Boot Camp Moms (and loved ones)

Awesome letters londack.. sweet..

AxolotlMom, londack86, Darlene, - Like BelovedbyHim said, this Navy journey is a lot like the Ocean. It takes a bit to get our bearings and if your SR is your only child, it seems to me like it takes the wind out of your sails a little more. For me, I still had children at home and a wedding for one of them to help plan, that kept me busy but after BC, when I found this site, I spent a lot of time here. I had better communication with my son than while in BC, but he was going to classes and as a Nuke, they studied a lot of hours! I still could not just call him up and say hi, let's chat, anytime that I wanted. 

My best advice, stay busy, give yourself grace and time to adjust as you figure out how to refocus your time and energy elsewhere. And stay connected here. 

As for receiving letters, I hope you all get at least some communication but know that, at least from what my son told me, they weren't allowed to write except on Sunday. I don't know if that is changed and sometimes you have SRs writing when they are supposed to be sleeping. So, just FYI, it is not always that easy for them to write. Mine would say he had 10 minutes to write. 

I guess no news is good news. I know she's busy and is doing what she needs to do. Glad i found this site :)

Indeed. words you will use many times..glad you are here axolotmom.. just keep writing..

Happy Monday!

And yes, yay for letters!

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quick question...is sandboxx worth it or should i just send letters via snail mail?

AxolotlMom - I never saw the value of Sandboxx outside of getting my son’s address early. It’s much more expensive than regular postage, it is not a secure communication, and if you’re sending letters regularly, your sailor will be getting regular mail. That’s just my two cents, but my son said he got letters most days once they started getting their mail. (I wrote something every day - so he got letters almost every day).

AxolotlMom - I am glad that Diahn replied to you. Sandboxx wasn't something that was a "thing" when my son was at BC. So, he just got snail mail from myself and friends of ours that also wrote. They don't have a lot of room to store their mail, and they still have to wait for someone to be trained in their division to deliver mail to them, so that takes a bit, but once that occurs, they have daily mail call, and can get letters daily like Diahn mentioned.

The one time we suggest using Sandboxx is if your SR ends being held back for any reason and then you can get some quicker communication to them, mostly as words of encouragement. 

True.. we did use Sandboxx but it was newer at the time and didn't send us his address. It gave us a chance to write a running tally and include a photo that is printed on paper for him to see home stuff. we also did snail mail for regular pictures a few times.. but stopped of course after boot.

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AxolotlMom -- If you do decide to use Sandboxx, Please be sure to use all your "Letters" while they are in Bootcamp.  It's a great resource if your SR calls to tell you they are setback for any reason... You can get letters of encouragement to them in 2-3 days instead of a week or if they are injured but outside of that very narrow purpose, Don't use it.

My Son was a Sailor in the Fleet when Sandboxx first came on the scene.  Because of his job they travel almost exclusively by plane.  When he was finishing his first Deployment and because they fly they don't all fit on one plane so typically they come in waves.  We were going to CA to be there for his Homecoming.  We got a phone call telling us they had been delayed and didn't know when they would be home.  We missed getting to see him, on what to date has been the only time we have possibly been able to make it for a Homecoming celebration, all because a Girlfriend decided to send a Booty Call Sandboxx letter to her boyfriend complete with timeline!! That young man's plane was part of the first wave... They got to sleep in an airport hanger in a cold climate on the floor for 4 days and 3 nights (till the food in the vending machines ran out ...) The Sailor to whom the letter was addressed was razzed and got a new one chewed out by both Shipmates and Chiefs alike.  Not sure what happened to her.  Sandboxx is NOT OPSEC or PERSEC so do not use it for any reason outside of Bootcamp.  Better to not even sign up other than to get their address.  If you write regularly they will be getting nearly a letter a day or every other or whatever you are able to do and they will be just fine! 

Axolotmom - I also had used Sandboxx only to get his address early and then looking at their weekly updates. I tried to write nearly every day, and that helped me feel like I was connecting with my Sailor. I noticed my Sailor wrote a little bit many of his days and so his letters would be dated with each day he wrote and a few short sentences and then the next day he wrote a little more, etc. I don’t think they had much time to really write. 

Your mom strength is shining throughAxolotmom, Darlene, and londack86!!

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Happy Thursday - no PIR today.....

I think the Navy really missed out... Leap Day PIR's ... A 4 year contract really takes 16 earth years to complete!!!

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Yesterday was National Sons Day.  B is the one in the sunglasses.  N is the one getting married in a couple of weeks.  B was in town for the bachelor party.  ;-D

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My pic is of a can of Navy Beans...get it?  lol i'll see my way out

AxolotlMom - How funny!

Clever AxolotlMom!

AxolotlMom -- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!

B'sNukeMoM --  Awesome looking 'Kids'!!!

Thanks belovedbyHim - I think so too ;-D And hard to believe my "kids" are going to be 35 and 30 this year!

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Remember NO PIR tomorrow.  Next PIR is 3/14/2024.

And Happy Belated Birthday to the Seabees!

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Happy PIR day

belovedbyHim - No PIR today......

So how long before i should expect a letter from my kiddo?  I mean, she probably won't write anyhow, BUT if she did, when do they generally get a chance to? 

I think I remember about 3 weeks or so.. a little before or after and yep.. depends on when they get to write, which tends to be on Sunday..

AxolotlMom - The first letter I received was about 3.5 weeks after arrival. It was a packet full of VERY short letters written over that time. I think generally they can write on Sundays and mail them on Mondays. I usually got letters on Thursdays. Have you signed up for Informed Delivery through USPS?

Diahn..(i don't know how to respond to the comment itself and make your name bold) yeah i have Informed Delivery, have had it for several years...super handy. She's been at RTC since Feb. 20th so it hasn't been THAT long. Idk if she will write or not, but I was just wondering. I did see she signed up for NFCU (got a couple of deals in the mail) even though already has a bank account with USAA. Maybe they have better rates, idk. 

there are perks for active duty NFCU, they get paid a day early into their accounts and probably other stuff as well..