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-Colleen

Absolutely keep in touch. This is quite the adventure with many exciting moments to come. I think you said you will get to see him over the holidays? That will make everything much better. You two can hash out a much better "battle" plan too for staying connected.

Take care.

Rhonda

Aren't these sights fantastic. How wonderful that he's been "found". I'm hoping that he gets a few more letters out to you and that you get him a phone card so that you can talk. You will feel so much better once you get a chance to talk with him. They get so involved that I think they sometimes forget that we need to hear that they are okay.

Good luck and I am so happy you know where he's at.

Rhonda

Lindsay, You need to stay on the Facebook page to monitor what's going on. They will not mail you an invitation. I think towards the final weeks when he could get a few minutes to call he let us know what his graduation date would be. I think they never feel sure until the very end because things can happen...not often, but they do. You will want to make your hotel plans at least 30 days in advance. Just make sure of the dates. There should be more chatter on the pages as he gets closer. We were always checking and double checking to make sure we got it right. One of the Dad's had to change his tickets to get there earlier because his son was not quite clear on the best date to arrive.

I do believe they graduate on a Friday so you will want to be there by Wednesday so that you are there for the Pass in Review on Thursday and to spend some time with him before the big event. There will be the PIR on Thursday and the Hi Moms reception which they will plan. They will let you know where that will be. You will want to get up at 4:30 a.m. on graduation day to watch them go on their final run and then graduation is at 9:00 a.m.

Lots of fun stuff coming up in your lives. Keep in touch.

I made some very lovely friends from the facebook page and we are still communicating because we had so much fun together. It was great to meet them at the graduation too.

You are going to be great. Sometimes you just need someone to tell you that you are not crazy and that it is normal to feel a little bit lost. This is not for the faint of heart that is for sure.

Have fun when he gets home.

Rhonda

Lindsay, You are very lucky you will get to see him for the holidays. Just hug him up real good and continue to be supportive. He really does need to concentrate on what he's doing. It is very very tough. My son did not get a break at all and his group just powered through. Our job really is the hardest because we just have to wait, often not really knowing exactly what's going on. Do not worry though. I was told that we'd all get to hear the "sea stories" when they were all done. That's when the excitement starts. Get yourself ready to go and watch him graduate when the time comes. Hopefully you will get to go and share it with him. It is something that you will never forget.

Trust me, there were times I did not feel very positive when I sat down to compose a letter, but you can bet my son never knew that. I always felt like I was making him stronger because he never had to worry about any of us. I send stories of our every day lives and jokes and motivational quotes and cartoons and any upbeat thing I could tell him or find. He saved every letter. That was pretty cool.

Enjoy your holidays together. Make him proud of you too!

Lindsay, I went into the facebook page for 05-14 after I posted the last message and they have a lot of pictures of 05-14 in there. If he is in that class he should be in at least a few of the pictures. You can also check out class 06-14 in case he did roll. It would be kind of unusual if he didn't call if he was put into H class. Please just keep in mind that it is not unusual not to hear anything. You can pick up bits and pieces by communicating with the other mom/dads/wives/fiances, etc. on the facebook page. The very best thing you can do at this point is write lots of encouraging letters with positive and supportive messages letting him know how much you believe in him etc. Expect nothing in return as they are under a tremendous amount of stress and are concentrating on getting the job done. The more love and support you send his way the better. If it's a choice between wirting a letter or sleep, they will probably pick sleep and understandably so. Be strong and brave and supportive. Look at all the pictures again. They do all have a tendency to look the same once they shave their hair off. Our group all laughed about it and some of us looked for their shoes trying to verify which one was our. Stay positive and loving. He will very much appreciate it and you. Just remember this only lasts for 12 weeks (yours will go a little longer because of the holidays), but it will be over soon.

Hang in there. He can do it and so can you!