the power of a smile

The shortest distance between two people is a smile.  

~Author Unknown

My sweet son is in his last days at RTC . He graduates  next week! 

His division's finals days will be filled with challenges~

final PFAs, inspections, drills, Captain's Cup

and Battle Stations. 

We received a short phone call on Monday~ a reward for a perfect

score on an inspection. My son sounded great, a bit weary, 

but upbeat and ready to wrap this thing up! 

On Tuesday, we got the best gift ever! 

Recruit Training Command's FaceBook page

 has two contests weekly. One of our division moms 

WON Tuesday's trivia game (no small feat, as there

 are MANY parents, spouses, etc playing). 

The prize~ A DIVISION PHOTO!!

So, with no further ado~ I  present 

Ship 7 USS CHICAGO Division 327

83 strong and lookin' good in their NWUs!!! 

 A photo from boot camp is a treasure!!! Winning the contest
is the only way to get a photo from boot camp.
It is just amazing to have this peek 

at the division! And best of all... look at those GRINS!!!!
They were told what the photo was for! They know their moms,
 dads, wives, girlfriends, etc will

see this photo. I love their beautiful smiles!
 LOVE THEM!

This photograph is a treasure. 

And where is my SR?
He is on the very top of the heap~ top upper right,

CLIMBING (oh, how he loves to climb) on something

and rocking the best smile ever!!

That's my boy! 

Note his collar device~ He is a Recruit Petty Office.

~Port Watch Section Leader~ 

That smile is a beautiful sight.

See you soon, son! 

~♥~

almost there...

It is rather surreal to think that in 2 weeks and 2 days 

we will be Great Lakes bound!

My son graduates from boot camp on 9/30/11~ the last group

to graduate in dress whites until next spring.

My son is in a push division which means his time 

in boot camp is 7 weeks, not the more standard 8 weeks.

So, we will see him soon! 

The past 5 weeks has, at times, seemed endless.

Our contact with our son has been minimal...

the form letter, the 'kid in a box", 3 real letters

and ONE and only ONE PHONE call (2 weeks ago).

That is not much, but it does get you through. 

I am also part of a FaceBook group for his division 

and that is a great resource. I have made some wonderful

new friends. The Navy community is pretty amazing!

By sharing info from our letters

and calls, we can piece together a pretty good glimpse 

of how things are going. All of the communication

from my son has been positive. 

He is a Recruit Petty Officer  ~Port Watch Section Leader.

He says that being in leadership is one

of the best things about his boot camp experience.

Many in the division have been ill, which is typical.

I assume it is a combination of bringing lots of people together 

from all over the country, mental and physical stress

and extreme fatigue that makes the recruits vulnerable

to the "Ricky Crud" and other contagious maladies. 

My son had the crud when he called AND pink eye 

AND 4 wisdom teeth had been pulled. This is my 

"never sick" kid... but he did not complain and I am assuming

he is well by now. Nowhere is the adage "no news

is good news" more applicable than boot camp.

Hopefully the entire division is better now.

The last few weeks are certainly hard, but at this point the divisions

should be working together and the training is more...

fun?? Is that the word? Well, more hands-on anyway.

They should be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

I see my own little light, too. In a short time

I will see my son~ briefly. He will depart for A School

in South Carolina the day after PIR. And then the real journey

begins. His schooling is long (2 years) and then out to the fleet

for 4 years and them some commitment to reserves... .

it just goes on and on. My son will not be home for most holidays.

He belongs to the U.S.Navy now... for real, and that 

is the hard part, the "my heart is bursting with pride" part,

the real letting go. 

I am learning my lessons and the first one

may be this~Make the best of the time you have. 

~not a bad approach to life in general, that "glass

half full" thing. I believe in that, try to live like that.

Gratitude is always the best choice.

For now, I am focused on our trip to RTC  in

a little over 2 weeks, to that moment when the new sailors 

enter the graduation hall...

For now that is enough.

~♥~

I ♥ the mail carrier!

What a wonderful thing is the mail,

 capable of conveying across continents 

a warm human hand-clasp.  

~Author Unknown

The Navy teaches you things, lots of things~ 

like an appreciation for the U.S. Postal Service. 

In these days of instant communication, the thought of waiting

for a letter seems rather quaint, but when a loved-one

is in boot camp, letters become golden.

So far I've gotten two~ the form letter

and a nice 3 page letter last Friday.

It was so good to "hear" my son's "voice",

to see his new "military handwriting".

He is doing well and says parts of boot camp

are FUN!! And some parts suck.
He has made some friends and is learning
to deal with sleep deprivation.
He misses us.

Today he started his 4th week and graduation

on 9/30 doesn't seem so far away anymore! 

I am so proud of him. He is working hard

to become a Sailor, but...

he is still my boy, my sweet son who remembers

that his mom likes to know where her babies sleep.

So, this made my day. 

~♥~

tick tock~tick tock

So, now we are down to 11 days until our son ships out... 

which is actually 10 days because he has to be at the recruiting

office at 3:00 the day before, then on to a hotel for the night.

We can take him out for dinner that night as long as we stay 

very close by (preferably in the hotel) and have him in 

his room by 10:00pm.We will go to MEPS  the next

day to see him do the final swearing-in 

(the "no turning back, you're in the Navy now" one) 

and  then say good-bye. Some parents go to the airport and

 hang out, but unless our son requests this, I think I'll pass. 

I can only take so many farewells.

Things seem surreal. It is hard for me to imagine him gone,

despite the 10 months we have known this date.

I am very excited, proud and grateful for this opportunity

for my son, but it is bittersweet. 

I don't even know what to do these last days.

He seems quiet and a bit withdrawn. I know this 

is not unusual and is part of the separation process.

I have the business of organizing an "Anchors Aweigh"

 party to distract me. Then come the good-byes 

and the long wait for communication from boot camp.

What a ride this has been...

and it has barely begun! 

19 days and counting...

I'm not sure how we got here, but my son leaves

 for boot camp in 19 days.

It seems like yesterday that we were counting months

and now it is just over 2 weeks! .

I am staying busy, trying not to obsess, but it is tough-

and he's still here! 

My son is getting ready. Yesterday he went through

a lot of stuff in his room. He cleaned up his desk top

computer since he now has an amazing lap top

to take to Charleston. The ball is rolling

and gathering speed. His new life is so close.

I am so excited for him, but scared, too.

How will he feel in Great Lakes,

 so far from home,

among strangers and under duress?

 I have confidence in him, but still, a mother

 does not like to know 

that her child will be in distress, tired and homesick.

I KNOW he will do fine. I understand the method.

These young people have to be able to withstand pressure

and still perform their tasks. 

So, it is nearly time for my son to say good bye

and face his future.
19 days.

~♥~

the eggshell problem...

I'm blessed to be a mom of four~ 3 boys and 1 girl~ they are the treasures of my heart.

What joy they have brought to my life! 

and oh, what worry!

From day one our children are a mixed blessing. They fill our hearts to the very brim with love, happiness, hope and dreams of their glorious futures. And they can paralyze us with worry.

The world is perilous and isn't it our job to divert and shield our children from peril? How much we desire to protect our sons and daughters, to wrap them in a cloak of safety that is impenetrable. How impossible our task.

Worry is an issue I have had to face and attempt to conquer. When worries come (and they do) I ask myself~"Does my anxiety accomplish anything good?" The answer is always no. I try to steer my thoughts toward things I CAN control. I think thoughts of gratitude. I brainstorm on activities I can do that are positive. I do not always succeed, but like most things, the more we do them the more naturally they come to us. 

Lately, I am struggling with fears that my son will do something that could jeopardize his future in the Navy. As he jumped on the neighbor's trampoline the other day I thought~"Oh, no! What if he gets hurt and is medically disqualified?" When he gave a ride to a kid that I know has smoked pot before I thought~"What if they get pulled over and find pot on this kid?" When my son slacked off in school I thought~"What if his grades aren't good enough and he loses his chance to become a nuke?"... and on and on...

There is so much at stake.

But I remind myself that this is HIS life, his journey. I tell myself that what is supposed to happen, WILL happen. I breathe and pray and think positive thoughts. AND I tell my son to take it easy on the trampoline, to be careful who he associates with, to do his homework~ to keep in mind what is at stake... and then I try very hard to let it go. 

For me, gratitude and faith are the antidotes to worry. 

~most of the time~ ;)

~♥~

boot camp ~ oh, boy!

Just a quick post this morning to direct you to a great site regarding Navy boot camp .

Found this link on Navy for Moms ,  which you need to visit, if you haven't already.

We moms have a lot of anxiety about boot camp. 

It is difficult to send your child to a place that is going to be using

all sorts of extreme techniques to test and mold them into a Sailor.

While it is understandable that the Navy needs to know 

how these young people will stand up to pressure,

as a mom (or dad) it is tough to think of the process used 

to reach this end. I think any info we can get will help us be strong

during this time. They churn out new sailors constantly

and I remind myself that they know what they are doing. 

Hope you take the time to look at this site. 

~♥~