I had the honor of attending my son's Pass In Review on the 237th birthday of the Navy in the company of about four thousand fellow spectators. On this graduation day, one fully appreciates the magnitude of committment our sons and daughters have made. You feel the power of the United States Navy and the glory of our country. As I heard 1100 voices loudly and proudly recite the Sailors Creed and sing Anchors Away, my eyes repeatedly welled.  I believe the Navy's newest sailors  also felt the…

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I find myself flipping back forth between "What I can write about on this blog?" and wrapping my head around the events in the world, "What the heck is going on?"  I have little mini-blogs in my head as I  wander around the shampoo aisle in Target. And later, as I sip my coffee and watch virtual chaos on the news, I am wondering why is this all happening  NOW? Am I just increasingly aware since we have a son in the Navy?

I thought about blogging about the  466 Navy acronyms…

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I'm not asking you to read this blog! Although I do appreciate being read by you.

I'm suggesting a couple of books that you, your SR's parents or siblings might enjoy reading. I found out about these books by reading a blog by another Navy Mom written ages ago. My husband has been enjoying reading these and I think they provide us with a little comfort in learning what our SR is learning. And seeing a little into boot camp life  is never a bad thing, as we're all pretty much out of…

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Good Morning,

Opening a new carton of milk,  I notice it's right there!! No, not my son's face silly,  the date for his PIR! The date on the milk EXP: Oct 12. Well, who would have thought that it would already be stamped on a milk carton? As I stood there pouring the milk into the bowl, I was transported to a big open space in Great Lakes Illinois and imagined hundreds and hundreds of blue (they will be blue by then, right?) uniforms parading in with flags…

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Hello everyone!

I don't have any new things to tell you because our SR has been in isolation. Not fun for him, but he has been able to contact us and keep us updated on his health. And we have squeezed a few stories out of him. 

If your son is in his Division (ship 11 Div 331) , he really likes all his fellow SR's. He says the group gets along well. He can't see himself moving because there is such commeraderie amoung his fellow SR's. I think that's a great sign and I hope you…

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For those who aren't in my son's Division, I got a call today that my SR has the Chicken Pox -AGAIN.

He had a mild case when his older siblings had it. He was 2. I guess it was so mild he didn't get antibododies....so now he's in quarentine in the VA hospital. There is a break out of CP in another soon to graduate division... so my SR caught their virus. He's fine, but itchy. And rather annoyed at being removed from his group. He is hoping only for a short while and that his PIR won't…

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Saturday I went to buy my mother-in-law a birthday card. I ended up spending ages in the card section of the Hallmark store sifting through cards.... 

Our SR  has ALWAYS been the comedian in the family. We all think we're  pretty funny, but our SR has great delivery! He can "comedy speak" any language! Is he really speaking German, Hindi, Chinese and Arabic? NOPE! But you'd not know it if you too didn't speak it.  He can imitate any accent speaking English too. It's pretty…

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I may have become the woman I used to avoid! YIKES!

Let me explain. Read on, as this does have SOMETHING to do with N4M's!!

I was the woman who appreciated every point of view. I always had very strong personal beliefs, but I kept my opinions to myself. Strong faith ( I do believe in God and that there is a plan), strong family ties (Like being nice to certain family members when I don' t really like them!) a strong moral compass ("Do unto others" stuff...), perhaps generous to a… Continue

I was just emailing a friend  (found here) that I should be sitting at the mailbox every day at 2 PM singing"Mr. Postman". It is encouraging to see that "JordonsMom" got a letter and her son left the same day as mine... so, I know everyone gets processed differently and our letters should be on their way soon. I was happy to see her date as 10/5... for some reason I was told more than likely,  10/12.... we'll see!!

I am very happy to hear from so many wonderful women who are…

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The hardest thing I have ever done is walk away from my son,  leaving him with his recruiter. I would not wish that heart wrenching experience on my worst enemy! We were lucky in that our son was able to have his cell phone and call us from a hotel he stayed in the first night. 

I am waiting for a letter and his address. In the meantime, the box of his stuff arrived home. (How weird is that experience?) I have cleaned and organized his room. It's an odd feeling to have another person…

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