

Thank you ladies. As usual, you are so sweet. I guess I have just been so frustrated, I just didn't know what to say. I don't even know if he is getting my letters since I don't have his new address. And if he is running when the others are writing letters, I can't really expect that I'll hear from him.

Good morning, I haven't been on in a while.  I'm so bummed. My daughter's PIR is this Thursday 10/22. She called last night saying she is being sent to ROM along with 7 other girls for 10 days due to a couple of the girls testing positive for COVID. She is SOOOO close!!! She was getting moved last night, but she wasn't sure where. She was a little teary but sounded upbeat for the most part.

I have so many questions!! Will her mail get forwarded, will she get a new address? Can she run in ROM? She was supposed to do her PFA run tomorrow. If she can't run for 2 weeks and then has to do her PFA run...I don't know. Doesn't seem right.

NWM - hugs to you as your dad has left. I hope he had a safe trip back home. My heart is with him as he gets there without his wife. I am sure that will be hard on him. So good to hear your son is excelling. Nuke school is tough!

Shanny- hope you get some relief soon! I love me a Neti Pot rinse...congrats in the new computer, lol. Reading is never a problem...

DsMom - I hope he can make it to facetime at his non-watch party with things being as up in the air as they are.

Katharine - unfortunately there is no black and white answer for THU and belongings. I have seen it all in the PIR groups on FB. Some in THU get their phone back, some don’t. Some get access to a computer to use and some don’t. My #3 stayed at RTC for a week after PIR and I had no call home.  All I had were rumors that some of his division were in a 14 day ROM. I had no clue what his status was until he called me a week later to tell me he was on his way to A school. During this time I was seeing other loved ones from his division posting selfies their SRs took while they were in THU.


Hugabugs - so sorry to hear your son was sent back. Hopefully you will get a letter from him soon with his new address. They will work with him and if he “fights” to do better he will - they want him to succeed and will do all they can to help him get better. I wonder if his recruiter has the new information? Since it has been 10 days, maybe?

Shoosh - ugh I am so sorry to hear about your daughter. Her mail will get forwarded but to help it along a mom on here had a fabulous idea of notating on the envelope that she is in ROM so they know to look for her new address - this saves them trying to deliver it to her at her old address. There is no running in ROM. They (past experience so who knows what has changed) stay indoors, social distance and sometimes watch movies/read. As young as our kids are 2 weeks of inactivity won’t affect her PFA significantly.

Good morning to everyone else! Happy Sonday!

Chipmunk - I do not think I posted a pic of the order form but  I have like 6 of them at  home, lol

I just added it up - if he put 1 of everything it is $968.00

Here is the order form for goodies from RTC.

Photo Order Form

So as far as photos go - my #4 did not want the Keel - because let's face it when you have 3 at home you have them all. So he bought package B and some extra wallets and spent $200. So now I have a kid who spent more than package A and I do not have an 11x14 of him. We even told him going in - if you are in your NWUs just get your div photo and one 11x14.  I bought 4 16x20 matted frames and his frame will have an 8x10 in it, lol All this to avoid the Keel.


We are going to be taking the 3 of them to get their photos redone in their Dress Blues ASAP.

Hugabugs - I’m sorry to hear that your son failed his run. I also got a call about the same timeframe that my son failed his run and was being set back three weeks. He has told us that he is running three times a week instead of one, so they are working with him on that. I’m sure they are doing the same for your son. It is really a bummer to be expecting the “I’m a Sailor” call and get that instead. I hope you get to talk to your son soon. 

FB Groups (and random thoughts):

• Please know that it is NOT my intention to offend/hurt anyone, nor do take my comments as if I am approving or disapproving of the several private FB groups. Like I tell my kids: always make a decision you can live with. After joining several of them (all private), I became puzzled at the level of detailed information that was being shared (in some cases going blatantly against OPSEC/PERSEC rules). I kept my posts to a bare minimum, reminding moms in one occasion of OPSEC rules (I felt like the nerd of the class…). I must admit that, at some point, I even wondered whether these groups were legit. As soon as I received our long awaited “I am a sailor call,” I left all FB groups.
• I remembered what a seasoned mom (AntiM?) posted: my Sailor belongs to the Navy now. After I gathered the courage to see the “Making a Sailor” documentary, I remembered one of the RDC’s (?) say, “We won’t quit on you, if you don’t quit on us.” It might sound silly, but that was reassuring for me, as a mom.
• I also found peace in remembering that God is always providing for our highest good, knowing that “no news is good news,” the SR/Sailor I raised, honoring the path HE chose, and the information I was getting from HIM.
• If anyone needs to communicate privately, feel free to send me a friend request.

BelovedbyHim: Pollywogs ROCK!!

DsMom2020: AWESOME that you recovered your post!! I got to read it!!

DsMom2020/LadyBluefire: I am SO VERY sorry that you didn’t get to see your sailors march. All I know is how much I was looking forward to it… I can't even begin to imagine...
D’s “Getting good at dealing with not knowing/ $1,000 in pictures” THAT’s the spirit!!!! Semper Fortis, Semper Gumby!!
LBF: thank you for the posts you wrote today!

Shanny: “Looks like I did nothing:” the story of my life! We used to live in Upstate New York. I remember that feeling in the Autumn, yet its beauty made it all worth it!! Thank you for the information on compartments/THUs.

Katherine: I have not heard from my Sailor since the brief, “I am a sailor” call. I saw him march, and I was able to identify him in one of the pictures and the PIR video. I am sincerely still basking in the feeling of gratitude… When we talked to our (then) SR, or Sailor (I don't recall), I heard something to the effect of that it might be a while until he would be able to talk to us (even though the audio was better, it was still hard to understand). *BNMH!*

Hugabugs: I am hugging you tightly in spirit right now!! I am glad you are sharing your true feelings with this group. I can assure you that that’s a healthy approach!!! I just sent you a Friend Request. Feel free to decline. I am always an e-mail away!! *BNMH!* 

Chipmunk: Thank you as always for the prompt and accurate information!!

Retrotex: O my goodness!! If you are reading these posts, a most heartfelt, belated *congratulations* on your sailor!!!!

Shoosh: I am SO sorry that your daughter was sent back to ROM… I literally waited until I received the “I am a sailor call.” As you can read, one cannot be assured even with that. *BNMH!*

Wishing you a peace-filled Sunday,
~MaterNauta
Semper Fortis, Semper Gumby!!!!

MaterNauta - believe it or not, on one of my FB groups, someone asked who were the Nukes? Not sure how one “leaves” a group, other than just not visiting the page any more...

LBF - hmmmm. I wonder which items my son missed ordering since he is ~$50 short of ordering EVERYTHING?! I hope I got the mug. I know his cousin will want one too. I wonder when I will get the order. I hope I can order them later if he didn’t. 

Shanny - how nice of your brother to help you. I can’t imagine how you can function outside in the wind with dry eyes and a sinus infection. Those leaves are beautiful tho! 

shoosh, hugsbugs - praying they time passes quickly for you and your soon to be sailors! 

katherine - praying time passes quickly and you get to talk to your sailor soon. 

DsMom:  someone in my PIR group was asking people to post Division pictures for the 800 divisions...  and today, someone took a picture and posted it and said if any of these new sailors are yours tag yourself. They weren’t even sailors. They were Marines. Too much personal info. 

Phoenixmom-

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY. HERE'S HOPING THAT YOU ARE HAVING A WONDERFUL DAY FILLED WITH ALL GOD'S BLESSINGS AND ENJOYING YOUR DAY WITH YOUR FAMILY AND OF COURSE FOOTBALL!!!!

BIG HUGS TO YOU!!!!

Good Morning Ladies,

Hope your Sunday is going well.

MaterNauta- If you want to leave a group on fb, go to the group that you are in click on the 3 little dots it will give you some choices you can unfollow that group or leave that group. 

Hope this helps.

Shanny- Hope  you are feeling better.  I love the leaves picture. Fall has always been one of my favorite seasons. 

Shoosh, it was good to see you on here. I am sorry that your SR got sent back. Prayers for your SR to have the strength to finish strong. BNH's.

Hugabugs- So sorry to hear about your SR to. Prayers for your SR to finish strong as well and know that we are praying for both of your SR"s ladies. BNH's to you as well hugabugs.

D'sMom2020- Hey, look at what I posted to MaterNauta to see how to leave a group on fb. 

God Bless and Have a great Sonday everyone!!!

This is what I'm talking about...And I stopped talking about it because I must !! LOL 

Katharine -- same here---me and my son communicate through FB messenger when he was at BC

And I can not just burst it here bec I MUST NOT but I advised my added friends then during BC if they can post quotes post encouraging notes/letters on FB or messenger because my son was able to read it... Or email if they don't FB. Their exams, orders etc are through computer now and that's how...

To FYI - during my son's quarantine he still has his phone with him. So we facetime and eat at the same time every day. Recruits lost that phone privilege during Q the last day my son at GWL, his day of transfer to RTC. He knows who that dude was that cost the phone privilege. I asked and I wanted to know who ? (he didn't tell me) BUT He promised me it wasn't him... Oh Lord thank you!

My heart goes out to moms and you Katharine at the time when you haven't received a call/letter yet coz my silent days was only 13 days...

Enjoy the rest of your weekend ladies.

Dsmom - so 35.00 is for the DVD of graduation, and then 5.00 is shipping cost for 1 prepaid coins and 10.00 is for 2+ coins - so if you add those up you get $50, lol.

You can use the order form I linked to order whatever you want. :)

MotherNauta - it is all good. I use FB for division specifics and N4M - for more general questions and more camaraderie. I do not see too many OPSEC/PERSEC violations. A couple people posting when BST is.

Phoenixmom - happy birthday…

Gigi -  I am lost, lol Not hard for me most days...

My daughter mentioned 2 suicides at her A school yesterday (well, she said this weekend) . That is the leading cause of death for most of our military and I hope Big Navy/Army etc take to heart they are killing the morale of our sailors by not allowing most to visit home. I know this may not be a popular opinion but I do not see the difference between my daughter eating at a restaurant near her base and driving down and spending Christmas with us. She is just as likely to catch the virus she will survive 99.9999% there as she is here. She can’t come because she will be in class and can’t afford a 14 day ROM when she gets back.  She goes off base all the time and I just can’t see a difference. Her leave circle is 150 miles. My son’s (SR 2) is 500 miles. Both about 200 miles short of me….

Happiest Birthday Phoenixmom!! God Bless you even more!

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY PHOENIXMOM!!!  

I hope you have had a truly blessed day!

Dear Boot Camp Moms,

I'm moving on from this group with immense gratitude for all the support I've felt here. I joined back in January as my 25-year-old sailor was heading to GL on Feb. 3. His was the 2nd class to miss PIR because of Covid, with no ceremony at all for his 4/3 graduation. Then wait wait, more training at GLTC, wait wait wait, ship out to CA, wait wait, more training in Coronado, wait wait, ship out to FL, quarantine quarantine, and now wait wait for his next course to start. We're getting used to the irregular rhythm of knowing, not knowing, intense activity, and waiting. 

Wishing all the best to all of you moms and your sailors, with many thanks to the wonderful moms who continue to give caring guidance here, and special hugs to PhoenixMom who shared her family story along with her loving support during most of my boot camp mom experience. 

Gratefully,

Whammy

Whammy,

From one mom to another you are very welcome. I was thinking about you and your Sailor. The wait wait and then you know something is part of being a Sailor's mom and being with them in the Navy. 

I hope your Sailor has been doing well and has been liking the training and the different bases. I hope you have been doing well also and hanging in there with all the new changes.

God Bless you and your Sailor as you continue on in your journey. You are always welcome to drop by and let us know how you are doing.   Big Navy Hugs to you!!!

Whammy - Glad you stopped by to say you are moving on. As Partyofseven said, you are always welcome to stop back by and say hello or answer a question.

Shoosh - I saw your message this morning! Your SR as well as Hugabugs' are in my thoughts and prayers. 

As far as leaving this BC Mom group, most people just turn off their email from following on this group. Otherwise, there is nothing you need to do. I don't know if you do something to actually leave the group, if it deletes your posts or not. I believe it does if you leave the site and that will leave gaps and holes i the comments. 

All the best for those with recent graduates. The phone calls will come, but it may be a bit. From here on out though, all communication from your sailor will be on their terms. They won't have anyone taking them to a phone bank or offering them the opportunity to call home. Some sailors communicate more than others with their families and it just depends. Part of it is personality, part of it is schedule and some of it is, because they are just not able to, if out to sea. Talk to your sailor and figure out what options work well for keeping in touch and remind them that you don't know anything "official" unless they tell you! 

LadyBluefire-- I agree that they need to make a plan for the new sailors to be able to go home before heading in to the fleet and they need to communicate that plan with the Sailors and the families in an effort to 1. improve morale and 2. stave off despair that they will never get to go home again. I suspect that is behind some of the newer sailor losses but we seem to lose to many of these kids and it breaks my heart! 

Whammy-- See you around the Fleet!! Feel free to stop by and say Hi. Please do not delete your account or we will lose all your posts and the information in them but you can turn of notifications for this group. 

Shoosh--- I am so sorry to hear about your daughter and so close to the end too!!! Keep writing and add in ROM to the envelope so that they know to forward it. They are not allowed to run but they will work with her when she resumes training. She may have 2-3 weeks additional but only she will know that and likely will not know until she resumes training so that would be a good question to ask her in a letter.

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

Hope everyone had a nice weekend. 

Please keep your phones on you at all times and your ringers on loud as you just never know when a call will come in. For our brand new moms, start writing letters now and number them so your SR will know what order they are in. Keeping busy is the key. The first weeks of silence are the hardest but we are here for you.

Read all the information that we have for you and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. No question is ever dumb and someone will answer.

GIgi- Good Morning, I was lost with your post to but that's ok. I do that sometimes.  :)

belovedbyHim- I hope you are feeling better and stronger. Please be safe out there with the lastest wildfires going on.

ladyblueFire- I know it's so sad. We had one out here and it just breaks your heart when you hear of it. It is just so so sad. Prayers for all of our Sailors to be strong and to finish strong and know that it is going to be ok.

I'm feel you LBF- I hope all of ours are able to come home at some point they need it as we need it as well.

Anti M- Hope your weekend was good. Still in the high 90's here. lol The mornings are beautiful but the days are still hot. :)

Phoenixmom- Good Morning.

Another day closer to PIR ladies!! Hopefully calls and letters will come in today.

God Bless and have a great day!!!

Thank you ladies for your words of encouragement. I'm hoping in ROM she will be able to call and we can have longer than a 5 minute conversation! Should I still address the letters to her division, adding ROM, even though they PIR this week? I feel she needs encouragement more now, and I want her to know we are praying for her. I had a complete breakdown yesterday thinking about how hard this must be for her. But at least she is not alone. There is a reason for everything, yes?

Whammy, that's the entire Navy experience, summed up, even before all this. > "the irregular rhythm of knowing, not knowing, intense activity, and waiting."

Leaving groups... you can leave a group on N4M and your posts remain.  However, if you leave the entire site, then everything you ever posted vanishes.   I never used the email notifications anyway.  I'm in some groups which haven't seen a post in a year or more. A bunch of us migrated to Facebook years ago, and we have a little private group there.  Almost all of our sailors have been out for ages too, so there's no OPSEC going on.

Suicide has always been a huge problem in the service.  However, there's a huge movement to have sailors look out for each other.  Young sailors are often afraid to tell anyone they're having trouble coping, they're afraid they'll be seen as weak, or they'll lose their clearance/rating.  This is not true.  Encourage your kids to ask for help, whether it be medical or the chaplains, or Military One.  The chaps can be non-religious, and are very good listeners.  One you hit the fleet, the Navy can be like a small town, and easy to figure out who is where if you have a few details... and just last week the sailors on a social platform used their collective knowledge to reach out and prevent an imminent sailor death.  Your new sailors must learn that while it is okay to suck it up for small things. They absolutely should reach out if they are struggling.

Party, it was my husband's birthday last week, so I haven't been online much.  Just doing other things.  

Anti M - Thoughts and hugs to you!! 

Thank you for sharing the information about the sailors reaching out and getting help. It is very important. 

Shoosh - I would say go ahead and mail some letters to her old address with the ROM notation - you might even say (held back for ROM) so it is a little more obvious. And either duplicate your letters or just write more so that if / when you get a new address you have those ready and can send immediately. 

A phone call during ROM is probably "wishful thinking" but you can always hope. They are not allowed their cell phones and if my understanding is correct, they are housing these sailors in location separate from the other ships, which is across the way from where the phone bank is. If they are quarantining these SRs, I doubt they will let them use the phone banks. :-(  

I am very sorry!!

If you haven't joined your PIR group for Oct or November, be sure to do so. Some little navigation practice here. Scroll to the top blue bar and where it says Main, click on that, then go to groups, and you should see the two latest PIR groups visible.

If you are viewing this site on a mobile device, be sure to put it into desktop mode  is my understanding to view it easier. 

For those of you are are new, it is great to just read information, but the best way for us to get to know you and be mindful of who has SRs at BC or getting ready to leave, is to come post a hello and let us know where you are in your journey. It sometimes it takes posting more than just once or even twice. As this group rotates in and out with each new graduation and each new batch of SRs.

Shoosh -- Yes keep writing to the address you have but add "IN ROM" To the envelope somewhere.  That way when they are sorting the mail they will know that she is in ROM and where in ROM she is.  They do NOT have access to the phones in ROM (Just in case they are COVID Positive but don't know it yet, because the science is not clear on just how long COVID can live on surfaces, so they try and reduce the risk anywhere they can.) so sorry to break that news.  It has to be just completely heartbreaking for her too so yes Write and encourage her.  remind her that this is just one of many hiccups that she will likely experience in her Navy career and that it is really just how life is!! (As my granny used to say, "Life is what happens when you were on your way to doing something else") Embrace the Challenge and do not let it defeat her.  She is still getting paid, She will still be a Sailor, You WILL see her again and She is Stronger than This setback!! Encourage her to rest when she can, Exercise when she can and look for all the positives in this that she can.  It will not be like this forever!! (It could be worse, but you don't need to point that out to her!)  Keep breathing MOM.... Your time has been extended by roughly 3 weeks (maybe longer but maybe not...) We are here to anchor you to the truth, She is Strong, She is Safe and She Can DO This!!(And so can you!!) I Love Whammy's summary... "the irregular rhythm of knowing, not knowing, intense activity, and waiting"  Embrace this and you have the Navy live mastered!!

Good afternoon!

I had to take a tiny hiatus this weekend because I have a really long book to read for book club. I’ve been allowing myself to get distracted and I thought - I’m never going to finish it!

Wow a lot has happened this weekend!

Pheonixmom- I hope you had a wonderful birthday weekend!! Also, my husband found an app by Terry Bradshaw called FOX Bet super 6 and it's free! You might find it fun! 

 
Dsmom- I’m so sorry you didn’t get to see your son’s DIV walk! All the pictures and the shrines woohoo :) The next time he comes home he’ll look around and you can say “this is all you buddy - literally all you!” LOL

Shanny - I hope you finally have relief!
Your leaf pile looked beautiful to me! In the desert there are trees planted so of course we’ll see if bit of that here and there but not like that!
Woohoo on inheriting a new computer! Oh and if you have a problem with reading books then I'll join a support group with you... that supports us by supplying more books!

Northwoodsmom - Another gorgeous cake! I hope your dad has some good friends that he can some spend time with during this time. My heart goes out to you and your family with the loss of your mother.

To the families that have their SR's back in ROM I understand your frustrations. My son was sent back because of someone else testing positive and it was devastating. The tearful phone call from him about sent me over the edge. Then on top of that his graduation date was pushed an EXTRA week later. So instead of three more weeks left it was four more weeks. He said that the letters were very important to push him along. Also, the fact that he had his close bunk mates with him also made a difference. Things that he wanted were Lyrics to favorite songs printed up, pictures collages printed on paper, and letters from friends as well. Apparently they have a library where they can check out books so he read a ton to pass the time. Unfortunately they cannot run but only work out with limited space. That was the one thing he was worried about in not getting time to run. He's finally past it and heading towards the finish line. I pray that your SR's find the strength to stay encouraged. All we can do is write. Use their address that you have and putting - In ROM - on the envelope should speed up the process. 

I hope we all hear of ONLY good news this week!! BNMH to all!!!! 

To those of you who have children who have gone back in ROM I recommend using sandboxx. It is an app only to be used during Boot Camp (not after they leave to A school or in the fleet) but my son begged me to use it because he said that it only took four days to get to them instead of the dreaded 7 to 8 days. I’ve only used it five times but as long as you observe OPSEC and PERSEC it should be OK. I wrote to him saying positive uplifting things and told him how we were doing back home. I also took a screenshot of nine pictures in my phone photo album so I could get in as many as I could in one picture. So I carefully chose which pictures I wanted him to see. Thinking about all of you tonight who are worrying about your children in ROM. My son said it wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be... as stinky as it is. I hope you all find comfort in that.