Son left for bootcamp today!

[kmc1973( ship 3/div154)]

My son left for bootcamp today, I am a mess!!!! Please tell me it will get better I just keep crying. I keepmthinking about how quiet he was at MEPS this morning and how tired he looked. Gave him a big hug and did not want to leave. I will be coming her for a lot of support. I love that boys he is my oldest so hard to let him go.

[proudmom Ship 02 Div 925]

My son leaves March 4th for basic training as well. I know that day is going to be very hard for me as well. One thing to keep in mind though is this is what they chose to do and we are happy for them and their new adventure right? We need to be their rock! We need to be the strong one for them like we always have been. Just keep thinking of PIR graduation day and how awesome it is going to be and how proud you are going to be!! Hang in there, he will be fine and so will you! We are lucky to have such strong, confident kids who have the courage to join the Navy and serve their country! Good luck to you and your son :)

[xiomara]

I just want to share with you this pain that you are going through right now; My son (the youngest of three) left on January 28 and the same way that you feel right now is the way I feel, it's hard, I can't sleep, I can't eat, I keep thinking what is he doing right now? is he eating? is he sleeping? and at the end I can only pray for him and ask God to keep his arm around him for me during this journey...... so I'm with you and I can tell you that it will get better but for us moms it will never get better , you will get use to the pain only; sometimes I think about his graduation that makes my day a little easier....  God bless you and I will pray for you and your son.......

[DebbieBTexas]

it's really hard right now. I just have a hard time letting my kids grow up and move out. But they are flying. Thats what we raised them to do. I made myself feel better by thinking about how excited he was to do this. It will get better. Soon you will be able to talk, text and email all the time. Hang in there.

[Patrat-Ship04-Div223]

It will absolutely get better! I haven't been on in a while, my son graduated bootcamp in July, but I know exactly how you are feeling!!!!! I did a lot of crying as well. I will be honnest and tell you that the first few weeks are not fun for Moms!!! My son left May 22nd. I rec'd "The Box" May 30th which was also his birthday. Shortly after that I rec'd the Form Letter which gives you their mailing address and on June 14th. I rec'd his first letter. Once you have his address, write, write, write! My son told me that is what kept him going. They really look forward to getting mail. Hopefully you are able to make it to graduation, if so, keep looking ahead and planning for it, it really helps. Also stay on this site, there were some seasoned moms on during the time that my son was at bootcamp, and they were awesome! Lots of great info. My son is now in "A" school still in Great Lakes and should be finising up sometime in April. I still really miss him, but at least now he has his  phone so we keep in touch and he was able to come home for Christmas which was awesome!  Good Luck! you will get through this! And seeing your son at graduation will be amazing!!!!!!

[Carolyn]

Bless your heart, I know how you feel and it does get better.  My baby left Jan 28th and I was a mess.  My oldest was a Marine and that was hard, but I had other children so I had to hold it together.  This left me with an empty nest.  I was an emotional wreck for a while, but I've had a letter and a phone call so I am much better now.  He sounded so good and I am so proud of him and for him.  He is doing what he chose to do and said it's not nearly as bad as what he had imagined.  Hang in there!!!   Prayers help a lot and knowing  that God loves him more than I do! 

[DebbieBTexas]

Oh. I know how you feel. My youngest left home on October 6 2012 he was 18. I sat with him at Meps and bawled all the way home. Cry today, but remember this is exciting for them. Our boys have made this choice. Do you remember how exciting it was to be on your own. Be happy for him. Hopefully his recruiter prepared him for the next nine weeks. 

This site will help you. It really helped me. So next the letter will come. That will be a week to ten days. This is the hardest part because we can't communicate with them. He will call you when he arrives. They have to quickly tell you they are safe and give you instructions. My son called at 3 am. I was so happy to hear his voice, but he sounded really stressed. When I asked "are you Ok" he relaxed and said yah. I think someone was standing there, making sure he did it right, and you can hear all of those around him doing the same thing. This next week will be hard. Just remember, he is learning to clean his room, fold his clothes and I bet he's going to eat everything given to him. 

After the letter comes you will have the correct address, so you can start writing. You can also start planning for his PIR (the next time you get to see him). We stayed at the Navy lodge. It was close and we enjoyed it.

When the box came I could not open it. I had not been in Luke's room much since he left because I just fell apart everytime. I shoved the box in the door of his room and didn't open it for a long time (many weeks). I still broke up when I finally did open it.

Once you start getting letters from him it will help. This time will seem like it lasts forever, but it doesn't. Now my son is stationed on the other side of the country. We text and talk quite a bit. FYI even after boot camp there are times when he has work and duty and I don't hear from him for a couple days. I am just really grateful he didn't choose the Army or Marines. My son is doing really well. He's growing up a little bit:-). Not too much though. He came home for Christmas. I let him have some friends spend the night. They stayed in our new (carpet less then 48 hrs old) theater room. The next morning my oldest son informed me that his little brother had been playing beer pong in the theater room. arg.

Hang in there.

Debbie

[luvmy3brats]

Hello, I know that feeling, mine left in January and graduates a week from Friday! I can't believe how fast it flies!! Once you find out your PIR date (that's graduation) then the veterans on here will start a page for you to join with other mom's and loved ones whose date is the same as yours. You will not receive that for at least another week or maybe even two. Once you do, you will find other mom's who are on the exact same roller coaster ride that you're on. All I can tell you is, it DOES get easier, and the first hand written letter you get which may not be for at least 3 weeks, maybe even 4, they will tell you how horrible boot camp is and they will sound so miserable. :(  This also gets better by the way! LOL  Before you know it, you'll be preparing for graduation day! Good luck and definitely hang on to this web site! These guys know their stuff and they are a wonderful blessing to have a round! Oh yeah, start writing letters now!! They will want one every day that they are there! ;)

[racer88girl]

kclements Yes it does get easier I wont say better.  My daughter left on 1/28/13 and i cried for two days.  When i got the first real phone call about 3 weeks later it has gotton easier.  I still think about her all the time, but not crying as much. This site has helped me alot. 

 

[MamaMia]

Moms, I haven't checked this site in awhile, but rest assured, the next time you see your son you will take a big sigh of relief.  He will have his shoulders back, his head held high and be the first to tell you boot camp was just fine.  The yelling and discipline is just to get them broken in so they realize they are now responsible young adults and no longer under mom's apron.  So BREATHE! Smile, and know he's going to come out on the other side of all this just fine.  As for missing him/her, that does take some getting use to, but sending a short and upbeat letter on a daily basis will make his/her day when mail call arrives.  We even started sending extra letters to a group identified as people who never got any mail.  

Be well.  It's gonna be ok! :-)

[Regi]

I was just there with you kclements73 on December 12th with my oldest exhausted and leaving home and looking so rosy cheeked.  Send a letter everyday no matter if he writes you or not.  They are so busy and exhausted at boot camp that if you take the mindset that you won't hear from your son at all, you'll be so excited to hear from him.  Keep that cell phone glued to your side though.  Soon, you'll be able to talk/text/Skype almost everyday and he'll appreciate your loving support for what he's doing.  Have the younger siblings write too, and organize mail campaigns with anybody you can bring onboard.

[newnavymom11]

Hello

I understand your emotions my son will be 2 yrs in March, I can remember that day at MEPS and every moment after that. It was rough at first, and I relied on my faith in God, and this website to keep me focused and grounded in his decision to join the Military.  I am so proud of him now he left as a boy and is growing into a man, he will be 21 in July,in my heart is he is still my baby!!. You will receive alot of Joy  from that first letter and the box with his old clothes.  These months wil go by very fast and trust me he misses you just as much!!  Take Care and look forward to graduation day !!

[bclmomct]

You  new moms of kids at boot camp.  It seemed like 8 weeks was going to be forever and that first, the box would never come, then the first letter, then waiting for that first phone call, etc.   But what I can say is that I prayed really hard for my son between every mile stone and I tried to write a letter or compose some kind of card or flyer to send to my sailor nearly every day...so he got lots of mail at mail call.   He said the mail really helped.   I also tried to stay really busy with other things (in spite of having major shoulder surgery and being stuck at home feeling really bad) so that my mind was busy and I didn't think of how badly I missed my sailor.  I will tell you that the day his "I'm a sailor" call came 3 days before we were going to see him, came a lot more quickly than I thought and the reunion was very sweet.  Now he is at A school in Charleston, SC and seems to be happier than we have ever seen him.  Prayer for you seaman recruit and stay strong and happy.  Think lots of happy thoughts and absorb yourself in the lives and happiness of those around you so that you can't be sad.  And be very happy for your child.  They made this decision and as hard as it seems to us and as hard as it will seem for them the first few weeks....they have stepped out of our homes into adulthood and are happier than we want to admit.  We should be happy that we raised them to be confident, happy adults who are willing to serve our country in ways that few people will do these days.  Hooyah!!!