Boot Camp Moms (and loved ones)

Chipmunk-I may just invite her over for dinner so we can discuss the importance of these letters.  And throw in dessert if she can promise crinkle free envelopes.  

PIR January 2021  

Good Morning All - Love your picture Shanny!  This reminded me of one I took of my son at the airport after one of his leaves (back in 2015).   I think we all have one of those "walking away" pictures.  Ahhhh the memories ;-D 

DoriBry- LOL  You shake it all the way down the driveway!!  LOL

Shanny-B'sNukeMom-  love the those pictures.  I can't imagine the sadness that may go with the picture. I am a very patriotic person, and those pictures just make me proud of the young men and women that go off to defend us.  Thanks for sharing!

Phoenixmom - so glad you have a good report...and your kitchen is almost finished!

Ladybluefire - You make me tired just reading your list of your day. LOL  

Very Nice Pics Indeed!

Thank You Proud and Grateful!

So, mixed feelings this afternoon.  My son was supposed to have 4 wks pay direct deposit on the 15th, there was the delay because congress didn't get the budget extension done on time so the Navy paychecks were delayed.  But still no deposit. So frustrated for him.  If congress doesn't do another extension this Friday, paychecks will be delayed on the 31st.  He is Ok until next month but he won't be able to order pictures of anything if he doesn't get paid by next month.  Ugh!

Still very quiet and no letter...but I don't think I'll get one since his didn't go out with the group. Oh well...  Happy for everyone getting one though.  I remember when my younger son was in boot camp and we got that form letter with his squiggly handwriting of the address.  I just hugged it!

C'smom:  USCG is the United States Coast Guard, aka Coasties!  Although, he has been deployed all over the world...they don't stay stateside.    I only order him black boot socks, I usually do once a year and buy two weeks worth.  Just a little thing to help him out.  He's very independent, just like my 1st born in boot camp right now.  

Phoenix - re:paychecks. I am on my son's Navy Federal account and I got a notification 2 days ago that his midmonth check was deposited. Maybe it is just bootcamp? But I don't see why their funding comes from a different place.

Good Morning!   Confession:  This week my emotions are running amok & close to tears over a range of things each day.  So much going on up/down/sideways in my life that I guess I am on stress/emotion overload as well as over eating not the healthiest of things…had medical yesterday & the weigh in was horrendous as knew I am up (hence why clothes not fitting) but, dang a bit more than I expected which didn’t help.  More testing (which I expected) to come but, it isn’t even registering on my radar at this point. But I also know I am not going to do anything to rectify my crappy eating & not sleeping much until I survive Christmas holidays.  Not ready for it to be Christmas but, I did dig out big tree & have a few decorations on it (1^st time in 8-9 yrs or so).  Co-workers are bringing homemade gifts & lovely thoughtful things in as we all do every year to spread love & cheer but, I haven’t even gotten myself together enough to get anything done… which is NOT me… to say I am unprepared would be total understatement.

I feel like I have been sleep walking for pretty much this entire messed up 2020 & just existing since my sailor surprised us with “I joined the Navy”… I support his decision (as I have always supported him or as I tell him “I have your back”) but, still find myself crying over the finality of it & the sheer panic/terror then sets in. 

Yes, some days I am stronger than others but, this week I am anything but strong or being functional.  So much to do & yet, I am not able to move forward to do any of it. 

Well enough of my “woe is me pitty party”!   

Thanks to All of you for giving me a “safe spot” to let me rant/cry/fall apart. 

So very blessed by Each of you!!  Knowing I am NOT crazy or alone on this wild ride of being a Navy Mom.  

Shanny – Yea, he got 5 days credit on leave.  Wow! On crazy weather following your sailor everywhere…what are the chances of that?. Love your picture! It sure helps to put stuff in perspective for me…my boy is 6ft and says he gained weight while at boot camp (over 10lbs). 

Phoenixmom- Yea, for good medical news!!

Shortcake- Yea! For your new sailor…

belovedbyHim – Thank you for your words.  I am so grateful for you sharing & providing us newer Moms guidance and perspective throughout our many stages of going through this new way of life.

Warriorprotector – omg, 3 years… I have co-worker who has a son in the Navy and she hasn’t seen him for 2+ years & there is possibility it may be much longer than that if he heads overseas as he might.  I feel for her & then I also realize that could very well be me & my sailor too eventually.  And my heart seizes up again…for her & for that real possibility for me one day.

Northwoodsmom – our school board is going to vote this week to delay the returns to classrooms & go Only virtual in January for 2 weeks after the winter break to try to give a 2 week buffer to basically quarantine before returning to sites.  But those of us that work in the offices still report to work as usual.

C’smom – well at least they gave him a little good news (paperwork finally in order) poor guy! Dang he has really had the time of it…and thus, Momma has too.  Keeping good thoughts for both of you!

 And just a note even if he was at A school location you might not be able to send anything either…my sailor doesn’t have mailbox or whatever it is they get yet.  Seems too many there in holding pattern & haven’t gotten to “class up”…  to give everyone a mailing address it seems.

Proudandgrateful – Yea! For form letter…it was another week before we rec’d a letter from our sailor. I gather he wrote 1 a week & of course he had 2 sisters to write to as well as a few friends that rec’d letters.  He never wrote much but I didn’t really expect him to…I sent him letters and also, a fun questionnaire with an addressed envelope to return it but, he wrote his sister to tell me he wasn’t doing to do it.  Oh well I tried!  He isn’t a real let you know stuff type to begin with but I had hoped for more anyhow.

DoriBry – you just happy dance all the way down to that mailbox!

New to all of this.  I got a call last night from my son and due to him being upset(I could tell by his voice) I couldn't really understand all he said. He said due to ..... he missed his PFA and then they he gave me his new graduation date which was pushed back a week.  I think he said something about medical.

Can I assume, because he has an actual Grad date and the officer he had behind him confirmed we would get a form letter with his address, that he did PASS the PFA?  And he said he missed his PFA not failed his PFA.  Just a little confused on all of that

Hang in there NewMilmom!

Imlaotvhe Welcome to the site, Glad to have you here. Here is a site to read on PFA's

See Physical Fitness Assessment (PFA) and Fitness Improvement Training (FIT).

This will explain any questions you may have. Once you receive a form Letter then I would assume all is good. But if you receive another call that he didn't pass PFA then he may get sent home. But the site I put down will explain it all.

Imlaotvhe Welcome to the site, Glad to have you here. Here is a site to read on PFA's

See Physical Fitness Assessment (PFA) and Fitness Improvement Training (FIT).

This will explain any questions you may have. Once you receive a form Letter then I would assume all is good. But if you receive another call that he didn't pass PFA then he may get sent home. But the site I put down will explain it all.

Imlaotvhe Welcome to the site, Glad to have you here. Here is a site to read on PFA's

See Physical Fitness Assessment (PFA) and Fitness Improvement Training (FIT).

This will explain any questions you may have. Once you receive a form Letter then I would assume all is good. But if you receive another call that he didn't pass PFA then he may get sent home. But the site I put down will explain it all.

Imlaotvhe Welcome to the site, Glad to have you here. Here is a site to read on PFA's

See Physical Fitness Assessment (PFA) and Fitness Improvement Training (FIT).

This will explain any questions you may have. Once you receive a form Letter then I would assume all is good. But if you receive another call that he didn't pass PFA then he may get sent home. But the site I put down will explain it all.

Imlaotvhe Welcome to the site, Glad to have you here. Here is a site to read on PFA's

See Physical Fitness Assessment (PFA) and Fitness Improvement Training (FIT).

This will explain any questions you may have. Once you receive a form Letter then I would assume all is good. But if you receive another call that he didn't pass PFA then he may get sent home. But the site I put down will explain it all.

Imlaothve - the good news is he gave you a new grad date.  Go with that right now and try not to worry - I know, easier said than done!

Imlaothve- Welcome to our group. We are glad you are here. No question is ever dumb and some one will answer you!!

Mine got his paycheck on time as well. They just didn't release them early this time. 

C'sMom- I was able to send him packages while mine was at A school cause they had a central mail office I guess you would call it.

But when he got to his base he was able to use one of his friend's address so I could easily send things there. But I had to wait a long while before he would do that. Lol

Hopefully yours is better at getting packages than mine was at that time. Lol

My boy! 

C'sMom-How handsome he is!  I can't wait to see mine.  

warrior - is there any way to link your account with his so you can transfer $ to him? 

Our kids had accounts for years - attached to ours - and then their Navy FCU is attached (linked) to their other credit union - makes transferring $ easy

Imlaotvhe - I left a message in the comment wall on your My Page!! 

WarriorP - I checked with my son and his gf. My son had not checked to see if his deposit was in, but his gf said hers was. I apologize for not remembering where you son is at in everything but here is info from one of the pages to the right -

 Recruit pay & info for spouse

Also, I think I mentioned earlier to C'sMom - you might see about making a deposit into his bank account if you really want him to be able to get pictures. 

And you can order them afterwards, they just need to have the proofs. 

Photos, videos, etc. - PIR

Hi LBF - And no, I did not read your post before posted my comment about the account. Sorry!!

warrior:  you can call your bank if you need to send money if it is something you can do... I checked my account this morning and my sailor had sent money to my account. We have different banks. He had a bill he forgot to pay and needed me to take care of it. So he sent the money to my account. Then called and said, “Mom there will be money showing up in your account. Please go and pay this bill for me. It won’t get there in time by mail.”  You need his routing number and account number to do it

On the pay..  my son’s usually shows up on the 12th. He has Navy Federal. This pay check did not show up on time. But did show up on the 15th. So it was delayed. But he got it on the official pay day

Hi all, thank you for all the paycheck feedback.  We both have USAA and we linked his accounts with ours so we can move money around and make sure his bills are paid.  His paperwork must not have been processed correctly for the bank and so he didn't get paid this time.  Next one will be 6 weeks worth!  I wish I could put money in his account...things are super tight this year!  So I'll just prayer that his money goes in the end of the month.  He's covered for bills right now. UGH!  I guess he'll call if they don't get it fixed by month end.  Chipmunk: He is end of week 4 (PIR 1/28)  I can't remember when they start ordering things, week 6?

Thank you for the link Chipmunk!

Here is a great book I gave to both my sons...we are a debt free family and I'm so proud of them for paying cash for everything.  Even their cars!  They will appreciate it when they are older!  The book is geared toward military people.  It's on Amazon for purchase and one of the authors teaches economics and personal finance at West Point. 

Guide to Personal Financial Planning for the Armed Forces

warriorprotector:  my son said he did the photo order after BS. So he may have his money before then if that is still the right timeline!!!

So the form letter...  I am one of the lucky ones who never received it even though my son swears he sent it. He now says I will probably get it on his last day of service-in 5 years lol. As soon as they fill those out, your SR can send out mail. So if you happen to get a personal letter before the form letter, you can start mailing your letters. I received 3 letters in the same day from my son-one was for his gf that i had to pass on. And started mailing mine and hour later. 

start writing now. Just stack them up and as soon as you have an address, stick them in the mail!  My son asked for pictures. So I used word and inserted pictures into the word document then wrote around them. He said the guys read and reread their letters from home every night. So please write as often as you can. Mine wanted local news and gossip from his friends. So I kept my broken heart out of my letters and tried to fill them with funny stories and crazy news. 
I am sitting here hoping for letters and phone calls for you all. My heart breaks for you all in the time of the great silence. 

DallasNavyMom: LOL...always counting!  I feel for you with the birthday, my son will also have his birthday in boot camp (Jan). We family have all sent b-day cards so he'll have them before. I'm not looking forward to that day...might be some tears going on!  I always text my children on the exact time of their birth.  I'll send it and hope when he gets his phone he'll smile.  BNMH (Big Navy Mom Hugs)!

Shanny!  LOL on the letter coming at end of service. I think that is what is going to happen with my son!  After his call and he gave me the info I've been writing him something everyday, his sister, grandparents and friends have been writing too.  I hope he gets half of them at least!  I've been coping everything we send so if anything didn't get through we can get those to him after.

I have used the Monday Deliver service for personal photo post cards and just light, funny news so maybe he'll have something before the real letters hit. We sent the silly google eyed milk carton so he could get a laugh about his sister's silly gesture. 

I'll be happy if I get one letter from him!  I did send a silly survey for him to fill out, so maybe that is what we'll get.  

warriorprotector-

I am doing the Dave Ramsey Debt plan. I am on step 3 and it's been a while. :) That is my goal as well to be debt free!!

I smiled at that one to Shanny. Lol I did the same. I sent mine those questionnaires from the writing link and he answered every one!! I was surprised but he loved them, they were easy to answer and then he always wrote on the pages. Lol

I had a few letters for him to read after his PIR and I also sent him a couple of things on his phone. He just smiled when he got them after I gave him his phone back.

The form letter, I don't know about everyone else but I was ecstatic over the form letter. I must of looked at his handwriting for hours. His address was more precious to me than anything I have ever gotten in the mail. Weeks without any word at all, this was my lifeline until I received a phone call. My son did not write either, he didn't answer his questionair, I finally wrote myself a letter from him and asked him to return it with his signature, I had a self-addressed stamped envelope and he actually signed it and added a couple of sentences to it and mailed it back, I have it taped to my refrigerator. It might be the only letter I ever get from him so it's still as precious as the first day I got it.

Northwoodsmom-I totally understand since I have been staring at my son's writing since I received his form letter today.  I also ran my fingers over his words.(I may have sniffed it but dont tell anyone).   He wrote in pencil and honestly I wasnt even sure if he knew how to correctly address an envelope.  I cant think of a time when he would have done that growing up.  Everything is done on their phones.  

I was able to speak with my postal carrier and informed her that my sons letters are Gold to me. 

DoriBry:  I just laughed out loud with the sniffing comment! So funny!  Everything is old school at BC, addressing an envelope...What?!  :)

For non-letter writing friends.....  i made my son promise even if he didn’t write long detailed letters, please send me one line. Seriously. I told him just a simple, Mom I'm alive. Would be ok. Just send me something soni hear from you. He ended up writing long letters. I sometimes got 2 or 3 letters in a week. He still can't address anything correctly lol we have a post office box because we live a block from the post office and they don't deliver inside village limits. But he would write our street address on it then on the bottom corner write :deliver to PO Box---!  I've kept every letter

We have a lot of December sailors in here. Mine will spend Christmas in ROM and his birthday in ROM. He just called to tell me he found out two of his friends from BC are also in ROM on the same floor as him so they have gotten together today to eat their dinners together. (First meal they have received since Monday)  and they have another friend who is on his way there still this week. He said it's like getting the old gang back together. Just missing the ones who had other rates that are still in school. They have been making a list of the places they want to visit or eat once they have more freedom lol. 

So to change it up a bit How many of you bake? and have you baked any goodies for Christmas? A Long time ago me and Hubby would Bake cookies and Make up some Jalepeno Poppers and  wrap a few cookies and a few Jalepeno poppers and hand them out to our co workers for a treat. It's been so long since I've done any of that. Hoping to get back into the swing of things soon. so much I want to do, just hoping to do it. Wanting so much good to happen for the Year 2021, If we can only get rid of this Virus if ever. Will any of you get the vaccine shot?

Shanny he will love the exploring once he/they can. I know when Bud was in A school in GL him and two buddies were forever getting a uber and head out all over Chicago. Once he got to SD on his duty base  he explored even more. he would take us to his favorite diner/restaurant so that was pretty exciting, but when we would go down to visit I would find all the Guy Ferrari eat ins on his show and that was fun as well. Like Hodads great burgers!

PhoenixMom:  I'm not a huge baker. Used to be. But I really don't cook very often anymore. 

The vaccine...  i asked the neuro today about it. She said because I do not have any "b cells" it wouldn't be effective for me. I would have to stop treatments, then wait 6 months and have tests to see if the cells repopulated so the vaccine would have something to attach to.  She told me i got my flu shot too early and she doesn't know if it will be effective. So who knows. She also said because I have food allergies and allergies to antibiotics, the current vaccine may not be a good idea. See, I'm a mess 

I'm hoping you will be able to go visit him when the time comes Shanny, that will be Great!

Phoenixmom- I love to bake too. I usually do all my baking after we are done with school and are officially on break is when I really start baking. I love it and of course the family does to.

We also like the jalapeno poppers? I would love your recipe if you have one? 

Hodads is also our favorite restaurant when we go there. Lol

Teachers and educators are in the same group as the police, fire etc here. So we are on the second boat so to speak. I and my kids have never had the flu shot except now my Sailor has but I will watch and see how people are acting after they take it. Will they be getting sick or will it be ok?

Then I will make up my mind. I am not in any hurry thou to take it.

I sent you a couple of test texts to see if you got them. 

I'm sorry Shanny...Things will eventually get better. I'm not really thinking about getting the Vaccine, I want to wait to see others get it and see what it does to them. I don't have any allergies but to dirt LOL! so I think I will wait on that. My daughter teased my Son about getting the vaccine because more than likely they will be given it, and said let's see if you don't come back with a tail Bud......Like the guy on shallow Hal. HAHAHAHAHA! she is so cruel.

I am so glad to hear that not all SRs writer letters.  I was feeling bad because I was sure my SR was the only one who wouldn't write his mom.  LOL  Thanks for letting me know I am not alone.  

Shanny - Did you really mean the only meal they received since Monday?  Today is Wed.  What are they eating then?  I can't think of going 2 hours without eating.  But I love to eat.  :)