NUKE moms

mdbatfam - Congratulations on your upcoming sailor! - Leave time will depend on what he is actually doing. Normally the sailors have liberty on Saturday and part of Sunday, for those who are "classed up" and are studying. If your son is INDOC, it could depend on the job or duties he is being given during that time.

Maybe some others can chime in and give their insight as well.

mdbatfam I agree with Chipmunk it depends on what your son is doing.  If you can wait until he phases up then he will be able to leave the base for longer and possibly spend the night with you. He may also be able to wear civilian clothing off base, which adds to their comfort if you go to the beach  

KayCee - sorry to hear you have no heat or power. Hoping it comes back on soon. We looked like your picture last weekend - it is so pretty!

mdbatfam- if you can plan your trip at Easter such that you can cancel if need be, then if it is a good opportunity for your family to go see your son, then I know he will probably appreciate it. I have 5 children, two married this summer, so I know how hard it is to have family gatherings. He will most likely have to go out in uniform, but most likely if just looking at lunch, he should be able to. It will just depend on his arrival at GC.

Rebecca J - Send lots of prayers for your son - I will let the vet submom's encourage you, but I will keep him in my thoughts and prayers.

Rebecca J - you are welcome!! I am glad that he is enjoying the food!!

Good morning, Sea Sisters!

PacNWmom, my mom had Alzheimer's too. So difficult, especially not living in the same place. {N4M hugs}

RebeccaJ, it's tough when we know our kids miss us. Try to feel good that he reaches out to his family. You are obviously a rock for him. We don't like to think our kids aren't happy but he'll be OK. It takes time.

Crazy weather in NE too. But at least we're used to it and life goes on. I know there are parts of our beautiful country for which that is not the case. It's OK, Moms! Spring is right around the corner.

I FaceTimed with my sailor from Manila, Philippines on Sunday. He looked so good. Then I found out last night his beautiful American Bulldog Penny died yesterday. I wish he was home with his family! So heartbroken. She was a great dog. Not being home for that is another piece of the sacrifice our sailors make.

NancyJo, I'm glad you got the facetime!  My sailor hates to video chat, she points the phone at her cat.  Sigh.

It's too bad he couldn't be home with his dog.  The loss of a pet can be very difficult.  Hugs to him.  

It was 75 here yesterday and we're supposed to break a record in the low 80's today.  On Sunday I was skiing.  They have closed the resort for the week in hopes of preserving the snow for the weekend but with 3" or more of rain being predicted, I think the season is over.  This has to be terrible for the resort, another money losing season due to unseasonable weather :(

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

Chipmunk, SubMom and PacNWMom - My power finally came on 38 hours later, but as of this morning, still no internet.  This cold, snowy weather is really not typical for just North of Seattle.  Good luck today on your interview, PacNWMom.  Sending you positive vibes.

NancyJo - so sorry to hear about Penny.  Pets are family and hold very special places in our hearts.  Hugs to you and your Sailor.

JayDee659 - my son won't FaceTime or video chat either.  The one and only time he did was when he was hurt - had a concussion, and then doesn't even remember doing it.  Communication is a challenge with him as it is.  I know so many of you can relate to that.

Rebecca J - thoughts and prayers to you and your son.  I know my time will come.  I'm overthinking at this point, but dreading it nonetheless.  

Oh, PacNWmom, I meant to wish you well on the interview! My feeble brain can only hold so much info at any given moment. So sorry! Please fill us in on how it went.

JayDee, so sorry to hear about the resort. Weather is so unpredictable and it can sure do a number of things we count on. I hope the resort survives the bad luck.

KayCee, my daughter is the worst.  When she was on deployment she'd send all these beautiful pictures and I'd ask her for at least one with her in it.  So I'd get a selfie with her blurry face in the bottom corner.  When I finally met up with her for the Tiger Cruise I saw the problem.  She'd left the "film" on the phone and it was crappy and scratched so the backward facing camera took blurry pictures.  AUGH!!!  BRAT.

She will do a video call if I need to look at something, like a cut or burn.   At Thanksgiving she didn't understand how to make stuffing.  Since I was making mine I did a live demonstration and she turned her phone on what she was doing so I could direct and instruct.  Goofy kids.

Hi All - well the freezing rain / ice that we despise in OK because it does so much damage finally arrived. We did get a little bit of rain but not enough to eliminate the drought. Afternoon activities have been cancelled and I had a minute to check in. 

JayDee that is funny about your daughter having the film still on her phone. I don't facetime with my girls since most are close but we skype with our sailor most weekends. Thankfully, he got use to skype before he left so he lets me see his face! 

KayCee - glad to hear you got power!!

NancyJo - so sorry to hear about Penny. It was very hard on our kids to loose their cats, but I am sure it is hard on the family to not have their daddy around at a time like this as well. 

I know some have sailors taking important tests today. My son mentioned also that he should be having his official PFA tomorrow, they had done their weigh in last week.

Does anyone have a sailor graduating From A School on April 13? Which is a Friday the 13th. 

Thanks to all who sent good thoughts my way for my interview today. Unfortunately, it has been postponed until Friday, due to the fact it has snowed all day long. Keep the good thoughts coming!

Haven't heard a word from my sailor in a couple of weeks. Since that's totally normal for him I'm assuming all is fine. He has very spotty cell service in his room, so I understand why it's hard for him to call. Still, I wish he'd at least send me a quick text each week so I know he's still breathing. I try to look at it as my training for when he's deployed. Sigh.

KayCee, I sent you a friend request. :)

PacNWmom

I know exactly what you mean. Last call from my son was over 3 weeks ago. I know that he passed his first test in power school. It’s frustrating, and he just doesn’t seem to get it. I’m also assuming that everything is ok. Otherwise, we’d probably hear from them, I suppose.

MoMom - Yep, I try to remember that no news is good news. When he was in GC I'd occasionally text his friends to see if he was still alive. Now that he's in college I don't have contact info for anyone who's there with him, though I suppose I could check with his HS friends if I was really worried. I'm sure he's in contact with them.

I think it's funny that these kids who are so tech-savvy cannot find a way to keep in touch with their families. Both my kids would MUCH rather talk face-to-face than with any type of  device or technology.

Boy #2 signed his paper work. He went to Meps last week. Despite my protests he has quite school. He will be leaving in August to become an AO. I am disappointed and frustrated, but trying very hard to be supportive.

3B'smom - **BIG HUGS**

We have such high hopes and expectations for our kids -  and it is hard when it doesn't work out like we want or plan for them. Keep up that supportive face for him! (as you already know!)

Can you remind me what is AO? I think your last boy is only 15 now?

kai cat - AO = aviation ordnanceman. My youngest is 17. He graduates in May. This year will definitely be full of changes  for our household.

Communication seems to be a problem that we all share but we need to remember that our "kids" are struggling to be adults and learning to be independent.  Some step off slowly and some just cut all the strings at once and face a new direction.  My experience is that if they cut and run, they generally will return when they realize that they don't have to cut all ties to prove their independence.  My oldest did the cut and run thing, and a few years later started drifting back.  Now she calls regularly.  My sailor understood that one text a week from her would be sufficient and that the price for missing the text would be a lengthy phone interrogation from mom.  :)  She got with the program very quickly and I'm pleased that she calls frequently now when she's on land.

I have been blessed to have boots in my house since my LO graduated OCS in October.  He is getting ready to head to GC for his first school on his way to subs.  What can I expect for him as an officer in GC versus enlisted other than living off base?  I have seen schedules and what to expect in the documents but from what I can tell it describes what enlisted can expect.  Thanks for any insight!

Eaglemom01, my son finished in GC in November, now at prototype in Ballston Spa.   He had 12 hour days with classes and then studying since all materials have to stay secure.  I think PT was maybe once a week.  Unless there is special training it's pretty much M-F.   They did evacuate during the hurricane but they made up the time to still graduate on schedule.

Eaglemom01, just to add, there were tests often and he always knew where he stood.  There was opportunity to challenge a test if needed.  

Hi all - Happy Wednesday!  I've been absent - had a lot going on with my mom.  I'll try to get caught up on everything as quick as possible.  Lots of chatter here which is good!

Welcome to our 2 newest members ~ Wahine4 & mdbatfam!

Please be sure to read the **NEW MEMBERS** section up above and of course, feel free to ask any questions you may have.

mdbatfam, there's a big adjustment for sure. Are you planning on going to PIR? It's fantastic if you can make it. Highly recommended. You will be amazed. Find the boot camp group for your son so that you can keep up with specific info. But stay here too! Nuke is like no other group.

Finally have a minute and wanted to share.  On Monday I took my mom to the hospital for an outpatient procedure.  While I was in the waiting area I got to talking to a very nice older gentleman and it turns out his father was in the Navy and served aboard the USS Grunion (SS-216) during WWII.  The Grunion was sunk at Kiska, AK and all 70 sailors were lost on or around July 30, 1942.  The captain of the Grunion, Lt Cmdr Abele had 3 sons and they spent 65 years searching for info about the lost boat.  He said they even got the man who was famous for discovering the Titanic’s wreckage involved in the search.  It was finally located in 2007. It was very emotional listening to him talk about everything that went on during these years and he said that a book has been written about it “Fatal Dive” by Peter F. Stevens.  We talked for quite some time as he told me stories of various sailors on the Grunion.  It’s really an incredible story and he said there’s hope that it will be made into a movie one day too. 

Here's a couple of links with info about the USS Grunion:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Grunion

http://ussgrunion.com/

Rebecca - we talked for over an hour - I can't even begin to explain how moving it was listening to him.  Numerous times he got emotional - it just gives me goosebumps thinking about.

He also mentioned that even though it was over 65 years later when they found the boat they had over 200+ people (friends/family) at the ceremony. 

Ok Rebecca, I just ordered my copy too!

B'sNukeMom, how's your mom? Hope all is well.

That's pretty cool. You never know who you are going to meet. I love being able to make connections like that 

KayCee - I am so glad to hear you have power! No power in winter is NOT fun. We had 2 days of rain that melted all our snow (Michigan) and now the rivers are cresting. We will probably be back to snow next week :)

I was reading through all of the posts regarding the lack of communication by sailors and I agree this is the time that they are spreading their wings and  "no news is good news". I also think that as hard as it is I know it is helping me to adjust to future deployments where we won't be able to talk to our son. 

B'sNukeMoM⚓️MM Thank you for the story. And the link to the book. I love history.

My grandfather Harlin H Tierney(1909-1985) was the Chief Commissary on the heavy cruiser USS New Orleans during WWII. He saved artifacts from the ships, including military pictures. Menus, cookbooks. The WWII museum in New Orleans recently excepted all documents to their collection.

Telling us that there are rare artifacts from this ship

Question for our Nuke sub sailors.Has anyone thought to ask their sailors if they take Vit D supplements Even here in Az we are deficient due to hiding from our hot sun all the time

B'sNukeMoM - what a special and touching conversation.  I imagine he was so grateful to share his story :)  Hoping all is well with your Mom.

AZNuKeGma - amazing about your grandfather and that his artifacts are now in the WWII museum.  I wonder if I have seen some of them.  I visited that museum in NOLA about 4 years ago.