Clayton Norwood's Page

Clayton, busy here too. S.A. graduates SubSchool today. Youngest is in his 3rd week of USMC. Just like GLs, all the boys are getting the crud. Moim & I are adjusting to "Empty nest." S.A. has been calling about every other day. I think he's worried Mom & I are just sitting around pining for them, we're not...sort of. Big changes for all our kids. Hope your S.A. & DIL are getting settled. Best chance for visits for us is mid-October (Marine) and maybe, just maybe X-Mas for S.A. We're hopeful. Hope all is well and your family can huddle together in the future.

Clayton, hope everything is running smoothly for your son & DIL. Our Sailor seems to be adjusting nicely. He's managed to earn his second level liberty card and is working toward his third. 10:16am yesterday (Sunday) morning our youngest left for MEPS in Sacramento. Today we're waiting for the "I've arrived call." We've re-set the countdown clock, we're now officially counting down to USMC Graduation (October 26th). THe advenure just seems to keep going and going and going. No wonder once our kids become adults we retire. You guys take care and I'll keep you posted. 

Clayton, great to hear from you. Happy to hear everything is going well with your son & DIL. My Sailor is doing really well in Groton. He's getting into a routine and has made several good friends who will be together for at least a year. Youngest son's deployment to USMC boot camp was postponed 1 week. He leaves on 7/21. We held an open house on Saturday for all his friends & family. Huge turnout, busy day, lots of fun. Amazing what we've all been through in only 4 months. Thank you for you kind thoughts about the boys. Please stay in touch

Well, you knew it was going to start. We're officially on a 21-day countdown until our youngest son leaves the nest, 7/14. Our Sailor seems to be adjusting quite nicely to Groton. Really like being able to talk or text everyday, doesn't seem like he's 3000 miles away. I'm glad to hear your DIL is moving out to GL to be with her guy. As hard as it is on us, I can only imagine how difficult it was on her. I wish them much happiness. Mom is in the major planning stages for an open house so all our son's friends can stop by on the Saturday, 7/13,  before he heads for USMC boot camp. Boot camp is 13 weeks and then 10 days of leave immediately following. I wish you all well and I'll keep you posted. Please do the same. 

Clayton, glad to hear from you. I'm sure your Sailor & DIL are all giddy about getting to be with one another again. I'm happy for them. Quite the experience for a young married couple. Our Sailor seems to be adjusting nicely. We talk or text every day, what a difference. He's still as busy as a one-legged man in a butt kicking contest, but he told Mom he likes where he's at. He sounds good as I'm sure your Sailor does. Now that they've moved on, I think they're able to relax a little and enjoy more of the experience. We're still recovering from the trip and our grand adventure. Not counting days yet, but soon enough we'll be on a countdown for our soon-to-be Marine and it starts all over. His boot camp is 13-weeks followed by an automatic 10 day leave following graduation. The leave sounds great, it's the 13-weeks where I'll need strength. Keep me posted pm your Sailor and I'll do the same. Wish them well and you and Mom take care.  

Clayton likewise. The ceremony ended and we just zeroed in on finding our Sailor. Congratulations to your Sailor as well as to your family. What an experience. Our Sailor was a "Grab-n-Go." We were able to spend Friday until 1900hrs when he needed to be back on base. We returned to the hotel, slept and woke up at 0130hrs to get ready for Saturday's adventure. We drove to O'Hare and saw the buses arrive from GL at about 0300hrs. We managed to squeeze in another 6-hours with our Sailor before his flight left for Connecticut. A quick visit, but well worth every moment. We only returned home yesterday. My wife was born in Illinois, but moved away when a toddler. We went adventuring putting places with names we've heard over the years. It also provided us with much needed time with our 18-year-old son as he leaves for USMC boot camp in mid-July. God bless your family, it was a pleasure meeting you and thank you for your friendship as we continue dealing with the changes we're going to experience. 

Hi Clayton, hope everything is going well with your SR. Received 2 letters today from SR. He says he's finally back to 100% healthy, just exhausted. He says the pace of boot camp has really increased. He likes how things are coming fast and furious now. No downtime, wake-up, eat, learn, eat, PT, eat & sleep. Hopefully this will help the time pass more quickly for our SRs. 

Glad to see you back. Well, the boys are on the downhill slide. I can feel the excitement starting to build toward PIR. Hope your SR has fully recovered from oral surgery. My SR finally beat the sniffles and ended up with an ear infection. No phone call this past weekend, likely not going to hear from him for the next 2 weeks. Hope you and yours are well. 

Thank you for the info on the Challenge Coin. Mom received the same info on navymoms and had already ordered one. Very impressive token. Embossed and enamled, high quality. Hope things are going well with you and yours. The boys have crested the top of the mountain and are heading down the slope toward PIR. I don't know who will be more relieved, them or us?