Boot Camp Moms (and loved ones)

Mykenzie:. So the thing with Sandboxx is you have to remember it is like sending a postcard. Anyone can read it.   You are sending it to a third party who will print it then deliver it.   So, they say it is ok in BC but once out of bootcamp please don’t use it!  And remember it is not private so don’t include anything you wouldn’t want read out loud to your entire town/neighborhood/city.   I never used it but many here have especially to second ROM. So I really don’t know much about it. My son’s recruiter mentioned it before he left to tell me they advice against it but that was before COVID changed so many rules!!!  I hope someone who has used it can explain it more. My son did ask me after BC why I didn’t use it that their RDCs told them to tell parents to use it

Hi MyKenzie ~ Sandboxx is a great app to use while they’re at Boot Camp but it’s some thing that you won’t be using it all when they’re in the fleet. I wrote about it down below in my post about an hour ago. I hope this helps! 

How am I going to cope with the holidays being over and my sailor flying out today... pour myself a glass of wine, turn on 80s hair band radio, and clean out my closet... yup!!
BNMH TO YOU ALL!! 

VintageGal:  I swear this was harder than boot camp drop off. I seriously don’t know how I drove home. I was in all out melt down mode for about 3 days. 12 days since he left and I still have my moments every day. Still haven’t been able to pack away his clothes. And I have been looking around trying to figure out what he will want me to send him as soon as I have an address next week. Spent today looking up which restaurants were on base so I can tell him. Not like he hasn’t already done it himself. Forgive me but I can’t remember where your sailor is heading now?!?!  
You are going to come here when you are having a hard time and talk to us. You know someone is always around!

VintageGal:  if you left, I would track you down lol I just sent you a message 

Vintage .... I feel for you. Mine is flying out at 8am tomorrow. He is out with friends now (only his third time with them this week so I should really not complain). Yesterday was so busy and part way through Christmas dinner, the wind broke some of our fence posts and threw the fence panels at our deck. We are moving in the spring, so just one more thing to take care of. The boys (2 sons, 1 hubby) wired it back to the rest of the fence so we can still let the dogs and chickens out.

I think this has been especially tough on our sailor. Last Christmas in this house (we have been here 14 years so he doesn't remember anything else), last night in his room .... ever, last night in his bed .... ever, last dinner in that kitchen that holds so many memories. And probably last goodby to our golden retriever. Now I have Navy allergies. Big time.I really do not want him to go. He is going back to Chicago and will be there for a long time. He said ET's spend about a year there on average (because of holds). Hopefully they let them out next Christmas too.

He doesn't want me to go to the airport. I think because I will sob and that will make him cry. He just wants his Dad to do a quick drop off and not come in either.  Well there I go again ... excuse me while I go kill a few more trees to support my tissue habit.

Geez Vintage, you put a lump in my throat with that post that I am having trouble swallowing.  I remember my son walking away when we left him on base in September, not easy at all. Wondering if he will ever get to come home before he gets deployed, still has 10 months of school. I am closer to him right now while in Florida, racking my brain trying to find a way to see him but my Dad keeps telling me how thankful he is that I came down to see him so I know I am right where I need to be. I pray your next couple days heal the pain of missing your son and you can find things to keep your mind busy.

Sorry I can't help with sandbox, I never used it. My son was getting out of Boot Camp right at the beginning of the Covid pandemic.

Katharine:  I did the drop off alone.  And my sailor did not want me to come into the airport either.  I seriously cried all the way home.  (2 hour drive)  Had to pull off the highway at one point because I was crying too hard to drive and freaking out because my phone kept going off and I knew it was him and I needed to read his messages.  (His flight took off before I made it home)  I was afraid I would miss an important message from him.  And yes, all 17 message I had were from him lol  It was a rough drive home that's for sure!  HUGE NAVY MOM HUGS for you!  I know it will be a difficult day for you and for him...

Katharine ~ hello, wow that Hass to make it extra tough on all of you knowing that this is the last time that you’ll all be together in your house. I can only imagine and with his pup. I am so sorry about that. I pray that he gets to come home next Christmas as well. 
I’m know the only real reason we all went in was because we had his fiancé with us and he wanted to spend every last second with her before he flew out. I’ll take what I can get! It was nice, my mom bought us all Barnes & Noble gift cards so we spent the last couple hours there picking out books. He recommended a couple good ones, including one that he read in ROM, to my youngest son.

Big hugs to you as you spend your evening together. I pray for safe travels for your sailor! Getting that last big hug before he walked out the door in the morning. tell him it needs to last you until next time! 

Northwoodsmom ~ BIG HUGS!! It’s incredible that just watching our children walk away can really pulls on our heartstrings. Even when we’ve spent so much time setting them up for adulthood it still doesn’t make it any easier watching them grow up. Proud but not easy. 

I’m so glad to hear you’re with your father right now. I can imagine it means the world to him. You’re going to make me cry sharing the words of your father. 

I really know that I’ll be spending most of my time decluttering and cleaning my house. I told my younger two that after New Year’s I’m going to put it away even though I usually wait until the end of January(per my boys’ request because both of their birthdays are in January- 5 years and one week apart). I really need to lighten the load. Seriously, I’ve had my tree up since July because we did Christmas in July with my sailor before he flew out in August. All of the other Christmas decor came out the day after Thanksgiving. I cope by blasting music and cleaning. BREEEEEAAAATHE 

NorthwoodsMom:  I am glad you were able to be with your dad!  I am sure you have been a huge comfort for him.  I agree with you...  That image of your sailor walking away is forever hard.  I still can't look at the picture I took of him walking away without tearing up.  BNMHs

Hi ladies,

Thank you Shanny and VintageGal for helping out MNNavyMom. It is appreciated!! 

MNNavyMom- I am sorry to hear that your SR has to be in ROM. As the other ladies were saying when you do get an address make sure you put ROM on the left bottom corner of the envelope so they know. 

Sandboxx is good just don't use it after they leave boot camp. Also know that the letters are read so don't include a lot of private things in there. Send pictures, or a picture with your letter when you can.

mom2blondies- grand babies are the best. Glad you had a great visit.

Northwoodsmom- I'm glad you made it there safely. Is there a way you could go and see your Sailor for a day or two? I know your dad is happy you are there thou. Big hugs to you!!

Katharine_ Merry Christmas. Glad to see you post on here. I feel you as well. It is always hard when we have to see See you laters. Ugh!! I always cry and am sad for a couple of days and then I am ok.

We will be moving as well in the spring and we have lived in this house for 10 years. So it will be a new adventure for all of us!! Big hugs to you as you say see you later tomorrow!!!

VintageGal- I saved your comments for last.  :) I am so happy you guys had a wonderful visit. It truly does the heart so good. 

The first two days after mine leaves is hard so I am with you on that one. Big hugs to you!!  I will also be decluttering the house as we will also be moving in the spring. We have also lived here for 10 years so it will be a new adventure for all of us!! 

Barnes and Noble is also our favorite store and we went there too and got books.  :)

LBF, BBH, Anti M, Chipmunk hope your Christmas was good.

Phoenixmom- Still keeping you and yours in my thoughts and prayers.

Big hugs to all of you ladies that have said goodbye, that are getting ready to say goodbye, and are missing your SR's. Big big hugs to all of you!!!

My sailor left this morning. my heart is breaking & the tears are on-going again.  It's been a rough emotional week on many fronts. He slept most of the week but,he needed it. As he is leaving he tells us it may be a year or 3 before I can come back home again. I held it together until home & then I went in bathroom & cried. left to go pick up my tack & check on my horse (we had a 3hour vet appointment on Christmas eve too. as I said been emotional week). Tomorrow I'm moving him to friend to board & it's a bit farther for me but, it should be a better place for him.  Where he is now she's decided to put her horse in boarding facility vs keeping at home...  Many many tears in car today.  House fills empty. so many things we wanted to do,  so many foods momma didn't get made. Momma's o Momma's-If your sailor comes home listen to others here when they say don't plan to much,  don't let having a set plan ruin the fleeting brief time you have together.  I had thought I was pretty much okay on that vs. my normal schedule everything plan. I was much more nonschedule than ever before but I still feel like we missed out on alot of things,  time etc.... granted he even said on way to airport he'd slept most of the time home...I assured him I figured he'd sleep as it is difficult to sleep soundly away from home & with all the new stressors and stuff going on around you. I told him I was happy he got to sleep soundly and relaxed while he was home. I told him it was all okay too. But inside I was breaking ,& feeling like we missed out on so much of the time he had.  Prayers for all of us. And blessed by the loving support here with amazing Momma's.  Thank you to to each of you.

VintageGal, no kidding! I don't know who these kids think they are growing up and making their own life's decisions and leaving us! We joke that we should have tried to do a worse job raising them, haha! Not that I wanted 40 year old kids at home but I was not planning on having one out at 21 and the other out at 20. My SR had a few years of college left so expected him to be home for at least that long then he went and made a left turn on me! 

Well, I did get the de-Christmasing of the house done today but in the process I hurt my back. I don't know what I was thinking but I tried to get the tote full of Christmas stuff up the attic ladder by myself, home alone. I ended up stuck, me in the attic, tote dangling by one handle below me, praying the lid didn't come loose and had to make a decision to drop the tote or potentially hurt myself trying to get it up. I wasn't going to risk breaking all of my ornaments letting the tote drop 8 feet down so I somehow muscled it up and now I can barely move. Epsom salt bath and heating pad and it is still getting worse. I'm supposed to work tomorrow and not sure if I'll be able to even move! UHG! 

Partyofseven ~ thank you! We really did have a nice time together. My favorite time is when we’d all sit around the table and talk and play a game together. We also had a really nice time in Barnes & Noble. That’s one of our favorite stores as well! Last night he tried on his uniforms for us and we took pictures by the tree. It was the first time I had seen him in his dress blues. :) I’m glad you guys had a nice time too! Did he ever go to Vegas? 
Wow it looks like a lot of you are moving in coming year. We figure we’ll downsize once our 13-year-old graduates, unless he wants to make the move with us. There’s no rush. We just don’t want to live in a two-story once the kids are grown.

Sorry about my grammatical errors. It’s funny, I’ll voice text and sometimes I don’t read back what I wrote and then I hit add comment and then I’ll read it and it’s a total mess. Gerrr

NewMilMom ~ Big hugs to you! I’m so glad we all have each other to get through this time! 
I was randomly tearing up throughout the day. It definitely wasn’t easy! It felt like the day he left for Boot Camp where we were just sort of roaming through the day until he had to leave. 
I hear you on sleeping a ton. He fell asleep so easily and in just about any place he was sitting.

You said it! It’s best not to have a set plan but maybe a couple things you want to do. But expect that they’re going to be tired, see friends, and anything else will be a perk. Maybe try to plan their favorite meal on the first night and then let them pick and choose the rest of the time. BIG HUGS MAMA!! I’ll be here with you! 

Mom2blondies ~ Oh my goodness yes! My son is the only one that left town after high school. All of his other buddies are here doing their online college courses. It blew my mind when my son told us that he wanted to go into the Navy. He had one friend at work who was a retired sailor and now he’s a security guard so he can work and get out of the house. My son really looks up to him and loved hearing all of his stories. 

I’m glad you’re OK! I was picturing the whole thing as I was reading it! You’re lucky that you and your ornaments are still in one piece! Geez! I can’t think of a better way to ease the pain then Epson salt bath and a heating pad. I pray that a good nights rest will fix you right up. 

NewMilMom- I know it's hard. Big Navy hugs to you!! I am so glad we have each other as well. You will get thru this one day at a time and we will be with you as well!!

mom2blondies- I hear you about them growing up!! Who told them that?  Lol

I am glad you did not fall and hurt yourself and break your ornaments. I hope you feel better in the morning. Take care of yourself.

VintageGal- No worries about the voice to text and it not saying what it's suppose to. Lol

No we are not going to Vegas, they worked out something else so that was good. 

I can't wait to see mine in his. They always look so handsome in their uniforms.

Shanny- I hope your Christmas was good. Hugs!!

God Bless you ladies and sleep easy and our hearts will be ok. Prayers for all of our SR's and Sailors!!

I would hold off on calling the recruiters.  Since he was only in day 1 or 2 of Processing days he would not have any address for them to give so they will have a general address that they may or may not give. I KNOW it's hard but Please try and wait.  Again this is the ONLY time I suggest using Sandboxx, After this forget you ever heard of it!!

It's such a Blessing and a joy to have your sailor home to visit however the Downside is that they have to go back and that part STINKS Every time!!! There aren't enough hugs or "I Love You's" to make it any easier... BTW That goes for all our kids not just our sailor but for some reason it feels different.  Anyway, Try and Focus on Today and let tomorrow worry about it's self!  It's always "See ya later" ... goodbye is too final!

Northwoodsmom-- I'm glad you were there for your Dad.  I'm sure he needed you!!

I have not heard from my sailor in over a week but I saw a post on FB that has me praying extra hard for him.  I'd appreciate your prayers and good thoughts too.

Prayers for all you beautiful mothers with tear stained faces, partyofseven, Vintage, NewMilmom, Katherine and everyone else I might have forgotten. Trying to remember the JOY, you felt when you got your first glance of him/her just is so hard when your eyes are filled with tears. My heart feels for all of you.

Oh my Katherine your comment about cutting down more trees to supply your needs for more Kleenex really cracked me up. It is so good we can laugh through the rough spots. Thankful God has brought you to us to help us through.

My Christmas was so different this year. We had no big meal, no tree and no presents wrapped in pretty paper. My biggest and greatest present though was driving down to West Palm to see my brother. They had him in a wheel chair inside a locked entrance way. We had to stay outside but could here him through the glass. When the nurses left to give us privacy my brother jumped up, unlocked the door, pried it open with his hands and flew out into my arms, desperately hugging me and then my dad. It just took seconds for the nurses to come and pull him back inside and scold him but it was do well worth it. They pulled him 8 feet from the door but left the doors open for us so it was easier for us to visit. It makes me realize how desperately others in the hospital are just needing a hug/touch of another Loved one and makes me sad for all of them. The nurse did say that they gave my brother his vaccine for the virus but he already had the antibodies from the Covid before.  Well anyway that was what made my Christmas so beautiful and special.

I had a picture by of my mom and dad laughing about something and I framed it for my father and then wood burnt a beautiful verse about her laughing in heaven surrounded by angels. He was in tears when I presented to him. Now he is after me to go through her closets that I have been praying for God's strength to do. 

We shared FaceTime with my Sailor Christmas day that was a treat for my Dad too. He is so proud of his grandson and it was good to see him laugh with him. It did my heart good to see both of them upbeat.

Hoping everyone is looking forward to a more normal New Year but being a Navy Mom don't think anything  will be the same so instead here's to strength in togetherness that we can except our New Normal. God Bless!

Good Morning Everyone!!

I have been reading through the posts from last night and yesterday - sharing in the emotion and pain of your aching Momma hearts. I wrote a post last week, that I started to share and then we had a lot going on and I didn't want to add a long post that day - it was set aside as I was dealing with preparing for our Christmas plans. I am sharing it now though. 

My thoughts are with all of you who are saying see you later to your sailors/SRs heading out. And those missing their loved one every day!  BNMHs to you all!

I didn’t do any holidays this year. Left Thanksgiving dinner before dinner started, didn't decorate for Christmas, didn't do gifts except the couple of things I ordered for my sailor that still haven't shown up. I saw the last of my holidays last year. I hope everyone has had a truly blessed holiday season (to cover all of them since Thanksgiving)  

Life is hard. This year has been hard. - Kids at BC, 2+ extra weeks of the great silence - that has been hard. Lost jobs, loved ones departed - sickness - all hard! Hardest for me,  missing months of 1st year grandbaby cuddles.

Life has been hard for our sailors out in the fleet though. Some deployed for extended amounts of time. Some with tough situations with COVID & still recovering, primarily mentally. My son's ship has been in and out of port on 10 underways for most of the year. When back in port, they have been in a "bubble" not able to go anywhere or do anything to hopefully stay healthy for the next mission. The bachelors didn't always have anyone to talk to, touch, hold like our married sailors. They felt like they were in prison, just no chains on. For the families, especially with young children - schools closed & they had to do public school assignments at home which no longer had any meaning or point to them, instead of sitting as a family and read a good book, educational or not, listen to music by a wonderful composer, or go visit an art museum even if virtually. Their children would say good bye to Daddy, and 4 weeks later he would be home, only to leave again in 2 wks.   

A school, C school, Power School, all graduations were stopped, leaves & liberty were denied. This was our Navy year. Some commands are opening up. Some knew that the moral of their sailors was more important and besides the sailors earn 30 days leave a year - they have to take some of it at some point. So schedules were adjusted, leave was granted building in 14 day ROM for some but leaving partial crews, doubling up on watches for those still left onboard. 

Other scenarios have been shared confidentially with me as well. Life is tough in BC but is likely tougher in the fleet.

Life has been tough, but something my sailor son and his gf shared just by their attitude when they were here, was their resilience. I know a great part of that has to do with their captain. He cares about his sailors but they have a mission to accomplish. His leadership & his encouragement to those of us back home as well, has kept them going through thick and thin. It has not been easy, they had to make a lot of changes. But every mission has been accomplished with excellence!!

We have had to make a lot of adjustments. This is a place for you to share both your ups and your downs but sometimes we have to remember as much as not having our kids at home, we still have family around us and they don't necessarily. They can't just go get a hug from another loved one. 

My mother taught me long ago, when my husband was out for training, to look at things from his perspective, what he was going through and what he was doing without and then to look at what I had - family around (including 18 mo. daughter) and the blessings that I had. It meant an attitude adjustment for me. I will admit, other than not seeing my grandbaby and even my sailor & wearing a mask - this year has not been much different for me - Actually, in some ways it has been easier than the last 5 + when I was in the middle of my own hard times, emotionally, physically, & mentally with loosing relatives, dealing with estates  & selling property. For you, it has been hard and I get it!

BC is preparation time for us - this year just added a few more smacks in the face a lot sooner, and more restrictions for all of us. I give to you this Christmas season - Love, Hope, & Peace as you stir up Joy in your heart.

Good Morning Shanny!! Hugs to you my sea sister!

I know your Christmas was quiet and your sailor was away, but I really appreciate you being able to answer questions and replying to others when I and others were busy. I would love to be able to take a trip across the country and meet all of you that I have gotten to know through N4Ms. 

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

Shanny- Good Morning and I know your Christmas was quiet but you have been on my mind and in my heart. Big hugs to you!!!

BBH- I will say extra prayers for your Sailor and his shipmates that everyone is ok. It is always in the back of my head when it's time for him to leave so I try really hard to follow his lead and I don't bring up him going back every day. He will start stressing about it as we get closer and I just try to help him prepare for that transition. No matter what it is still hard on all of our kids.

Prayers again and hugs to you!!

Northwoodsmom- Thank you and oh my gosh that was so beautiful. I got teary eye just reading it. I bet  your brother was so happy and I bet it felt so good to hug you and your dad. I am glad he is getting better every day and that he has the antibodies in him now.

That picture that you made sounds so beautiful. I bet it turned out so great. You are so right love and touch are so important no matter what.

I am so glad you face timed your Sailor and he was able to share that joy with you. 

We don't know what's going to happen for our new year I pray we can get back to some kind of normal. The Navy is the Navy and I am always thankful for the time I do get to have with my Sailor. 

Chipmunk- Good Morning.

 That post was from your heart. And yes being out on the fleet is different and it is hard. Attitude is everything and this year has definitely been hard. 

Thanks for sharing ladies. I love reading all of our posts and seeing all the love and encouragement that we all have for each other.

Anti M- How are you?

Phoenixmom- Good Morning. How's the new kitchen? I bet it's awesome doing all that cooking.  :)

God Bless and enjoy your Sonday!!!

Party, I'm ok, this is just a tough time of year to be completely alone.  The neighborhood did neighbor gifts, although more store bought than homemade this year. 

Merry Christmas lovely ladies! 

I've been off for at least 4 days and just trying to catch up! We have a no electronics rule during the holidays (made an exception to keep phone on in case of a call) so I popped in once a day to read and not comment.  I prayed for each person who made comments, praying for healing, peace, comfort and joy.

2020: There are things that I would definitely wish away, but our family has had four years of heart break and healing because of our younger son (in the military too).  He unfortunately got swept up in the grips of a young woman and her mother's influence to marry early (right out of boot camp) at the age of 18. They planned over a six month period before BC and when our son was home for two days before heading to his first station (he's Coast Guard, they do things differently) he slipped out of home to have an early morning wedding with friends and her family.  I know this sounds crazy, but we are a very close knit family... he was very close to my husband, his big brother (the one in Navy BC right now), his baby sister (the damage to her so intense) and me. We didn't find out he was married until she posted something on my baby girl's instagram. It's the reason we don't do social media. Before he left for his first station (after they were already married) they came to our home to discuss a 2 year plan to get married.  You can't make up the stuff that was done to us, it has taken 4 years to get to a normal for me, my husband, my older son and my daughter.  We live lives of honor, respect and integrity. As did our younger son, at 18 he did not understand that some actions have long-term consequences. I share this with you for two reasons. 1) If you or your family have been devastated by your son or daughter's actions, don't despair this is a soft place to land. I'm here if you need to talk privately. It is very common for a young military person to make rash personal decisions out of a fear of being alone. 2) It's OK to be happy when others are going through a rough time.

After everything we have been through, this year has had many joys sprinkled in between the chaos.  I was offered a sweet job out of the blue (God's hand), my daughter started to laugh again and had precious time at home (remote learning) with her dad (the two are inseparable) who had to work from home and not travel (during normal times he travels a lot), I encouraged my husband, older son and daughter to reconnect with our younger son (love will build a bridge) so we all talk to him about his service (it's a process this forgiveness).  The biggest blessing this year was my oldest finishing a degree and deciding to join the Navy (his motivation to do things "right" and honor his family).  Our 1st born is thriving and every time I hear his voice or read his letters I know God has gifted this family with much needed joy and light.  I pinch myself a lot right now because I never thought we could recover or be happy. 

I thank God for you ladies here, I wish I had this forum 4yrs ago, but perhaps I needed to go through the dark times to get to today and appreciate now. 

I wish each of you peace and the strength to spread joy where you can!  We are never alone in His arms.

Shanny: Big, big hugs!

Newmilmom: Prayers and HUGS!

Northwoodsmom: The picture gift...so thoughtful, I'm sure you're dad was so touched.

Chipmunk: As always...you're the best!

Tadpole:  Yea! Hearing their voices helps so much.  

Some phone calls are so hard, come here for comfort.Praying none of us get a set back call. 

I know some people mentioned Sandboxx, I love Monday Delivery which is a post card service started by a Marine.  My 1st born said he really appreciates them...they deliver Mon, Wed and Fri by Fedx to RTC.  https://mondaydelivery.com/

I'm off to make Pizelles for my daughter and husband...they are working hard to update the bathroom my daughter shared with her two brothers (new paint and new faucet). 

Have a great day!

Doribry... Hi!  Hope you got a call! :)

Extra shout out to VintageGal, PartyofSeven, proudandgrateful and belovedbyHim.  Appreciate you all!  :)

AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN is on!!!  Fuzzy blanket and hot chocolate time!!!

Warriorprotector:  BIG HUGE Navy hugs for you!  

Good Afternoon everyone!!

Anti M - I am sending Light and Love your way!! Hugs. Yes, the holidays can be very lonely times for some and even more so this year. 

Tadpole - I am so happy for you that you had a phone call!!

WarriorProtector - Thank you! And thanks for sharing your story!! So much hope in your short message.

Shanny - One of these days we are going to have to plan a Fuzzy blanket and hot chocolate night. We have to pick a movie I can find on Roku! We just need to figure out how to do a virtual Navy Mom Posse night! Who is ready to ride with us?

Partyofseven, Pheonixmom, BelovedbyHim  - Love and hugs!

 I know I am missing saying hello to so many of you by name and that makes me sad, but I honestly can't keep up with everyone - which is good in one way, because that means we have a lot of you that are still sticking around and new members as well. But each of you is special and important and I don't want you to feel that you are being left behind. We are glad you are here with us!

I hope everyone had a nice holiday

Shanny-I love An Officer and a Gentleman.  They dont make movies like that anymore.  So good.

Warriorprotector-The best gift I received was getting a phone call from my son.  We had a whole hour to chit chat and catch up. I was able to add his older brother to the call.  My oldest is in the army so they had some friendly back and forth about army and navy. He sounded great as I hope yours did as well.

proudandgrateful-Did you get a call?

Tadpole-It is such a relief when we hear their voice.  Then we look forward to when we can hear it again.

Newmilmom-BNMH!

My husband and I are in the process of taking down Chrismas decorations.  The holiday comes and goes so fast.  I saw Valentine's Day decorations in the store today.  Let me just get through New Years!

Thank you navy moms for all of the support.  I appreciate each and every one of you.

Phoenixmom, sitting here with my Dad in our Packer Jerseys waiting for the game and thinking We haven't heard from you today, must be too busy watching your favorite team. Just wanted you to know I am thinking about you. 

Chipmunk what a terrific idea, I am up for a movie , fuzzy blanket and cocoa. Just have to wait till I get home, my Dad's kinda a remote hog. I might get him to watch "Cool Hand Luke" or something like that though. I am spoiled at home, nobody there but the dogs, cats and myself most of the time and they aren't interested in the remote, only the snacks. You name the time, movie and I will be there.

So every night I have gotten a picture of the sunset (when it hasn’t been storming anyway) from my sailor...  here is his sunset tonight...  it was so pretty I thought I would share!

DoriBry - Glad to hear that you had a nice long phone call from your son!

Northwoodsmom - I can't keep up with everyone's football team but I as well was thinking of Phoenixmom - We were traveling home so my husband had the KC Chiefs' game on the radio. It was a close one!! - Yes!  we will have to figure out the movie - My husband is the remote hog in our house so I need to see what is available. 

Shanny - I love the sunset - thanks for sharing!! I asked my son about the weather the other night. He said, yes, they had really high winds and it started pouring down rain as they were headed home, but he did not hear of any tornadoes. Of course, we live  in tornado alley so if he didn't hear sirens go off, he may not have been following as closely. 

Chipmunk:  my son has always been obsessed with the weather. In Kindergarten they had to draw a picture of what they wanted to be when they grew up. He drew a picture of a tornado and said storm chaser. They put the drawings in a time capsule to be opened at graduation. Problem is, no one remembers where they buried it lol 

he sent me a screenshot of the weather report...  it says 2 EF 1 tornadoes touched down in Suffolk. So must be outside of Norfolk?  Going to have to Google that one

warriorprotector- Big hugs and thank you for sharing. It is always good to get others perspective on these things.  :)

tadpole- Whoo hoo on getting a call. It is the best!!

DoriBry- So so glad you got to talk to your son and an hour that is awesome and I'm glad he got to talk to the family as well. Big hugs to you!! I am the same let me get thru new years before you start putting out Valentine's stuff. Lol

Shanny- I also love that movie. It really is one of the good ones!!! Love the picture and I love sunsets as well!!

Northwoodsmom- My brother was the Packer fan in my family so I've taken it up for him since he's been gone for a long time now. It is snowing there as I type this.  :)

I love me some football. Two of my teams won, while two others did not!!

Chipmunk- I'm sure hubby was happy as the Chiefs won today. Whoo hoo. Mine is the remote hog in my house to.

If you can figure out how to project a movie we could set up zoom, face time with the other moms. That would be pretty cool.  :)

I was thinking of her too.

Phoenixmom- Hope you had a good day. I've been thinking of you!!! Big hugs!!

I've been feeling kind of yucky the past two days but our air quality hasn't been good either. So I'm hoping it's just my allergies/sinus acting up.

It's been a good day watching football and resting. 

Looked it up... they are about 18 miles apart

Shanny- That's right, your Sailor is in Norfolk now. Ah that's my old hometown. I was born there. You will have to visit when you can. Va. is a beautiful state!!

That's awesome he always wanted to be a storm chaser. 

partyofseven:  he is about 7 hours closer to me in Virginia than he was in Florida. Only 12 hours according to Google. :) the colors in the sunsets there match the sunset in a tattoo he has. It’s pretty cool. How have you been doing?  Everything good in your world?  I say we try to zoom meet too!!!  How fun would it be to actually “meet” our moms?  

Shanny- That's awesome!! So much closer!!

That's pretty neat about his tattoo. Love it.  :)

Xmas was good and busy with my grand daughters we all had a good visit. Our air quality hasn't been the best the past couple of days but everything else has been good.  :)

That would be awesome if we could meet up with the rest of our moms!!  :)

Doribry! Yea, phone time! Glad you could just relax and chat. We played pass the phone between me, hubby, baby sister and then his younger brother called on my daughter's phone and we held the phones together so they could chat...there was some friendly smack talk about Navy vs Coast Guard. Makes it easy to breath for a few days. 

Chipmunk: count me in for a navy mom posse night! :)

Have a peaceful night all!

Belovedbyhim ~ I'll pray for your sailor and that there is a bubble of protection for him and the other sailors. I pray for peace for you as well. 

Northwoodsmom ~ I can only imagine the overwhelming sense of emotions and love that was in that hug between you, your dad and brother. I read that through tears! I know we were all so filled with joy for you to be with your dad this week. May you both be filled with peace and comfort as you touch your moms things. The picture that you printed for your father sounds beautiful. I bet he will treasure it :)

Enjoy your evening with your dad :) What movie did you decide on? 

Chipmunk ~ Thank you so much for your post. It really puts things into perspective. It's heartbreaking to hear of these sailors and military personnel that have had to go without this past year. I pray for their peace of mind. A lot of us are at the beginning of this journey and I can only pray for their morale and for the coming year that they have safety and happiness.  Thanks again for the love and insight to all of us. I greatly appreciate you and all of the moms on this site! Happy New Year! 

I hope you and your family enjoyed your Christmas!

Partyofseven ~  How nice would that be to have a meet up with all of us?! I hope you get some allergy relief :) Enjoy your evening. Happy post Christmas! I'm ready to put it all away and simplify!

Anti M ~ If it's any consolation I'm glad that we have each other on here. I'm hoping for a better year where family and friends can be together again and in person. 

Shanny ~ I would like to watch An Officer and a Gentleman! It's been years since I've seen it. I love both of the actors in that movie and who doesn't love Richard Gere?! :) Beautiful picture of the sunset! 

Tadpole ~ Yay for a phone call! You'll both go to sleep with a smile on your faces :)

Warriorprotector ~ Oh my heck I am sympathizing with you and what happened with your son. I hope that the family bonds can be bonded once again in the future. Wishing all the best to you, your family, and your Sailor! BNMH!!!!

That's ironic because my daughter is putting together a powerpoint of ideas that she has to renovate her bathroom. Have fun! I'm also looking up what a Pizelle is! lol

Doribry ~Yay for a phone call! Especially that you had both sons on the line! I bet you were/are on cloud nine!! 

I'm so ready to take down Christmas as well. done and done lol

Phoenixmom ~ I hope all is well with you :) 

Have good evening ladies! 

warriorprotector- Good Night.

VintageGal- Hey, I know. I pray for all of our Sailors daily as I know it's not an easy journey that they do. Their morale and safety is so important. I also pray that we all have a better year next year. 

I'm not quite ready to put it away just yet lol but I will. The decluttering yes I will start that now.  :)

Yes I think it would be neat if we did have a meet up on zoom or facetime.

Anti M- Thinking of you at this time. I know it's hard this time of year. Hugs to you!!

Morning ladies!!!  Today is the day my sailor should be leaving quarantine and heading to the ship. He sent me a picture of his hotel bill. The Navy needs to do better I swear $1260. He has to pay it and wait for reimbursement...  big day for him as his experience really begins!