A Little Nervous..

[firewife5]

Hi everyone. I'm totally new to this. My son is in the DEPs program and is scheduled to leave on the 19th of July. Eight more days! It has been a bit of an emotional ride, but I am so grateful to be able to read some of your thoughts and suggestions. I especially appreciated the one mom who's son chimed in with Boot Camp tips,..how to survive it, etc. How thoughtful and practical! I shared all the good info with my son. It's good to know I'm not alone in some of my concerns. Right now, we're just trying to figure out if we should go with him to the assigned hotel and stay over and watch him formally swear into active duty. I seem to have all these odd questions like, where do families say their goodbyes? At the recruiter's local office or at MEPs in Sad Diego? (we're SoCal) Should he bring a shaving kit and overnight toiletries for his hotel stay (I heard he has to send it all back anyway..) I seem to get bogged down with the details. I just don't want to miss saying goodbye to him. Well thanks for reading this. I hope all is well with your sailor :)

[proudmama ship10 div267]

My son shipped on June 23rd,we took him to the recruiting office on the 22nd...we said goodbye.Went that nite to the hotel to take him for dinner...we said goodbye.We went to fort dix for his swearing in...we said goodbye.Then we went to the airport and waited with him and that was the "BIG ONE"...each time I cried it was an exhausting couple of days but I wouldn't have changed a thing.He is due to graduate BC on 8/19.Gd bless all our kids,what they are doing is wonderful,we are so so proud!

[VINNIEJOESMOM SHIP07 DIV 289]

my son just left today for bc, his swearing in was running late and we did not get any time with him except when to hug him right before he went on the bus. i am so glad to know i am not in this alone although that is how i feel. my prayers are with all our children

[KellySHIP07DIV193]

My son's PIR was 6/10 and he's now in Pensacola. We stayed at MEPS with him 'til they called his name to board the bus. We could have went to the airport and waited there too, but we'd been up since 4am and didn't leave Meps 'til 1pm. That was enough waiting for me. That was one of the worst days, but I had to keep the goal in mind. I sent off a 17 spoiled boy and in a short time had a much more mature and respectful 17 year old Sailor.  He took his cell phone, an address book and a calling card with him. He sent his clothes and cell back to me. I got the "I'm here" call late the night he left. I received my "kid in a box" about 4 days after he left.  Make sure to activate the calling card in advance. Sometimes they only have a few minutes to call and activating the card takes up valuable time that could be spent talking. About  9 days after he left, I got the "form letter" that contained his address and information about PIR. His first letter didn't arrive until almost 2 weeks after he left. The first few weeks they only get to send letters out on Sundays. Even though you don't get an address for a little while, it's good to still write and send them when you finally get the address. Mail is very important to them. It helps with homesick and its a link to the "real world". I got the "I'm still alive" call 3 weeks and 1 day from the day he left. This was the hardest time for me. I'd never went more than 24 hours without talking to him. After that, he was able to call 3 more times. Once because someone was nice to him when he was having a terrible time, the next was to check on us because we live near an area that was affected by flooding and then the best call of all, the "I'm a Sailor" call! Be prepared for PIR. The moment the "garage doors" open, tears flow rapidly. Good luck to you and your SR's! Boot camp is definitely an emotionally trying time for us Mom's (and Dad's too), but keep the end result in mind when missing them. You send away your child and receive a more mature and respectful Sailor!