Replies

  • John DeNardo January 25, 2015 at 10:14am

       I saw the post and it hit home, he's gone but your not alone, hang in there!  Ryan is my only child. I was so use to talking to him daily and all of a sudden it stopped after he left for boot camp on Jan 8th. We were always close and had similar interests which made talking to him enjoyable. I've been writing him daily but its not the same. I just can't pick up the phone and say, "hows it going, miss you?" He's on his own journey now and its not an easy transition for everyone involved. I saw it coming but did not realize the full effect of not having him there for "me". It seems to help when I write but the void is something that I never prepared for even though I saw it coming after MEPS. As the days go on it seems a little easier but there is a grieving process that starts with a lot of tears. It's a journey for everyone but the reward will be at his PIR when I see the pride on his face, sense of accomplishment and being part of something greater then ourselves.    

    Rod Allen said:

    Well, it's all been said by these other NDs. When he is your only child, it can be tough. I did my share of "What's going on!" posts. I hand printed all my letters to him to keep it personal. He has finished A-School and has two C-Schools to go (one on each coast!) We were able to have him home for Christmas before he headed to SD. We are hoping he gets some days at home when he heads to the East Coast. Just keep on praying because he belongs to The Navy now!
  • Christal January 15, 2015 at 7:41pm



    Thank you Joshua. That helps a lot.  
    Thank you all so very much.  He's my only child so I'm a bit anxious. 

  • Joshua Godden January 15, 2015 at 5:57pm

    They only mail out letters on Mondays so you will get your letters on Thursday or Friday. So If you don't get one tomorrow It wont be till next week. I have gotten 4 letters total in 6 weeks. He left the house for RTC on Dec. 10th I got my first letter on Jan 2nd and my first call on Dec 27th.  Letters 2,3,4 all came on Jan 9th and I got another call on Jan 11th. I know It sucks waiting, the wife was upset that we didn't get one today. They don't get there letters until about 2 weeks after you send them. I date all the letters I send him and when we talked last Sunday, he had not gotten any from January. Hope this helps you figure out a rough timeline.

  • Christal January 15, 2015 at 1:46pm


    Thank you, David. 

  • David McNeill January 15, 2015 at 1:45pm

    My son went in Dec. 8, and they didn't let them write until Dec. 25. So yeah, you'll probably get the call first. Hang in there!

  • Christal January 15, 2015 at 1:37pm

    Thank you! So I may actually receive a call before the first letter? 

    NavyDads Admin (Paul) said:

    it'll be a little while so keep the faith....calls maybe in two weeks

  • NavyDads Admin (Paul) January 15, 2015 at 1:34pm

    it'll be a little while so keep the faith....calls maybe in two weeks

  • Christal January 15, 2015 at 1:27pm

    How long was it before you received your first handwritten letter from your child? It's only been ten days but I'm so looking forward to one. 

  • Joshua Godden January 11, 2015 at 7:49pm

    My son graduates FEB 6th,

    He loves boot camp! He is the APO (athletic petty officer) The best advice I can give you is look up Write2them. It's a service that turns emails in to printed letters for them. My son says its awesome the letters come in blog form with everybody's photos next to there messages. Also his friends write to him as well because of how easy it is I think. You can send anything that you can put in an email photos, news anthying you copy copy and paste. Made it really easy to write everyday, hell I write 4-5 times a day some days.

  • Richard J. Ramirez January 11, 2015 at 4:12pm

    Send lots of letters...postcards are easy and the funnier the better!  

This reply was deleted.