My oldest just graduated highschool a few weeks ago and had an original ship off date for the great lakes basic training in August but was offered a chance to go earlier. we just sent him off in to the arms of the Navy yesterday.
here's some pics of his swearing in. the lovely lady in the far right corner is his fantastic long time girlfirend of two + years and counting,
and here he is officially a Sailor now..
they were taken by my phone's camera, not very good but important pics to me lol
thanks for looking.. i'm still waiting for things to sink in. and untill they do.. i'm just going with the flow
You should be very proud! We are very thankful to those who choose to go into the service, they are the ones who make our freedoms possible. Please tell your son thank you from us.
he's been told thank you alot- it still puzzles him but i know it wont take long for him to understand and feel proud himself, thanks. i'm not out and about bragging this just kind of in... wow.. he's gone... not coming back state lol.. i have one son still at home for at least two more years so thats a comfort.
thanks, it means alot to know folks like you all are out there.
i'm at the stage right now where i see his car- and instinctively look for him. i see little things around the house that remind me of him. when he used to work late and come home.. sometimes with a smile coming through the door sometimes not.
the dog keeps coming up to me with that look like "why isn't he home yet" he knows its past the time when Alan would be home. wait till his car gets back lol. his 3 uncles are in town at the same time and we loaned my son's car to them.. i'm not looking forward to the dog hearing my son's car come home- and not seeing him come through the door.
(our dog is a border collie named Norman. he takes care of the cat even lol)
GenGen, I think Your Son will make You very proud, My Dog Bandit is a Border Collie Husky Mix, the one on the Avatar with the Black Eye he can do everything but talk!
mine is half and half. not sure what the mom was- i saw her. dad was pure border collie. he's smart like a border collie cept he hasn't figured out how to stop barking when he's outside at home lol. and to stay. he hasn't gotten that down very good no matter how hard we try. and he never ever liked learning "roll over"
Well, being military myself I'll let you know, its never easy on mom. Just remember, regardless of how little you know, or understand about what he's doing. You, as always, are his biggest supporter. W/O you in his corner, life will be rough. You get homesick, and just want to quit sometimes. He will have no one else to turn to when things get rough...thats where you come in mom.
I didnt come in till I was 22, that was 8 years ago. (army by the way). So I'd done some growing up. But I see these young guys who have real problems when they first come in. If you and the rest of the family stand behind him, send him letters when hes in training, etc. He will be just fine.
I cant tell you the power of a letter from a loved one, after a long hard day. I don't matter if all it says is "I love you"....it lets him know that your still thinking of him.
Keep that in mind...and everything else will play itself out.
and then some thanks for the words he wont have a shortage of letters thats for sure. grandma, his long time girlfriend..... me...... lol. plenty of ppl who miss him already
I cant tell you the power of a letter from a loved one, after a long hard day. I don't matter if all it says is "I love you"....it lets him know that your still thinking of him.
That's very true. As a former Marine it's what keeps you going.
Good luck to your son, his girlfriend and you also. It will be rough at times, but it's worth it.
Welcome to the ranks of us Military Moms (and dads)!
I'm a 2-termer:
My daughter was Army (she was in Korea when Korea was starting to become a "hot" spot).
My son was 2 tours of Iraq, twice decorated, including the Purple Heart, Marine Sgt.
The one piece of advice I give to all moms: Dont' spend any energy worrying about things that you don't have to worry about. Unless you get a call with bad news, you have nothing to worry about, so don't. Otherwise you will spend 4 years stressing and worrying over nothing.
This is not off the cuff advice. I decided not to worry and I didn't. I was confident in my son/daughter. I was confident in the training they rec'd. I was confident that they were serving in the best military in the world.
The "Military Moms" Club is an awesome club! It means we have super terrific kids!
well i was doing fine. no tears just missing him alot till bout a half hour ago.
this things arrived by FedEx. shirts, unders, pants, socks, shoes and cell phone.
Now its real lol.
Hard to believe this is what it all comes down to; or rather comes back as
it wasn't folded. i doubt he had time to. was smart enough to put his phone in the shoe though.
i took things out and folded them.. it was hard. i didn't want to open the box but leaving it just sitting there felt worse.
well i'm having my cry day as i promised myself. i had felt fine about everything and said i'd go with that as long as it went and if it came to it- i'd have my day and now i am. and i know things will be fine after this.
i hate reality checks lol. i think next time i'll insist on "cash only" (hehe)
i have one more son considering this in two years.
It is great to hear how many people are supporting our country and more importantly, our troops. We have a Freedom Cake program where we are able to ship our Rum and Liqueur Cakes to troops who are stationed overseas. The program is great for all parties involved: friends, families, troops.
We always include a free photo and/or letter with your package, and all packages are gift wrapped with a Red/White/Blue ribbon. We also include a handwritten "Thank You" letter, just to add a little extra love!
Click here to visit our Freedom Cake Page
ES thats awesome, thank you for the information! my son has already told me to send any and all food that we can lol (with in what they allow of course) especially home made sgetti. i plan on getting a new meal sealer thingy as our other one died a w hile back. was a cheap model.
weeks before he left he said he already missed my soups lol. i had planned on making my Mediterranean pasta salad for him when we were expecting him to depart in august - the original date.
No problemo! Your if your soups are that yummy, we might want some too! Please let me know if you have any other questions. We have been sending cakes overseas now for almost a year, and none have broken or been returned. It takes about 2 weeks for them to get there, and we love to send theses cakes, especially knowing how big the smile is on the recipient's side!
soups for you or the troops? lol i hear they have some pretty good chefs. i doubt mine would muster quality hehe. the navy i'm told doesn't have KP anymore. they have civilian contracters doing that now. i'm guessing its cheaper and with the staff being trained to handle foods (with the diseases now days like e coli etc ) it also frees up 30 hours of training for the troops.
He's not overseas yet. he just went to basic training last thursday. then has his A school training in Pensacola FLA
Well...I am one of the cooks overseas (again, army for those who missed it earlier). And yes, I am my fellow cooks do all we can do brighten the day with meals. However, there is very little to work with over there. So, something from home is always better than what I can make. Even to me! Its only a change of pace, but brings memories of home.
For those of you who are military moms/dads. Keep in mind what your son/daughter's favorite snack food is. Some cookies, or maybe some kind of candy? Whatever it is...even if they dont know it, thats what they are looking for.
d3sc: I couldn't agree more! The nice thing is that we ship cakes to appeal to all tastes....just about! Tell me if any of these flavors appeal to you: Walnut Rum, Key Lime Rum, Orange Liqueur, Amaretto Almond, or the ever so popular Chocolate Cherry Brandy. We recently started a new line of Jellies and Jam's, and currently ship Mango Rum and Strawberry Daiquiri (either of which are excellent for breakfast or on top of ice cream...if you are fortunate enough to have that in your neck of the woods!).
Anyway that you look at it, those who are stationed overseas in our military will be happy to receive any package; whether it be a photo, a snickers bar, or one of our cakes! We are so lucky to have such a great nation who supports their troops so much. The citizens in the United States of America take such great pride in our military, but it is all too often exploited by the media in a negative way (all the more reason to support those overseas to try and remind them just how much we really appreciate what they are fighting for: OUR FREEDOM!).
There is nothing better to boost moral, in our opinion, than thoughts from friends and family.
We take it one step further and also have a "forgotten soldier" program. This is dedicated to those troops who have never received anything from the states. If you want to get involved and show your support, but don't know how, then this is for you. We have a list of those who have yet to receive even a letter, and you can send them a gift to send nothing more than a smile. If you want a pen pal, then this is a great program as well. We'll send your letter with our package (and even a photo if you desire). It's a great way to get involved, and is sure to send a smile (and sometimes a tear) to someone who we feel truly deserves it.
I personally would be an amaretto almond kinda guy.....and lets just say in a little (very little) over a month...it will be time for me to start looking into having one sent to me.
PS: I'm adding you on facebook
To d3sc3n7: GREAT! Your can order online, e-mail us, or call directly to order. Don't forget the picture. If you could snag a picture of of your whole crew, send it to us in .jpeg, along with a great "note," poem or note to boost moral, we would definitely send it with our package. You can always send a "To: Me, From: Me" cake, we'll address it to you (if you specify), and you can read the note to your squadron.
To GenGen's post: I love soup! If it weren't so hot in Florida, I would make soup year around at my house (too bad my counterpart doesn't feel the same way!). To not clutter up these posts, e-mail me at [email protected], and we'll chat about the soups to expand each others' horizons!
This is a great country that we live in.
When my son was in the Army, he told me that he was thanked so often for his service, that he was sick of it. I asked one of my students whose father I knew was in the Airforce if he had the same experience, and he said that his father doesn't like to wear his uniform out sometimes because he gets thanked so much. Can you imagine? We live in a country that thanks their soldiers so much that they are sick of hearing it.
I don't care if he is sick of hearing it, thank your son for his service.
You must be a very proud mom! What your son has become has something to do with how you raised him too. Congratulations!
well i would lol but i don't have his address yet. its been 8 days since i last saw him and heard from him but seems longer. i can't wait to see him in his dress uniform.
My son who just graduated is leaving for the Navy on Jan. 24th. He will be a hospital corman. I am so excited about the opportunities that will be available to him!
congrats Navy Mom!
melody
(((Hugs!))) Not a military mom...yet...but my day is coming! I catch a lot of grief from some of my friends for not trying to talk my boys out of serving but I honestly can't think of a more honorable thing for them to do. My oldest decided not to enlist until after college. My youngest says he is going to enlist in the Marines as soon as he finishes high school (one more year!).
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