BC was truly an experience for me, not just for Evan! He decided to join before we had really 'talked' it out. He mentioned to me that he was looking into it, but honestly I couldn't imagine he'd really do it because I knew what he would have to go through and Evan is so focused on healthy eating, his music, and his friends, his guitar, going out - that I didn't think being in the BC environment would be something he could do. However, he could and he did do it!
He joined and was gone in a matter of weeks. To my surprise, he was going to be gone over Christmas, New Years and Valentines day and I had no idea when I would talk with him while he was over in Boot Camp. I was naive and thought that they could call on Sundays. Where I had heard that, I don't remember, but I found out quickly that was not true.
Getting his box was so weird. When you see his own writing on the outside it gives you a sense of connection. I had read that the pant legs would be rolled up but was still surprised to see them like that. I didn't wash these clothes until he became a Sailor, not sure why, I guess I just didn't want to interrupt that vision I wanted to hold onto. As a Navy Mom you tend to grab hold of the weirdest things! At least I did. Inside this box, was the train stub he had still from taking the train to the airport, he had index cards with the NAVY articles he was memorizing, and the tag from a NAVY issued pair of tube socks! I carried this little paper clipped bundle with me in my purse..just to have something tangible of his. I know this might sound crazy to non NAVY moms, but other NAVY moms understand this craziness!
I got a call when he arrived at Great Lakes. It won't be hardly recognizable because they give you a few lines that you are not expecting. I think I was ready to hear, "hey mom! The flight was cool. Its cold over here" But what I heard was a monotone voice telling me he was in GL and this would be the last phone call he'd make from his cell phone and the next call would be in 2 to 3 weeks when he uses his calling card. I thought to myself, ok...he's just in front of others and is in shock with what he is going through. I asked, "are you ok?" he gave me an answer that I still chuckle about! Under his breath he said something like "mom, its shits and bricks, Shits and bricks!" What did that mean?! I found out later it meant hitting the building it was all 'ON' and that is what he was referring to. Weird.
I wrote to Evan every day, but mailed him letters on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I would drive to the post office on my lunch hour. I didn't trust the mail drop at work, I didn't trust my outgoing mailbox at home, I was convinced it was safer to see the letter drop into the huge collection at the PO! Weird. We do really weird things along this path!
Evan called a total of 2 more times after that first night, other than the "You are talking to a genuine US NAVY Salior" call. He wrote only 3 times, 2 of those were about 2 paragraphs. However, afterwards I heard how important my letters were to him. He loved hearing about home. I wrote about the dogs. The cats. My work. Heather. The kids. The weather. My friends! He isn't into sports, but is into politics so I would print news stories about what was going on in the world. I would also rip out a page or two from US Weekly or Times magazine and include that into every letter. I printed his facebook page twice. I secretly sent a message to every one of his FB friends (that I knew) and asked that they posted on his profile page so that he would get a lot of messages. I even sent too many messages that FB blocked me for 24 hours one time! However, it was worth it to hear how happy that made him.
I kept writing and reading and talking to the other Navy 4 Mom's (navyformoms.com) and learned all I needed to know from other moms, from the experienced ones. When it came to graduation, PIR, I had the lingo down pat, and knew exactly what to expect - except of course you can never truly learn how you'll feel when you see your son march through those huge doors in that large auditorium in front of hundreds of other Sailors and families. When I saw my son in front of me after finally making it to the ground floor and he was standing just a couple of feet in front of me, the description I can only give is: Beautiful. He was simply beautiful and beaming! He had come a long way in those 9 1/2 weeks, longer for these kids because of the holidays, and he had made it!
When you are told no news is good news, it is TRUE! You don't want to hear anything because that means there might be something wrong. Well, we are now past that and Evan is in Pensacola Florida waiting to school up - as they say - which is when he will begin his Air Crew schooling. I will write about the graduation weekend in my next blog and post pictures. But I felt needed to go over what the previous 10 weeks has been about for me.
We have still a long way ahead!
