My daughter leaves in the morning

[Momma Karen]

How do I say good bye?  What advice do I give her?

 

 

[Lily AJ]

My advice would be to be strong for your daughter, you wont want her worried about you while she is gone. I had to put on a good Fake Front for my son, otherwise he would worry about me. My advice to him was to......... Hang in There, Stay Strong, Be Safe and Study Hard, and Do Your Best and to always remember To Pray.
Good Luck to your daughter.

[Mo]

Make sure she doesn't volunteer for anything!!! Best advise my son says he was given. Talking too much has seemed to be a real problem with our division so warn her about talking too much. Let her know that every post I have read says the RDC's are fair and the food normally reviews as good.

Take stamps and an already activated phone card then make sure you write down all the numbers on the card so you can recharge it for her when needed. I wrote down the pin#, the "serial"# and a phone number for customer care not realising there was another phone number that you need. It must have taken 15 minutes and numerous ATT divisions to get the magic phone number. If possible send her with her cell phone so she can make the 10 second I am here phone call without having to wait in line for phone. She will then be able to send it back in the "kid in a box."

The hardest time for both SR and parents seems to be the first three weeks. Little to no contact from your "child" tends to make you imagine the worse no matter how many times you read "No news is good news." Make sure you check these forums regulary and join her ship/division group as soon as you are able. It is truly a wealth of info and makes your life easier. For instance I haven't heard from my son in over a week and no letter and I know this is normal because none of the other mom's in his ship have either.

What I told my son, and end most of my letters with is, I love you, I am proud of you and I (will) miss you. And speaking of letters start writing them as soon as she leaves so when you have her address you have some ready to go. This is the best thing that you can do for her is to write often, daily if possible. My son says letters are like gold and wanted anyone and everyone to write him. So start thinking of relatives, friends, co-workers...that can also write to her.

Hang in there and before you know it you will be at her PIR.

[Anti M]

Ears open, mouth shut, do as you're told as best as you can, and never call the chief or POs "sir". Lose the word "okay", yes or no only! And find the humor when things get rough, boot camp is really weird. Oh, she WILL hate it the first week or two. That's normal.

[Gulf Coast Mom]

It has been two years since my son went to boot camp. Just this weekend, I found the letters he wrote from bootcamp. I wrote a note and put it in his wallet. He found it at the hotel the night before he shipped out. He wrote a note back to us - some that night and finished it on the plane on his way to Great Lakes. He then put it the pocket of his jeans. I was so excited when I got the box home with his belongings - and there was a note from him, telling us that he knew it would be hard on us, but felt he made the right decision. He also did not volunteer - but was appointed a "leadership position". In his letter home, he said "you don't tell them no". He was also in the 900 division, so had a very full schedule but did very well. Was as little older than most (22), and also said as long as you do what they say, when they say to do it you won't have a problem. He said "I can't believe some of these people don't know when to keep their mouths shut". Unfortunately, one person's attitude or back talk affects the whole division. Again, start writing the letters now. Number them so she will know in what order to open, in the first one send a few labels with your home address so she will not have to take those few precious seconds. Once you have her address, you can also do the return address, and make extra to hand out to family and friends. I sent two things a day - usually one letter in the morning and a card in the afternoon. Since I knew he was going to boot camo, I looked for cards of encouragement, thinking of you, etc. I bought a lot at Dollar Tree or the 2/$1.00 ones. Recently, I was in Hallmark and they had quite a few directed at kids for $1.99 or less, but with cute encouraging messages. If she is used to going to church, encourage her to go on Sunday morning - it is a time for a little relaxtion and refocusing. Start planning for PIR - it is awesome. Good luck to you and your daughter.

[ChrisAmo]

You don't say "goodbye" you say "see you in 8 weeks" Tell her it won't be easy but nothing worth-while ever is. Tell her you love her, trust her to do her best and yes, "hear all, see all, say nothing."

[2 in the service]

We gave our girl a huge hug and a kiss and told her that we would "see her on the other side". She turned and left, never looked back. Training was not easy but she is out "the other side" now and very proud to be a part of the United States Navy. I wrote every day, it helped me feel closer to her, which I needed. We told her to stay healthy, stay strong and stay focused on the end result. The rest takes care of itself. She says to do what you are told and not draw attention to yourself.
There is a group for Moms of Daughters 2 which you may want to pop in on. A great group of very caring moms of Navy daughters. Lots of understanding there. Good luck to you and your daughter as you start this journey.

[Theresa]

I wrote my son a long letter the night before he left and gave it to him as he was leaving our house with the recruiter. Just basic stuff, telling him how proud we always were of him and telling him to be strong for the next 8 weeks. I wrote him a short note every day while he was gone and looked forward to the letters I would receive each Thursday. She's going to hate the first two weeks but will adjust to this new lifestyle. When you go to graduation, you will be pleasantly surprised at how much she matured. When she leaves to go to MEPS to take the oath, you can meet her there. Watching my son take his oath to defend our country was really a wonderful experience.