NUKE moms

I'm starting my countdown - B&C arrive 1 week from tomorrow for Christmas!  I can't wait....they head to Sacramento for a few days first to visit Mommamacs son and DIL.  It will be a whirlwind trip but I'll take what I can get ;-D

Hi All,

I remember conversations about halfway boxes.  How can I find information on ideas?

Thanks

New Adventures - I found this link in the sub group.  It has some suggestions for what to send:

Halfway Boxes

Thank you.  The link is very helpful.

B'sNukeMom - Happy for your to have kids home!!

North Adventures - Hugs!!  

Love it!!! -   I hope everyone is having a good week. I am hopeful those of you who have sailors coming home, have a grand time and they have safe travels. 

The last time my sailor did not come home was while he was in Prototype. Too much work and not enough time off for the trip home, so he went with his roommate's family. 

Happy Friday!  I have to share that I had the awesome experience of watching my son's boat come into port from the pier. It was an amazing sight to see and watching all of it from just a few feet away!  After 217 days out at sea and only two contacts during that time, I finally hugged and squeezed my sailor.  He had first day duty so he had to go back to work, and it turned out he was on watch when they pulled into port. I waited and waited because I know that Nuke's are always last off, but when he hadn't come topside even after I knew he should have, I had to get someone to check.  He wouldn't have come up otherwise.  He had no idea I would be there or even had base/pier clearance. No electronics are allowed, so no pictures were taken.  That memory will be sealed in this Momma's brain forever!!

KayCee - That's AWESOME! It has always been my dream to meet my son's boat when it comes back into port... but sadly, he was assigned to a sub that doesn't allow it. Just seeing the sailors lined up around the ship in videos gives me goosebumps! Lucky you!

Any other Mama's out there with deployed sailors with no contact? I'm looking at a "blue" Christmas this year. :0(

KayCee- congrats!!!! 

Hammer21- I’m not at your shoes yet but next year! I hope you have the best you can have

Oh KayCee -- That is so Wonderful!!!!  That is a long time out!! I am so glad that you had the opportunity to go see his boat come in and that you were able to connect with him!

The Hammer - I won't have my sailor home this year either. But mine is at least back in port for a bit. 

I shared this in another group of mine, but thought I would post it here as well - 

How is everyone doing?  I know some of you will have your sailors home - Be sure to get lots of hugs for us as well. Even if my sailor is not able to be home, it is great that he calls (or actually his wife calls more) - but we hear the friendly banter as they are visiting with friends. It warms my heart, just to know he has a chance to relax and have some time off. 

If your sailor is not able to be home, check with them and find out if they have a window of opportunity for you to do some facetime, zoom, or video call where they can join in either with some of the family gatherings, or just to say hello. If you were able to send presents, maybe they can at least open them with you watching along. It can be a little awkward, but it is a chance for everyone to at least see your sailor and say hi to them. Anything to help the family stay connected. If they are in A school or Power School, most likely they will have had an opportunity to take more leave. During Prototype, it is a little more difficult, at least it was for my son - so I mailed his presents and then when we zoom called and when we were done opening presents, we had him open his.

So happy to hear that some moms will see their sailor for the holidays.  For those who will not, it’s difficult but most of us have experienced this too. Fortunately, this year we will be spending a few days with our sailor, his girlfriend and our daughter will also be there.  We will be traveling to see him, but it will be wonderful to see them all.  The entire family has not been together for Christmas for several years, so this will be very special. Happy Holidays to all the Navy Moms and your families♥️

momc - I am so happy for you and glad that you will be able to be together as a family this year!!

Q' Momma - So happy you get to have your sailor home with you!

Q's Momma and momc - I'm so happy for both of you that you'll get to spend Christmas with your sailors! Have the BEST visits with them.

Good Morning Everyone!!

Happy Hanukkah - Merry Christmas - Season's Greetings!! 

To all my wonderful friends here, may you have a blessed and joyful holiday! If your sailor is with you, embrace those hugs, go with the flow of schedules and expectations.  If you aren't able to have your sailor home, maybe you can plan for a special "face to face" time via your phone or internet options. Even just a phone call. My sailor is in a little different situation now that he is out in the fleet, and has own place, but some days he and his wife will call and we just leave the phone turned on, to listen to each other talk. They were playing a game the other night and just hearing the two of them banter back and forth, made it seem like they were just in the other room. 

Boots in my house. He is so happy to be home he is willing to eat my cooking and hitch admittedly is pretty bad! 

Lancertrackmom - enjoy and be sure to get lots of hugs!  And just keep feeding him lol!

I have boots in the house also. I'm so thrilled my son is visiting from GC for a few days. His wife, unfortunately, was not able to join him. It's a rare treat to get him all to myself for more than a couple of hours. I'm loving every minute of it, and sending some of this love to all y'all who can't spend time with your sailor this month.

PacNWmom - woohoo - enjoy!  I know what you mean, it's kind of nice to have him all to yourself ;-D

Lancertrackmom - Enjoy your special time with your son!!! Homecooked meals are the best!

PacNWmom - Oh how special!! I am so glad that he is able to be with you for a bit. This has been a long time coming, I know you are enjoying every minute of it. 

Hi all - Happy Tuesday!   I'm so excited ~ B&C made it to Sacramento yesterday - no flight issues!  And they'll be home with us on Thursday ;-D  I can hardly wait!!!

Big hugs to all of you whose sailors are away for Christmas.  <3

Mine is home, and I'm treasuring this time, knowing that it might be my last for a while.

Big hugs to all of y'all!

B'sNukeMom & MomofJoseph - So happy for you!!

I also see you updated your profile name, B'sNukeMom!

Hi all - Happy Friday!  B&C made it here - flight was only delayed by 90 minutes which wasn't bad considering how many flights were completely cancelled.  Of course we had to stop at In N Out on the way home too - it's a tradition.  Now it's non-stop festivities for the next few days.  But I'm happy ;-D

Mery Christmas Eve & Happy Holidays everyone!! 

B'sNukeMom I am so happy that the kids made it!!  I am glad you got your burgers, and you are enjoying your time together!

Good Morning and Happy Wednesday!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.  We had a great time with B&C and I finally get to share that I'm going to be a gramma!  Baby Oliver coming in May!!!! We are so excited ;-D

B&C got stuck in all that Southwest fiasco with flights.  Got up at 2:30am yesterday and found out that the 2nd leg of their flight (Midway to Detroit) was cancelled.  They headed to Ontario airport and were able to talk to the ticket agent (nothing could be done online) and they told them that no new flights were being booked until 12/31.  So they kept the flight to Midway and then scrambled to find a rental car which somehow they did!  Then they drove from Midway to Detroit, got their car from the airport and then another hour home.  So it was a long day but it could have been so much worse!  The nice thing was the weather here in SoCal was beautiful while they were here - we were in the 80's on Christmas Day.  We had a great time with family - got to finally announce to everyone (they wanted to tell all the family in person) that they were pregnant and we just had a lot of fun.  It was a short trip but we sure packed a lot in to it.  Now I can't wait to go to Michigan for the baby shower!  

Congrats B'sNukeMOM!!!  That's awesome news.

B'sNukeMom - Sorry they had such a crazy time returning home - it's been nuts for so many travelers - but glad they're home safe. And BIG congrats on the baby news! Go Pack! :)

B'sNukeMom - So happy to hear about the grandbaby, and also sorry to hear about the traveling issues. 

I was actually at the airport today for another family member and I overheard one of the workers mentioning something about a group of people that had to get to Tennessee. There were about 13 of them, so they just all pitched in and rented a van and drove. It wasn't until later, that I wondered if it was a group of stranded travelers. Evidently, they all got to know each other and it worked out fine. 

Could anyone help me out with this. My son is deployed and I sent him an email on Christmas and have not received a response. I have been emailing him every week or 2 since August and he always gets back with me that day or the next. Does the amount of emails the ship gets affect how long it takes for the sailor to get them? Or how long it takes for his response to be declassified?

NickSydmom - I checked with my source - and they said:

#1) Sailor's personal emailbox could be full. If it is too full of just ship messages, then they will not be able to receive more incoming emails nor will they be able to reply.  There are several factors that affect how much email space a sailor has. 

They need to delete past emails to open up space in their inbox.

#2) They could be doing drills, running silent, have VIP onboard that get more bandwidth.

#3) Nukes just get busy and tend to be the ones that don't check their email often or get them cleared.

#4) Weather can affect communication. 

In the end, my source said, "No News is Good News" & if they can get email from the ship that is all that really matters, even if they can't get email from their spouse or their family. 

I hope this helps. You might try to send another email and just say, please check your mailbox, it may be too full, not receiving emails. 

Thank you so much Chipmunk, that helps. I will send another one.

NickSydmom - I recall once when our ship was out for a shorter excursion, that they also had some coms issues and many of the wives were posting on the ombudsman group asking if anyone else had not heard from their husbands, when they were used to receiving something very regularly. 

NickSydmom-My son has been on 2 deployments and I rarely received an email reply. Many times there is enough time to read emails and that’s about it. Or enough bandwidth to receive, but not send. I know that it is disappointing, but I would not say it is cause for worry. Think of it this way: any communication you receive during deployment is a special treat. Do not count on anything. I’m sure that your son is thinking of  you and just as disappointed that he was not able to reach out on the holiday.

Happy New Year's Eve Eve!

Happy New Year Everyone!!