Our Daughter left for Bootcamp 2 days ago

[AzNavymom]

Our daughter left for bootcamp on Wednesday and will say this is one of the hardest things a mom/parent can go through.  My husband and I know it will get easier but these first few days are sooo hard.  She just graduated high school and now has left for a wonderful new experience.  We are grateful for our son that is still in high school and plays football.  This has helped as it keeps us busy. 

I came to this page and so far am soo happy.  With everyones questions and responses, I already feel a little better.  So many of our little questions are answered and make the biggest difference to us.  I can't wait to get the letter with the information so I can start planning the travel to PIR and can't wait to write to our daughter.  I bought a journal, at the advice of my husband, to keep track of events and our feelings so our daughter knows how much she was missed. 

It so hard not having the contact with her.  We know she is strong and this is what she has wanted, but not knowing how she is doing or what she is doing is soo difficult. 

Thank you again for this site.  There is so much information and so much support.  Can't wait to share as we move through this unique process. 

Lisa

[lemonelephant]

I left info for you on your My Page.

[AzNavymom]

Hi ,

We are in Az.  I feel the same way about wanting information. I have been reading everything on this site and other links. We miss her so much.  We do plan to attend graduation and wish we could book our plans. 

[hoppy1988]

Hi,

My daughter  is18 years old arrives in Chicago on August 14th. I am sick to my stomach. She is my only child and I am already feeling the empty nest. I am proud of her but I am soo worried about her. She is a girly kinda girl. I hope the pressure does not get to her. Any suggestions?

[lemonelephant]

hoppy1988, join the groups I left on your My Page a while back.

[Hesh'sMom]

My son also left on July 23.  We are from NY.  My son and I were pretty close and it is difficult with no communication.  Especially in this day of being able to text!  Can't wait to get some information on his division and a definite PIR date.

[All3barkers]

Hi....my son is almost 2 yrs in as of 9-25. It has been a very good experience for him. I know the emptiness that you are feeling. You will get the letter very soon with info. on PIR then you will be able to set your plans into motion. We used Expedia and got flight, hotel and car all in one package. It was an awesome experience. We flew from RDU to Ohare. Try to stay strong on the phone and let your sailor do most of the talking. I found that my son needed to vent more than me. I wrote the dates on the outside of the letters that I mailed so that when he got multiple items on one day that he could read them in chronological order. It is not easy but you will be so proud at PIR that it will bring you to tears! The Navy is by far a great choice. Better them yelling at these kids trying to get their life on track than us, right? That is the philosophy that I used to keep from being so worried. They are in good hands. No pain, no gain in life. Feel free to call me if you need to talk...I am in NC. 336-260-0110. Take Care and do not worry!

[Momma-Jo]

My son just graduated from bootcamp 7/18. The best advice I can give is write to your sailor every day, even before you get the mailing address. I wrote him a letter and brought it with us to his swearing in, I gave him the choice to open it right away or have me mail it. He chose to have it mailed, that's when I realized how important it was for him to get mail from us. I started that day writing to him every day. When I got his new address I sent everything I had saved up in individual envelopes, that way he could save them for when he was missing home or open them right away-his choice. I wrote about events of the day, no matter how boring, that way he wouldn't get too homesick. Be patient you may not get many letters from your sailor, they keep them pretty busy and they need to focus on getting through. Writing to him daily really helped me to cope with missing him and that first call home he told me how much it was helping him get through. We also sent a mass email to family and friends with his new address so he would get lots of letters from home, you would be amazed how much getting letters from home helps them. Remember sometimes "no news is good news", if there are any problems they'll call. Before you know it graduation day will be here, after they get their phones back and you get tons of communication. Good luck! It's hard but you can do this and it's such a great experience in growing up for them!

[Hesh'sMom]

I'm not sure if my son will send the form letter with address to me or his Dad.  Could others whose loved one had an arrival date on or about 7/23 post when they receive the letter?

[Hesh'sMom]

Anyone else's child in Aviation Electronics?

[lemonelephant]

Hesh'sMom, does your SR have a contract for the Avionics Technician (AV) field, the Aviation Electrician’s Mate (AE) rating, or the Aviation Electronics Technician (AT) rating?