I'm not going to lie, when my 18yr old daughter told me on a Tuesday that on Friday she intended to join the Army and would be leaving just 2 weeks after that for a 9 month training, I had a total melt down. I didn't sleep, I just did research and a lot of fast talking to try and get her to change her mind. By Thursday I had realised that she was doing this thing, that I wasn't going to be able to stop her and I better just get on board. I'm proud to say that I pulled it together despite my reservations and have been her support section ever since. However, twice now she has called for 30-45 seconds to rattle off information to me and then quickly disconnect. I am not an auditory learner, I am a very visual learner, the phone is upsetting to me because I can not understand what people are saying without the visual clues so normaly I have to have people repeat themselves and I have to ask a lot of questions. I was really glad then when I got a letter from the Church she is attending because it was real communication with information I needed to have.
Ok so on one of her quick messages she rattled off a list of things I could send her, calcium pills, and cough drops, stamps etc. So I got everything I could remember, and sent it right away only I messed up and sent it to the Church.
They made her call today and get mad at me for sending it to the wrong place on one of these stupid 30 second calls. I could tell that she was so upset and probably in trouble about it. I haven't been able to stop crying, I can't even really remember what she said I was so excited to see it was her calling, since I have been staying home the last two Sundays and I thought I would finally be able to talk to her. Why would you have someone call and tell their mother they messed up and got you in trouble.
I tell you what, this is killing me. Does it get easier? Is this just a basic training thing? I really don't know how much more I can take, what with all the stuff going on here and stress of having my girl gone. It is too much.
Hang in there. The phone call problem will only last throughout her basic training which is nine weeks long after that she should get more phone calls.
I relied on letters to really know what was going on with our son as the phone calls went to fast. We even had one call after he broke his leg where he was telling us about his injury and someone was in the background yelling "time is up!".
Honestly, they want you to know if you or they did something wrong so that you can try to make sure it doesn't happen again! It's never easy to hear that we've messed up or gotten somebody we love in any sort of trouble, but you needed to know to make sure not to send it to that address anymore.
And it definitely is just a Basic thing. They are getting reprogrammed, so what they allow and provide is much different, because in just a few weeks they will become a soldier/airman/etc. Once they get down the very important and radically different (from civilian life) basics, then they can allow far more privileges.
Welcome to the wonderful world of military bootcamp. I've been through both ends, USCG bootcamp for me and at home while my son went through Parris Island for the Marine Corps two years ago.
He called with that first brief call when he was only allowed to read a script that he arrived safely. He set up a coded cough with me prior to leaving for Parris Island to let me know he loved me.
I don't think he was allowed to call again for the next two months.
It gets easier as you learn more about what they are allowed to do and not allowed to do. You'll make it and look back and laugh about it later.
Oh, that is so true.. My son turned 18 in basic, I called to try to wish him Happy Birthday, everyone told me not to,,but as unsure as I was I still did, called the sds, they cracked jokes and stuff with him, but made sure that he called to tell me not to call again. I haven't, and I won't. But it was nice of them to tell him that I called to wish him that, and he said the 50 push-ups he had to do could have been worse.LOL!! Of course, he wishes I hadn't. LOL. But to me for a boy.. That is an important day. Ah, Well I love my son. He's my first boy, been single mom, all his life.
