Just got word that my son is assigned to ship 11/division 006 with PIR on 11-16-12.
He's been there 11 days so I expect things to start getting a bit tougher.
boot (5)
By this time I'm sure my son has been bombarded with letters galore from family and friends. I do realize with the very limited time they all have in boot camp, that he may or may not be able to respond to all or if any, of the letters that he's received.
I don't expect any letters back from him while in bootcamp though I'd be thrilled if I get anything after the first. The family and I know that we've sent him our well wishes and letters of support. That's all about what we can do. That is what's under our control. We wait with patience and if a phone call or letter comes in then that's awesome!
The only thing in my power that I can do as his father is to support him one thousand percent. I love my son and the last thing I want to do is to doubt his decisions or make him feel that he's made the wrong move or turn in life.
We had a pretty in-depth talk (father and son) about what he wanted to do with his life. College or work or whatever. He's had several jobs as a teen that paid very well. From clerical work to a gig with a professional moving company. The sum of all its parts and his final answer equaled the US Navy.
With that said, I am respectful and grateful of his decision to craft his future and make something of himself that we can all be proud of...
With exactly three weeks left to go and a day for PIR, I’m feeling ever so anxious. I’m so anxious that I haven’t slept straight for weeks ever since my son left for boot camp.
I’d wake up in the middle of the night wondering how he’s doing, how he’s feeling and I still constantly worry but I always just hope for the best. I wish I had a Time Machine... Usually, I’ll have one of my “If I can only turn back time” moments, but in this case I wanna go full-throttle at warp speed ahead to 11/18/11.
To date I’ve received a couple of letters and one missed phone call - that’s my bad.
I continue to send him letters daily or every other day whenever possible. Even though I’ve probably repeated myself a hundred times over in context, I feel good that he’s got my letters to read instead of possibly none.
I take it that no news is good news most especially with regards to boot camp.
It can’t happen soon enough, but Great Lakes, here we come!...
Today I received a letter from my son. It surely made my day! He misses all of us at home and most especially the Bay Area food and the home cooked meals…
He talked a little bit about his experiences and the challenges of RTC. It’s hard work; little free time on Sunday’s and will put one’s mind, body and soul to the test of self discovery – what you’re truly made of.
Though he hasn’t received any of our letters yet, I wanted to thank all of you at NavyDads.Com for the suggestions about writing a letter to your SR daily or as much as possible. He says letters from home really mean a lot to him!
Despite the grueling training and being away from home, he’s in good spirits! He hasn’t lost his sense of humor. It’s so good to know that he’s hanging tough in there… Hooyah!
