grumsmom

Hi Grumsmom,

Thank you for posting to my blog. I, too, call my son's voice mail over and over again. I've left him messages too. Anything to feel some sort of connection.

When did your only son leave for boot?

~Cynthia

Hooray for letters. How many times have you read it so far. Kissed it yet? ;D

Yes, Erik's PIR is May 21st. How about yours?

Your son left March 23rd too, right... so did he actually fly out on that day? Mine simply went to the airport and spent the night. Frustrated the heck out of me to know he was so close but untouchable!

Just got home and got the form letter! I was so excited- anyone outside would have thought I'd won the lottery when i shouted "I GOT IT"!!!!
I didn't realize just how glum I've been all yesterday evening [after getting the 'box'] and then this morning. Thanks grumsmom for asking how I was doing. I haven't been able to 'get on' the N4M site till just now.
Does anyone have a child[!] grad. May 27th? Paul is on Ship 14 DIV 199. I can't figure out how that works out to 8 weeks. I was sure it would be the second week in June since I didn't count P days as part of the 8 weeks.
Can anyone explain how that works?
How soon to should we book things?
Thanks to all the 'moms'.

I am going to PIR, reservations already booked. I was almost "psychotic" about it; afraid I wouldn't get a flight or hotel room. My poor husband felt so much pressure to get it done. Now I can leave him alone! LOL.

As for where I'm from, I am far away from everyone else it seems. I'm just outside Portland, Oregon in a little bedroom community called Tigard. Have lived here for about 12 years, but was born and raised in California, lived in a few other states in between moving from California to Oregon.

How about you?
~Cynthia

OOOhhhh, that is so special that your boss is doing that. What a blessing. No being squashed in coach for you. :D And how cute that Brandon wants you there despite his sister's graduation. Gads. I'm so glad you weren't forced to choose one over the other. Can you imagine? Yikes!

Monterey to Farmington! LOL. How did that come about? What is Arkansas like? I've never been to the south, although I've been to Monterey. I started out in Southern California, moved to Montana, back to Northern California, then Phoenis, Las Vegas and now Portland. I think I'm set for awhile! LOL.

What you said about Arkansas cracked me up. Actually when I think about Arkansas I think about forest and rivers and not much population. Living in the Portland Metro area I feel as though every bit of land is being eaten up in land development. I get outside of town, up along the Columbia or south toward California and there is nothing for miles and miles except for forest. That's how I imagine Arkansas to be. Perhaps I'll get to see it one day.

I remember when Oregonians didn't like Californians at all. Now that Nike and Intel moved into Portland, we have people from all over the world and U.S. also.

Today our sailors get their mail! :D

Yes, I do think they will get their mail today and yes, it will be a huge pile for our boys for sure! Hopefully we'll have another piece of mail on Wednesday.

I was told phone calls home are earned and the entire group has to earn it, not just one sailor. I'm not expecting a call home any time soon; just my way of dealing with it. ;D

Hi justed wanted to let you know my nephew is in the same division as your son. Have you made plans yet to go out to the graduation on May 21st. Talk to ya soon. Kelly

Yes I got a call yeasterday and wasn't there and Must have listened to it 10 times....
sad I missed it But the energy in his Voice was Wounderful....

Marsha(Ship14 Div.193)

Yes we made our arrangements be will be flying in on Thursday. I'm so excited can't wait to see him...

As far as I know he's going to IT at Pensacola, FL. He doesn't give me a lot of information in his letters. Still, it's nice to get the letters just to know he's ok.

hi grumsmom, i saw yesterday that you had posted you will be staying at the Red Carpet Inn- you are a week ahead of us PIR 5/27's. I would love to hear what you think about the Inn. By the time I 'checked in' on BC your post was way down at the bottom and I thought it would be easier to 'friend' you instead of picking that thread back up.
Are you staying there the whole time? Thanks for any info as you get it.
Lori

no call yet. Guess it's not something that one can predict. Now I'm waiting to get another
letter. Since my first one came last Thur I'm hoping that the next one will be thur. Of course that hasn't kept me from running to the mail box! Up till now I could care less if the mail had come- besides bills whatever comes by snail mail anymore?

Cathy, well I'm trying not to stalk... but the no phone call this week was more disappointing. Cause I kept reading of those who got one. I really was hoping. But then what if I didn't know what to say? Or he was unhappy? Or things weren't going well? So i guess the 'no news is good news' is better. I think you're right- for you it is getting close.
Hey May is this Saturday so you are that much closer! When is your sons BS?

I've been trying to figure this all out. If Sun is a sort of 'down time' for them then wouldn't they more likely call that day? this is driving me nuts!

This is what worries me- when you say they've 'lost' that many what happens to them?
Not knowing what is going on...
So when does the recruit know about their BS night?
It's giving me a huge headache just worrying about P and how he's doing.

Hi, I'm just counting the days till I talk to him again. I constantly think about him and what he may be doing at any given moment. I'll feel good for a few days and then that "down feeling" starts creeping back into my emotions. I know it will be better when they get to A school and can call us once in a while, and we can e-mail them and get a response ina day or so. I'll be so glad when Battle Stations is over and I can breathe again. Hope your doing ok. Let me know when you get your next letter if he knows Jason.Later, Sara

Hey GrumsMom-
I can't believe it took me this long to figure it out! With all the therapy I've had, I'd should have been able to put 2 and 2 together quicker than 4 weeks! But the word you used, 'grieved' is the thing that finally put all the pieces together for me. I kept thinking, "Why am I grieving? He's not dead!", and then I'd kick myself for being a fool, and crying for nothing. But it wasn't nothing to the psyche - it was a death. Phew. Glad that's over! Hang in there, Sweetie!
Tina

Thanks so much for your note today. It made me feel so much better to know that he will have a mom giving him a hug after PIR even if it isn't his mom, and that he's ok with that. He told me that he will get leave after A school so I have to save what vacation I have left to spend with him then. If I went to PIR I would have to use two vacation days and I would only have a few hours with him. I figure it will be much better to save the days and spend them with him when he comes home. Anyway, thanks for your kindness. Bless you and Brandon and your family.

Oh, that's wonderful to hear about Hotel Indigo. It looks cute online, but looks can be deceiving. Got a letter from Vince today (pretty shocking actually, I usually don't get them until Thursday)... he's so excited for Battlestations. I just can't wait for all of this to be over! ONLY 11 DAYS!

Thank you for the "bear compliment". Yes PIR is right around the corner!! I'm so excited!

PS-love your profile photo!!!

Hey Cathy - Vince doesn't wear contacts or glasses. I've seen some other groups talking about sending them in overnight USPS packages, which seems like a good idea. I just worry b/c our division is so strict with all that stuff. Maybe just one of those bubble packages w/ one pair of contacts will be ok. Then you can take the rest with you???

You're right... It's probably best just to wait until you can ask him what to do. I feel so bad for our guys sometimes b/c of the RDCs they got stuck with. It seems like in other divisions the RDCs aren't as strict. I know it's good in the end, but for heavens sake they shouldn't stress over sending contacts! Seems silly to me. They the poor guys have their contacts!

I'm sorry to hear about your son's fiance. That can be tough. I rarely like my brother's girlfriends. My husband's parents are divorced and I don't love his father and step-mother as much as I do his mom and step-dad. This whole boot camp experience has definitely brought us closer together b/c I knew I had to step-up my "communication game" w/ Vince gone. I still call and email his mom 10 times more than his dad. How long have they been engaged? Hopefully they'll wait a while longer just to make sure this is something she wants to get into.

I hate that you're going to miss the meet & greet... but I'm sure we'll see each other at PIR. It's so soon I can't stand it!!!

Yikes! They're only 20?! I would discourage that & I don't even know them. My sister (she's 8 years older than I am) told me several times that I shouldn't even consider marriage until I'm 25. Now that I'm 28 I know why. Everything changes so much in your early 20's. Everything you want in a partner takes a 180. Vince & I knew each other for 10 years (we were on again off again several times) before we both decided we were ready. He knew long before I did, but he's 4 years older. I was 27 when we got married a year ago. That first year is tough... I'm not sure we would have made it in our early 20's. I'm really sorry to hear that she didn't let you know about receiving a letter. Up until the last 2 from Vince I've typed them & emailed them to his mom & step-dad. It's just so important these first few weeks. The last few have said basically the same thing though. Hang in there... she'll mature with age and perhaps you can 'mold' her into the perfect DIL!

Battlestations today!!! I'm so nervous for all of them. Can't wait until it's over.

Have you ordered your button from Wal-Mart???

I just wanted to say hi and see how everything is with your son. It has been a long wait but we are at the end. I hope to meet you at PIR!

Joe did ok from what he has said. For the longest time, in his letters, he said that he just laid low and did what he was told so that he didn't get into trouble. I have asked him about the RDC's and how things were going but I think sometimes that he just wanted to either spare me the details or just didn't want to talk about it. Either way, he is done with it and ready for graduation. I am not sure if I will make it to the meet and greet or not. I am driving over from Nebraska and I think it is about 10 hours or so. But I will be looking forward to meeting you at PIR. I hope you have a peaceful night knowing that he is safe and that he made it through!

Hey Cathy! Thanks for checking in... I was a little MIA. I had a school project due and made a promise to myself that I wouldn't get on here and 'lose track of time' (I do that pretty often). Sooo, we have SAILORS! Vince sounded so tired & sick. I felt so bad for him, but it's over now. I'm so excited!

On another note- Have you ordered your button? Do you think we should do something else? I couldn't find the button on the Wal-Mart website. Let me know.

Have a great weekend... LESS THAN A WEEK - UNBELIEVABLE!

I'm doing much better now that I know everythings ok. He said he and a couple of buddies were going to just stay on base and go to Recruit Heaven. His flight leaves for Florida so early Saturday that there really isn't time for them to go anywhere. He saw that they have a tv and internet so he said they all agreed that that would be the best idea. Bet your getting pretty excited about going to Chicago... Be safe and have fun. Tell Jason Mom said, "YOU TOOK THE CHECKERED FLAG". Thanks soooo much for your kindness to my son. It will mean a lot to have "A Mom" give him hugs.

Got a quick call from Jason last night about 9PM. He needed more information for another security clearance. I thought that was all done weeks ago. Maybe he needs a different clearance. I'm not going to worry about it. They graduate Friday so all is well. Have a safe trip. I'll be thinking of you all Friday morning.

Cathy (sorry, I can't remember if it's a C or a K!),

It was SO nice to meet you at PIR! It was great to finally meet someone that we've been talking to for months now! What an amazing day it was! I hope you had a great time with your Sailor! We're so proud of all of them!

thank you so much for letting me know. We will just be there the one night as we wanted to be close to the base. After wed night we will stay at the La Quinta which had good reviews but is a little further away. I figured it's not like I'm going to get much sleep wed night! And since we will have to be up early to get ready to leave....well i can stand just about anything for one night! But that's good to know it wasn't awful.

Any tips now that you're back? How it all went and any places you would recommend?

And congratulations to your new sailor!

Lori

That is so nice that you got to have him for overnights as well! Jason had to be back at the base around 7, as he had to be changed into a different uniform and in front of his rack by 8. But being able to talk to him about 5 times already makes it just SO much better! He is now in Pensacola until the end of June(ish). He seems to like it so far! How is your son liking A-School. More freedom? Haha!

Cathy- that was great info- wrote it all down. P's BS is tomorrow night. We will arrive in GL by early wed afternoon and PIR is thurs. He will also be staying at GL for A school.
I will get his call sometime[ ?] in the afternoon. Hopefully I won't shriek out in public!

HI Cathy,

Just checking in and letting you know I was thinking of you. How's your Sailor?

{{{{Navy Mom Hugs}}}}}
Cynthia

Hey Cathy,

Well that's just plain odd that you would be corrected. Was he still in BC when you posted that? I didn't put that I was Nuke mom until Erik graduated. But it never would have occurred to me to say anything either way. LOL.

I'm able to chat with Erik at least once a day though Facebook chat. But now we're in for the long weekend so I'm not expecting to hear much from him. And once school starts that could change things as well.

Erik is in Goose Creek; where is your Sailor at? And yes, PIR was the best weekend of my life. What did you folks do after graduation?

Cynthia

Hi, Jason said he should be in Florida for about three months. He said they work on computers and go at their own pace. So he could finish before then. He was sooo happy he got to play soccer a couple days ago. Navy won... He played his same spot of defense. He told me when he's done with A school he'll get a two week leave. Where is Brandon?
It is amazing the difference in them isn't it. It's like they've been born again. They have their music and laptops and cell phones and can call us. Life is good again.

Hi, I spoke with Jared briefly yesterday. I'm sending his cell and contacts this week. I think it's a big adjustment for them as to have all this freedom. When we were out to dinner the PIR weekend he said he felt like some one would say "ok back in formation". But by Sunday he was relaxed. I think they have to get into a schedule for A school and all will be good. I'll have to poke around the sites and see what A school for corpsman is like and what kind of class/testing schedule they have. I hope your sailor is doing well also. Have a nice weekend :)

Hey Cathy,

I was a little upset that I didn't get to meet anyone from our division at the meet & greet. It was pretty dark in there & I couldn't see anyone's division numbers. And then Friday was very 'rush, rush.' Vince had liberty all weekend with just morning and evening phone check-ins. It was great. Where is Brandon's A-School?

Well, I hope you had a great weekend last weekend. It's kind of sobering to be home this weekend w/o Vince.
Have a great holiday weekend!
-Tammy

Hi Cathy,

Sorry I didn't respond sooner, however, I have been really sick all week. First time in years I've had anything and boy am I making up for lost time.

I would have been a bit hurt as well. Comment wasn't really called for, you know. Wear your Sailor's career proud Momma! ;D

Erik shipped to Pensacola on Tuesday so while we had him on liberty, we didn't have him overnight. That would have been awesome. Plus there was some confusion between his Petty Officer and Chief as to what time liberty was over Friday night and while still early, his Chief considered him [among others] "late" in getting back so he had a 2 hour watch on Saturday, and liberty was cut short by another 2 hours. That sucked!

But other than that we had a wonderful weekend. Friday we hung out, relaxed, went to Starbucks, the movies, and had dinner at Cheesecake Factory.. Saturday we went to Chicago and had pizza at Giordanos. Sunday was Six Flags. We had a great time and came home exhausted (and sick). How was Navy Pier?

Hi there, hope you had a great weekend. The weather here in Massachusetts was beautiful. Sunny with a nice breeze. I agree larger famlies are rare these days. Jared is my oldest and the others are 22,20,16,15. I have three boys and two girls. My oldest daughter just graduated from College this past Friday so there's been a lot going on here these days. Hoping all is well @ A school for our Sailors. Take care.
Best,
Tami

Hi , Oh that's great that you were able to make both the graduation and PIR. Both such important events and ones that a parent wouldn't want to miss. This past week we had an awards/parents night to attend for my youngest daughter who will have her 8th grade graduation celebrated this afternoon @ church. Yesterday we attended the Girl Scout encampment and our troop cooked a spaghetti supper for 142 girl scouts and their leaders. I't's been busy but I love to spend time with the kids. After this week things should quiet down a bit.
Jared says he is studying and checking out Chicago when he can. He should have his phone this coming week so I hope to talk with him a little more often. I'm curious what kind of schedule their on. I've seen some posts about some sailors being on hold or waiting to start classes. I'm not sure if theis applies to our young men or not. Just curious. Well you have a wonderful day! Take care and best to your sailor :)

Tami

Hi, Good to hear from you. Jason is loving Florida. There are four other guys from the 189 with him and they eat and hang out together. He told me they all went to Chilie's for dinner last weekend. There's a mall they go to and I guess it has everything they could want. He's dissapointed they won't be able to enjoy the beaches but we're all praying that gets cleaned up soon. Hope all is well with you and you Sailor. Take Care, Later, Sara

Cathy- thanks for asking! I haven't heard from my boy other than a quick text early this week. He's on 'hold' of course. I'm hoping it won't be for a long period of time. It's been 2 weeks [!] since he graduated and I know that 'holds' can last awhile but for his sake I hope not. It almost seems like BC was some what easier- in that I knew he was 'doing' something and being busy. Also I looked forward to his letters! But it is nice to know I can text him if i needed to- I just don't like to 'bother' him. Does that make sense?

So how are YOU doing?

Lori

Hi, Sounds like Brandon is settling in well. Jason called tonight to wish me Happy Birthday. I was surprised he remembered. Asked if his card had gotten here yet. It was very nice. He's started school as well. Seems to like it quite a bit. Not at all like boot camp. He said their going to the beach this weekend. I asked, "What for, isn't the oil there?" He said he just wanted to go to the beach to see. So, ok... He finally got his new laptop. He's been looking forward to that for some time. It's so nice just to hear the happiness in his voice, I expect you've experienced this with your son. Life is good. Take care, Later, Sara

Have fun!
I just wrote on BC moms- I got a text from P to say that the whole base is doing a 'people' american flag tomorrow to honor the bases 100th anniversary, He said he'd get me a copy of the paper as it's going to be reported and photos taken. Ask Brandon about it.

Hey Cathy!

Just wanted to check in and see how you and Brandon are doing! Jason is loving Pensacola, and got his orders today! He'll be stationed in Norfolk, Virginia. He seems excited, because it's closer than California or Japan! Did Brandon get his orders yet? Hope he's having a great time and hope to hear from you soon!

I'm glad to hear that he loves A-School! At least it's summer in Great Lakes, so it's not freezing! Does he have any idea where he might be stationed? Jason graduates A-School on July 20th and has to do 3 extra weeks of training after because he's stationed on a ship instead of a squadron. He doesn't exactly know when he will start those three weeks though, it could be right after graduation, or sometime in September. Once he finishes his three weeks, he'll be home for 15 days, and then report to Norfolk.

That's awesome that Brandon is a Phase 2! Jason didn't get overnight liberty until Phase 3! It was frustrating because my parents and I went up to visit him while he was Phase 2 and he had to be back at base at midnight Friday & Saturday nights, and ten o'clock on Sunday night (I could pick him up at 7:30am everyday). He phased up to Phase 3 the day after we left! But, unless he comes home before it, I'm planning on going up the weekend of August 20th for our one year anniversary! So I have something to look forward to!

Hello, Good to hear from you, glad you son is doing well. Jason is great. He got his verbal orders yesterday. He said he got the USS Shiloh, in Japan. He wanted Europe but he's happy about this. Said a lot of the other guys were jealous. My nephew is getting married at our home next June, sure hope Jason can get leave. He said school is great. They made him assistant instructor (for when the instructor has to leave the room). He hangs out with about five of the guys from Div 189 and seems to be very happy in Pensacola. I know what you mean about bootcamp and this website. It was a life line for me. Later, Sara

Hi Cathy- so good to see your post. i haven't been on here as much as the 'early days,'
just been real busy. After i read your post i was all down cause I hadn't heard from Paul.. and then he called! It's so infrequent as he has 'night' school and sleeps in in the morning. Then does his other 'stuff'. Paul is enjoying his training, he's still in ATT but hopes to finish next month. Then who knows how long the wait till A.
How is Brandon doing? What 'stage' is he at?