NUKE moms

3B'smom - wow!  Time sure flies, right?  Nice that they will be closer to home.  I wish B&C were closer!

Pizanche - enjoy your time and BZ to him for finishing up the nuke program!  Now on to the next adventure.

Thank you B'sNukeMoM.  

Pizanche - Congratulations to your son from me as well!! Enjoy this time with him as well.

I will share this with everyone -  when my son was able to come home for a month after Prototype, I had a huge "sonny-do" list. I think I was just so grateful to have my son home who thought enough like me to figure out my reorganization tasks that I put him to work focusing on things that helped me more than finding out what he wanted to do with his "vacation" time. He left for BC a month after HS graduation, and never really had any "down" time in between because of family events. I guess I figued I could just pick up where we had left off after two years!  What I did not anticipate was him not being able to be home for more than a few days at a time, maybe once a year, in the future, Covid restrictions, or getting married and his wife staying in the military. 

What I would have done differently - Planned more just enjoyable nights of playing games, inviting his friends over, or encouraging him to see some of them. 

Had him work on going through his stuff in his room and boxing things up that he wanted to keep and gotten rid of what he did not want. So, at least if he never came back to live at home, it would be easy to deal with. And if he did come back, he could unpack it or take where he needed to, but he would know it was at least stuff he thought he would keep. 

3B'sMom - Mine is also on final countdown - Unfortunately, mine is going to be closer to you all than to me. Enjoy having your son and DIL nearby!! Please thank your son for his service!

B'sNukeMom - Long distance grandparenting is not easy, but videos, facetime, Google chat, those are all good ways to stay connected.  

Thanks Chipmunk.  My son is home and he is enjoying himself.  He is hanging out with me, and his friends and sister.  I am not putting pressure on him to do anything - I want him to enjoy himself.  We do have a bon-voyage party planned for him this coming weekend and he is helping with that.  I am just happy he is home for a short time.

Happy Thursday!

Just got a text from B&C.  Oli had his dr appt this morning and he's at 11lbs 12oz!!!!  He'll be 4 weeks on Saturday when we arrive.  I can't believe how big he is - I guess so much for me seeing a "little" newborn lol!  C said my arms are going to feel like jello after carrying him around lol.  He needs to stop growing until Lolli gets there!!!!

B'sNukeMom - Have so much fun with Oli!! My grandson was 10+ lbs when he was born, so I know how you feel. I just watched a video of him on the Family Album crawling all over the place. And my granddaughter being a "silly goose". I love them!

joe-mom - I saw your post on the BC page that you get to see your son on Friday!  I am so happy for you!!!

B'sNukeMom - I hope you are enjoying your time with your sweet grandson.  I hope time slows down while you are with him!

Thanks, MomofJoseph! I'm so excited, it's really hard to concentrate on work this week... already in vacation mode.

I'm not very active on here anymore.  I just wanted to share a perspective.  Life after The Navy is wonderful.  When people tell someone in the Military "Thank you for your service." I now think of all the families who sacrifice.  So many Holidays spent without.  So many birthdays missed.  I am so happy to have my son back.  But I feel for every single one of you enduring your child's service.  You deserve thanks too.

My sailer shipped out today to his new port. Glad I hit the last month with him, but…. 

Tx Mom of Far Away Nuke - Thank you!! I am so glad your son is back home, hopefully nearby. Mine will not be coming home as he will be living the life of Navy spouse, so we continue as a military family. 

Pizanche - {{BNMHs!!}}

Happy 1st day of summer!

'm back - well I've actually been back for a bit but trying to play catch up at work lol.

Had a wonderful visit in Michigan with Oli and B&C.  We really didn't do much of anything - just got lots of snuggles.  It was amazing to me how much he changed in just the week we were there.  It was really hard to leave and I'm already trying to figure out when I can go back.  This long distance stuff is for the birds lol!

Hi all - Happy Tuesday!  I just booked my flight to visit my lil Oli in September ;-D  And I'm going to be a big girl and fly all by myself!  This will for sure be an adventure lol! I can do this, I can do this, I can do this....

Just got a text from C and she said Oli is weighing in at 13lbs 7oz now!  He gained a pound since last week!  OMG!

B'sNukeMom - Yes you can, yes you can!!  I may be doing the same thing myself later this year if I want to be with my newest grandchild when it arrives. 

Well, my son is officially a civilian now, but I won't be getting him home, since he will be staying with our sailor DIL. It is hard to believe it has been 6 years since we said good-bye, and yet a lot has happened. Interestingly, today will be very similar to that day as well for other reasons. 

I will still be around, and I hope that my posts and added discussions to this group, with my son's help will serve other future families well. But may I encourage you all, we keep passing the baton forward. No one is alone in this journey, but we also learn new information and glean more understanding from our sailors, tidbits worth sharing. 

My only regret is that due to timing with the ship, my son never experienced a full deployment and thus I did not walk through that experience as a Navy Mom either. I don't think it really has bothered my son, but for me, I feel like this is one thing that I cannot truly empathize with others going through it. There were many things we did experience with his first in class ship, and may days out to sea, just not a full deployment. 

Chipmunk - wow - that sure went by fast!  So excited for the next chapter in your son and DIL's life - and a new baby on the way, even better! 

Congrats B'sNuke Mom!

Today marks the 2 years that my son decided to be a sailor. I know its not alot of time but for him and me it is.

Playing catch-up here... just got back from a 10-day trip to Charleston. What an amazing place! I want to live there someday. We rented a wonderful Airbnb in Summerville (30 miles from downtown Charleston) that I'm happy to recommend to anyone interested. Best part though - we got to see our son two weekends in a row! He looks great, is doing very well in Power School (so far - just 6 weeks in) and is loving his life right now. As a mom, I couldn't be happier for him. But also as a mom, I miss him terribly, and it just kills me that I'm not able to see him more frequently. For some reason, leaving him this time was harder for me than leaving him at the hotel the night before he left for BC. I think the Lord (and the Navy!) is preparing me for future underways and deployments, when I won't see him for months, years maybe. Many of you have been here, and it is HARD. Thank goodness I have all of you to lean on!

Pizanche - It does sometimes feel like an eternity!

B'sNukeMom - Glad you get to go back to visit that sweet little baby. You'll do great!

Chipmunk - Congrats to your son! It must be so hard living far from him and your DIL (and baby to come), but I hope you will be able to visit with them often.

It's hard having kids live in another state - I mean we all deal with it while they are in the Navy, but I know in my case I assumed (silly me) B would head back to CA when he got out.. 

B&C both got out of the Navy within about a month of each other.  She went back to MI, where she was from, and he stayed in VA for school until they decided they didn't want to do the "long distance" thing anymore.  So then he followed her to MI and that's where they have stayed.  I always thought he would come back to CA but love overruled that thought!  They do want to eventually head West but I doubt they will end up in CA - it's just too expensive.  So now I must overcome my fear of flying so I can visit my lil Oli....

joe-mom - we only made it to Charleston once but we really liked it too!  Hoping to make it back someday.  My list of places I want to visit continues to grow lol!

I will be wearing my son's RED ship shirt every Friday until all of his shipmates return to shore!

joe-mom - I am so glad that you had a wonderful time in Charleston and visiting your son. It is sort of funny, my DIL is from that area and she loves Charleston, my son, however would just as soon not recall his time of study and life there, but I also really enjoyed our visits. It never is easy to leave. 

B'sNukeMom - I totally understand. I never imagined anything but my son returning home in a few days. Instead, I just get pictures of him from my DIL and hear stories about him becoming her military dependent!! I am thankful that she includes me in as many pictures as possible and texts me or calls me often. 

I still have his blue BDUs that he was issued while in BC and then were discontinued while in Prototype, I think. I have no idea what to do with them, other than to sell them to the military surplus store. I am wondering if I should make a diaper bag, backpack for them out of it!! 

Does anyone have any ideas! I am not even sure what I am "legally" allowed to do with them. They are still hanging up in my old laundry room! He brought them home on leave after getting his new uniform and basically left me to figure out what to do with them. He did not have space for them and since they were no longer regulation issue, he could not do anything with them either. 

Chipmunk - the diaper bag is a really cute idea!  I've seen where people also make little bears out of them - guess it depends on how creative your are - or who you can find to do it for you lol!

My son has orders back out to Washington later this year, so back to 3 time zones away. He'll be going out on deployments again, too. I know where my (battery-powered) blue candle is, but I'll have to find my Blue Star banner. We've moved since I last had them out.

Pizanche - Yesterday was my son's MEP day, and now after 6 years he is back to being a civilian. In one sense the time has flown by, in another, it has been long. I am thankful for the times I get to see him, the pictures and video calls, or just phone calls. 

Chipmunk.. congrats to your son!! I’m so happy that you are kinda getting him back. And you DIL keeps you informed. 

Wearslargehats. I feel for you with the time zones. I’m waiting gif the deployments to start. You reminded me to make sure my batteries are ready to go. Good luck. 

Happy 4th of July weekend to everyone!!

Pizanche - Thank you! 

Happy 4th of July everyone!! I have officially changed my son's status to Veteran on here, but I won't be going anywhere. My DIL is still serving and will be for a while still. 

Hi Nuke moms - Maybe you can help me with something. My husband and I want to go to our son's Power School graduation but don't have an exact date. He says he doesn't know yet when it is, and I'm hesitant to rely on him to ask about it early enough for us to book a flight well in advance. By my calculation, it should be around mid-November, probably the weekend before Thanksgiving. Is there a way to find out the exact date? I've looked online but had so success. Someone I could call at the base? Ombudsman? I'm not sure if that's an area they can help with. Anyhoo - appreciate any suggestions!

joe-mom - I can't help with getting exact dates, maybe from the ombudsman, I don't know - but the one thing I can say is - If you book flights, make sure you have ones that are changeable at least, or possibly buy flight insurance. 

My son's Power School graduation was mid-October, and less than a month out, even later maybe, the graduation date was changed due to a hurricane. I was in the middle of trying to finalize the house sale from an inheritance, and the date change worked for me, but we did wait until almost the last minute to book the flights and car rental, because we had no way to plan.

Sometimes there is a window of opportunity that is closer to a flight date where tickets might still be cheaper, it just depends. This far out, I would not book without knowing things can change on a dime. Both A school & Power School graduations were changed for my son. I think Prototype was on schedule, but his completion of work was the key with that one. 

Really the best thing is for you to bug your son - He is the only one that can give dates, now and out in the fleet. He needs to realize and understand this. He can ask his SLPO if there is a schedule yet. If PS has started, they should have a schedule of some sort, you may not be able to read and understand it, as I recall, but he can. It is okay to bug him a little bit. Saturday morning was the best time for us to call and converse with ours.

Also, if he does not have a vehicle yet, now is the time for him to be looking for one or figuring things out. He will need it for Prototype. We ended up driving a car from another family member out to our son. My husband and a daughter drove that one and I followed in our car so we could return home. We did that trip in early August which gave my son time to get reacquainted with a car before he was driving daily at all odd hours depending on the shift. 

FYI - Depending on how long your sailor's T-track time is between A school & Power School, they will start leaning what it is like to stand the watch bill & the rotations for that process. This is all preparation, as I see it, for Prototype. 

During Prototype, they will go on a rotation depending on which "ship" they are on, I think. Then they will be on different schedules as well. As I recall from my son, there were three shifts, and they were similar to what they would stand for watch on a ship. Sometimes he was driving into Prototype early in the morning. At other times he was driving home very early in the morning and would call to talk, mostly to help him stay awake. 

Welcome to our newest member ~ pw1406!

Please be sure to read the ***NEW MEMBERS*** info at the top of the page.  Lots of good info there.  Also take a look at the Pages (20) to the right under the member profiles - be sure to hit "view all".  And the discussion forum above has some good info too - be sure to read Chipmunks "Nuke A School Daily Schedule".  And of course, feel free to ask any questions you may have.

Thanks, Chipmunk! We will be sure to book a flight that can be changed if necessary, but I will continue to bug my son about the date. He's been in Power School for 6 weeks and should have some kind of a schedule. He had no problem getting us his A school grad date, even though we opted to not attend that one since we were going to visit him a few months later. He bought a car a few months ago and is planning on renting a house with a few friends right after Power School. He's a pretty decent planner - just not always good with some of the minutiae!

Posted by NPTU Charleston Ombudsman

joe-mom - It sounds like your son has some of the bigger hurdles out of the way for after PS.That is great!! Now you just have to train him to remember that you need the minor details, so that you can plan your travel ahead of time!! :-)  

Also, it might be helpful to remind him that while you can glean a lot of basic information, and sometimes some details from here or the ombudsmen, that when it comes to specific dates, those can only come from him. I know I am repeating myself, but I think after BC, sometimes we have such a wealth of information our sailors think we actually "know it all", when in fact, we don't really. 

joe-mom, I know my son didn't make it to graduation but 2-3 months before graduation we were sent a personal invitation with the date on it from the Command at the NNPTC. You should be getting that soon. 

joe-mom  my son started PS on May 17 and he said graduation was Oct 27, its not quite 6 months/26 weeks, which is what I thought it was.  He hasn't changed from that date in a few weeks, so unless I hear otherwise, I have to go with this.  I wish my son was a planner.  I know that he said he was going to ask a couple of guys if they wanted to share a place, but he isn't telling me much more than that.  

Northwoodsmom - Wow, that's cool if they still do that! Thanks for the info.

JNMnavymomOH - My son started on May 17 also, so for now I'll plan on October 27. Thanks! My son was not much of a planner before joining the Navy, but he's really surprised me during the last 10 months. I'm sure your son will figure things out in time. It seems that they only tell us what they think we need to know!