boy in the navy

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Hello2u on August 11, 2015 at 12:02am

I cried for weeks whaw whaw whaw :) Yes it gets better!

Permalink Reply by kenneth voiles on August 11, 2015 at 2:25am

thanks for letting me know I'm normal and not crazy !

Permalink Reply by Patrick Rowicki on August 11, 2015 at 4:41pm

No shame in admitting that.  My son left for RTC this morning and I had trouble driving home from MEPS with the tears in my eyes. 

Permalink Reply by Sam on August 11, 2015 at 5:04pm

I'm right there with you patrick i was all prepared thinking i got this with no tears right up until we were walking to that bus in Jacksonville emotions took over.

Permalink Reply by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on August 11, 2015 at 9:38pm

lest you think you are alone, this was posted by a dad to another member dealing with separation anxiety....

    "I know you have seen some encouraging comments from other members, but I wanted to weigh in here too. On 28 January, a month after completing college, my son was sworn in to the Navy DEP. It was a couple of days after that when it hit me....after 23 years of a daily relationship with him everything was about to change! I knew joining the Navy was going to be the absolute best thing for him. But in spite of that, I became very depressed. I had no idea what I was doing but googled Navy support groups. I found this site. I remember posting my first comments.....reluctantly because I thought others would think of me as less of a man.....how depressed I was already at the thought of my son leaving and he was not leaving for boot until 1 May. Well the responses were surprising! All the admins and a number of other members put me at ease when they responded that every dad on this site, if they are honest with themselves, experienced the same thing. I also followed the great advice from the admins to read as much as possible on this site. All of this really helped! But then came the week before he left. I became very upset and just wasn't sure how I was going to cope. It really took some work to get it under control. Then the day came to put him on that plane to Great Lakes. As the tears flowed, it was my son in a bit of a role reversal that said, "dad, it's going to be just fine." Well from that point everything happened just as it was described by the admins and other members on this site from receiving the "kid in a box" to the form letter to the first phone call. The best advice I received after his departure was to write often. I didn't really think my son would care that much because my son has always been very independent and not the "home sick" type. But I found out two things in writing the letters: he loved them and encouraged it and they were very therapeutic for me! In the 7 weeks after I received his address I wrote 16 letters. All typed, no spacing, and not one under 4 pages long! I would never have imagined being able to come up with that much to write about....but you will be surprised. It truly helped the time move along as well. Then believe it or not, PIR was upon us. My son graduated on 28 June. The only thing I can say about PIR is that as it relates to my son, it was the second greatest day of my life......second ONLY to witnessing his birth! When you see your sailor march into that hall and you realize he/she is now a part of something greater than themselves, it is an indescribable feeling of pride. A feeling that washes away all the tears and angst of the previous 8 1/2 weeks of separation. Now as I look back, I am amazed how time has passed so quickly! As of today my son has been out of boot camp almost as long as he was in it. He is in Pensacola attending IT A school. This is totally different from boot camp. It resembles being away to college as you can communicate freely (voice, text, e-mail) with the exception of when they are in class. So to wrap this up, as others have said, hang in there! You too before you know it will be in the same shoes as many of us....looking back wondering where the time went and posting comments to help parents going through that which you have endured. I cannot emphasize enough how wonderful this site is to help you through it.....from really good information to Navy FAMILY who are there for moral support. God Bless you and your son for his service to our great country!"

Permalink Reply by Mark Andreatta on August 14, 2015 at 2:24pm

It gets better.  My wife and I were worried for the first tow weeks, but once we got the first letter and first call, and we could tell he was doing well, it lessoned our fears immediately.  We are four weeks away from PIR and it seems like the time is passing easy now for us and him.  I think what is going to be hard is having just the afternoon with him after PIR and then having to say goodbye again as he heads to San Antonio for A school.

Permalink Reply by Richard Sands on August 16, 2015 at 1:32pm

Wow ! Ill be honest I thought I was all alone . After watching my son take the oath at MEPS I started crying uncontrollably, and he stepped back with his hands on my shoulders looking me squarely in the eye and said its all gonna be alright. I hugged him again, and said then let it begin. Today he has less than two weeks till graduation. The time really flys by when writing everyday.

Permalink Reply by Navy Dads Co-Admin Tom on August 16, 2015 at 2:02pm

Save the tears for PIR....you are going to need them when your chest swells with pride for your Son....The best is yet to come, Dad!