bootcamp

[jessmom]

my daughter left today 12/12 for boot camp in great lakes  she is 21 years old but i feel lost without her already. it just feels so different then when she went away for college.i know there are many people that go through this everyday. its just so hard for me, i work with two people who have had their young men go away and i really dont think they felt the way im feeling. Im told by some of my family members that i need to grow up. she is a adult and this is the life she has chosen. i think its more that im not gonna be able to talk to her when i want to, and have her come home for those special occasions. when something does bother her i want to know that and be able to help her through those times and im not gonna be able to do that all the time. i do know i have to loosen those aprons strings but boy it sure is hard. as im writing this she is sitting at ther airport in harrisburg pa....plane leaves at 5:20 will arrive in chicago and from there take a bus to great lakes. the time zone is different there, she said it will be about 10:30 their time when she calls so i will make sure im up at 11:30 our time (new york). i will make sure i dont fall asleep at 9:00 tonight. i would love to hear from any mother whose child has left today for great lakes, im just curious how many mothers children may be with mine and from anyone that might beable to let me know that im not inmature about this in general. im very proud in the choice she has made to serve our country, its just gonna take a little bit of time to adjust to it.

[tona(Ship 12 DIv 072)]

I would have done the same thing. I opened my son's instantly and tour through it. I like a few others thought their address was to be included. I thought he forgot to put it in the box. I decided to call his recruiter then checked here and found out it comes seperatly. I am glad I did not call. I was glad I thought it was in there because my husband wanted to pack the box away. Well now I will wash the dirty clothes before they are put up. 

 

[Mom2aSailor]

My daughter left for bootcamp in March 2011, I thought I had lost a child.  It was AWFUL!  Let yourself grieve her leaving, it is a process and it will take time.  Unless you have some military moms close to you, NO ONE will understand, they mean well, but they just don't "get it". 

Some words of encouragement, it DOES get better.  Write, write, write her!  Those letters are a huge source of encouragement to them in bootcamp. Keep it encouraging, uplifting and positive.  On those bad days that they have, it will help cheer them up.   My daughter often got the most mail each day, she loved that! :)

Once they get to school after boocamp, it is alot better b/c the communication is SO much more!! 

My daughter is home now, for another week and then she leaves on Christmas day for her deployment "over there".  We won't see her for at least a year! :(  It is a process of constantly getting used to not talking to them, not seeing them, seeing them, then not seeing them, saying goodbye, saying HI! It is exhausting!!

WE get it... we care... let yourself grieve and get plugged into her bootcamp PIR group! It will make the time go by faster!
HUGS!

[Connie (Ship03 Div 070)]

Thank you.  It will get better.  I know people around me are getting tired of my talking about my son.  I really can't wait to hear from him.  I have been oin full support of his joining since we researched the nuke program but I worry anyway.  Enjoy the time you have with your daughter beore she deploys.

Prayers are going out for all of our service members and the Moms who are missing them.

[Trish]

My son also left on 12/12...He is 20. I feel like we were really prepared  because of the delayed entry program, Petty Officer Moore was my son's recruiter, and he was extremely helpful. I talked to my son at the airport in Chicago when he forst got there, then we got the call at 9:15...which to me sounded like he had been kidnapped and was calling with instructions. But he was very matter of fact and his tones were very calm and confident so I was left feeling really good about everything. TODAY is a different story. I guess we still have 2 weeks left before we get a phone call. My son had already moved out, before he left for bootcamp, he had been gone for 8months, but we talked everyday. So I am really missing him alot right now. He has a girlfriend, they have been together for 4 years now, and I know this is much harder for her than it is for me. So I know I need to support her, which in some weird way made it easier for me, I think.  My son is the youngest of 4 and the last to leave home, but I agree with you, its different. I just want o hear him tell me that it is everything he hoped it would be then i will be fine. We are planning family trips aroung his schedule. We are going to make the trip to Chicago a big family vacation. And when he gets out of A School we are planning a friends and family cruise, this way I am focusing on family vacation planning rather than how much I miss him. It's tough. We have one more week for mail, right? but two more weeks for phone calls. UGH!!!

[Anti M]

Just an FYI:   Planning trips... his A school will be longer than you expect, so don't book a thing until he's checked in and gets a timeline.  The holds can be quite long; even after graduation some may have to wait weeks or months before orders are issued.  Be flexible!

Also, if your cruise stops in Mexico he can't go.  The entire country is off limits to all sailors.  

[Trish]

WOW!! Thank you for the information. Good to know.

[Texasproud6272]

I know how you feel Trish my son moved out in may of 2010 was married this past January ,but he lives just a couple of miles away ,his wife is taking this very hard as I am ,she received the call he was there and I received his box which she was upset I opened .I don't talk to him everyday but just knowing that I could made me feel good now not being able to talk to him is driving me crazy...He left from MEPS on 12/14..He is 21 almost 22 in April he will be ..He is the youngest of 3 boys ...We are also planning a family vacation to see him graduate PIR .Even though we will only get to see him for a few hours before he leaves for Florida I will be soooooooo HAPPY to see him...Counting the days until then,I also just want him to call and tell me he is alright .i am positive he will make it through this he is a very strong  person! And very head strong on what he wants out of life!It going to be a long 2 weeks until we hear from him! Hoping we receive a letter real soon!

[Connie (Ship03 Div 070)]

Has anyone who's SR left last week received an address or PIR info yet?  My sons recruiter has not and I am worried there is a processing problem.  I am so proud of him but anxious about the unknown.

[Trish]

No Connie - We haven't, but it was my understanding that it would take about two weeks.

[Connie (Ship03 Div 070)]

Thanks, I'm not expecting the form letter yet but the recruiter thought he would know something by last Fri.  When he did not and I have seen people posting divisions etc., I got worried.  I keep reminding myself at this point that no news is a good thing.

[astrid]

Hi Jessmom, my daughter left on 13th for Great Lakes.  We are also very close and I miss her a lot.  It surely is an adjustment period, especially during the holidays, when emotions tend to run higher anyways.   I write a few paragraphs in a letter every day and then send it off every 3 days or so.  Sharing some jokes and newsbytes that we'd normally talk about helps me feel connected.   I also journal for myself to help with some of the harder feelings. 

[jessmom]

well im not sure where to start...its been a few days since i have been to this site, since i have had a lot of crying moments. i did receive the (box) on wednesday 12/14/11. i couldnt believe how quick it arrived at the house. when the box came of course i started crying but then when i went to open the box the crying stopped due to the smell that was coming from it..lol..(the good old sneakers).. well at that time i just sat the box aside and thought well i will get to it later, never looked to see exactly what was in it. this past weekend i went to do the laundry and emptied the items that were in the box, i did not cry but i did have many thoughts of her right before she had left harrisburg, pa on the 12/12. probably because of the clothes she had on and the smell of her perfume she had decided not to donate the clothes because of her i phone that she had to send back home and just used the clothes for packing material....boy i bet she is lost without having her phone. yesterday 12/19/11 i received the letter regarding graduation which will be on 02/10/2012, on the last page she wrote hello mom,dad,isabella and doro...she said that she missed all of us so much. she asked for lots of letters and that she had so much to say but didnt have enough time, they had three minutes. jessica did say that everything was ok and not to worry, which she would say anyways....thinking i wouldnt worry as much about her. she loved us all very much. i have cried every time i have read the letter and of course everyone ask if i have received it yet and i cry again reading to close friends and family.i will say that i did make phone calls to friends and family with her address so they can write her and my husband and oldest daughter has posted her address on face book, have had many responses to that of course lots of college friends and her soriety sisters will be sending letters. i stayed at work last night and wrote a 3 page letter including the back of the 3 pages...which im sure she will say oh my god mom...but then again maybe not.i took to post office yesterday so she could get asap.my oldest daughter and her child did a letter and isabella (my grandchild) drew jessica 3 pictures which i know she will just love because they are very close.which were mailed today and i also mailed another letter today even though i just mailed a letter last night. i told jess i would write every day. im hoping she gets this mail before christmas. i also drew a christmas tree and all of us including our dog and wrote mery christmas above it. i cannot draw what so ever, is still draw stickman  lol...probably my grand daughters pictures will be much better than mine. jessica told me that bella could send pictures or (drawings) but i couldnt because she knows how bad my drawing is. lol...christmas is going to be hard and im sure for many many people, my husband has already asked me what are we going to be doing that day. my oldest and her husband and child go to her in laws and then in the evening come to ours. so......i just said well i guess sleep and watch movies. im so praying that we get a phone call from jessica on christmas day. it will be very upsetting if i dont get one, but she can only do what is permitted and i do realize that. wow... i never thought it would be this hard. im starting to plan already for graduation. just wanna say thank you all for your support, at least i know that i actually have people to talk to, that is or has gone through what i am right now. sometimes i think im just going crazy i guess....