Kingfisher Cove

Nate News

It’s foggy here on the Harstine deck this morning — it’s feeling like fall! (Actually, I’m not particularly excited about that because I’ll blink my eyes and it’ll be feeling like winter….) Man, the birds are sure scarce. I guess they’ve all headed to Mexico or wherever. There is a kingfisher that has been hanging around our place chittering like mad. Noisy little guy, but I love ‘em!

Today’s the last day of our l-o-n-g weekend here at Harstine. It’s been very nice, very relaxing. JDub is feeling better and even cut down some old snags and brush that has improved the view (and provided more firewood). Mojo has been Mojo (caught a snake, caught a mouse, been gallivanting, and has also been cuddling with the weenies).

And then last evening, Nate called! We were able to talk for quite a while, although it was a little challenging on my end because he was on someone else’s cell phone and the connection wasn’t great. (Plus, have I mentioned that he talks really fast?) Lots of background distraction with other “shipmates” chatting and announcements on the loud speakers that he’d have to stop and listen to. But I got the gist of what he’s up to right now.

1. He’s in temporary quarters with a bunch of other sailors who are waiting to begin electronics training. For Nate, that will be the first step toward his sonar tech “rating” (or job). They’re in a holding pattern, waiting for the previous electronics class to end and they’re not sure for how long they’ll have to wait! There are about 350 sailors (men and women) housed in this facility (like a dorm — he has one roommate in his tiny lil’ room), which is called the U.S. Enterprise (it’s an older building and Nate said it pretty much sucks). He’s figuring within the next two weeks he’ll be moved to the permanent facility for his training.
2. After he’s completed this electronics training (probably in December), he’ll then *likely* have Leave to come home for Christmas. Again, it’s the military so nothing is for certain!
3. Then in January, he’ll head to San Diego for three months for the sonar training.
4. After that, there may be more training, and then he’ll be deployed on a ship somewhere!

So, for now, they have some time on their hands. They’ve been going through indoctrination classes, learning a lot about sexual harassment (post Tail-Hook, after all!) and also about all the rules and regulations of weekend Liberty now that they are no longer in boot camp. They have more freedoms, but for now they still have to wear their uniforms when they leave base, no alcohol, and they have to be back in their barracks by a certain time. Yesterday (Saturday) Nate and his roommate took the train into Chicago! They went to the Museum of Natural History and he said it was great! (And I thought it was cool that they went there!) They also did a fair amount of girl-watching. (heh) Sailors!

Overall he sounds just fine and a lot more relaxed. There is “duty” (such as cleaning) and “watch” and other chores to keep them engaged, but he’s really looking forward to having the electronics training begin. Oh, and also receiving his laptop and cell phone which I’ll ship to him tomorrow!

Mellow

Yesterday I was all set to do some major house cleaning. (Something I’ve had to deal with now that we no longer have a maid that comes to clean once a week!) As I was gearing up for this, I received an email from JDub: “I’m not feeling well. Want to head to Harstine?” Well, booyah. Duh. He’s got an icky bug, probably from the flight. (I suffered from NASTY, er, gas, on that flight from the pressure differences — I’ve experienced that before on airplanes). So we loaded up my BUG (the Durango is also sick), grabbed the weenies and kitteh, and sailed on down to Harstine. It was nice not having to deal with godawful Friday evening traffic. JDub’s not feeling great, but he figured he could be miserable HERE just as well as at home, and it’s definitely more pleasant HERE.

And boy, is it ever. Sunny, warmish, nice little breeze, and quiet (except for the birds!) This is such a healing place, for whatever ails you. So yeah, Monday I’ll get to attack the housecleaning, but that’s OK.

I haven’t heard from Nate! I really figured I would have by now, and I’m a bit bummed. (Other moms on Navy-for-Moms have been receiving calls from their kids pretty regularly since they’ve returned home from the weekend). I can’t even send him a letter because I don’t know his new address. I’m starting to come down off my “high” from the weekend seeing him for all those hours and I’m missing him.

Very much enjoying it here at Harstine, though. I could SO live a life of leisure! I’m realizing just how totally burned out I really am.

Back to Reality

Which isn’t a terrible thing, really! Especially knowing there’s a pretty good chance that Nate will be able to come home for Christmas. I always need something to look forward to! It’s also nice to know that once he starts “A” School tomorrow, he’ll have more freedom to make phone calls. I need to get his cell phone and laptop shipped to him, once he calls with his new address.

It was great to be reunited with our weenie dogs. I worried about Mojo, because we’d left him food and water (and pet door access) while we were gone, but there was no sign of him yesterday. It was apparent he’d been around, but he’s certainly not one to respond when you call for him. This morning about 4:30 (JDub was already up and in the shower to get ready for work), I woke to “MROW! MROW? MROW? MROW!” and jumped out of bed to peer over the rail. Here came Mojo flying up the stairs and he pretty much landed in my arms! Oh, the purrs! The head-butts! I brought him into bed with me and he curled up beside me (something he rarely does) and his motor continued to chug. Then JDub got the treatment when he emerged to put his shoes on. Mojo might be *this close* to being a wild thing, but he obviously missed us and was VERY happy that we were home. (It’s actually pretty cool to know that he really does like us! Sometimes with cats, you have to wonder).

Man did I ever zonk out last night. I must have acclimated to the time zone difference in Chicago pretty quickly (well, we had to, plus every morning began at the butt-crack of dawn…) so by 8:00 last night our time (10:00 Chicago time), I was done. I fell asleep on the couch and JDub woke me up two hours later to head to bed — where I immediately fell asleep! (After cuddling with weenie dogs).

I do have a ton of laundry to do. And a house to clean. Oh, and a job to find.

Bub-Bye, Young Man

Tonight we said goodbye to Nate as we dropped him off at the Navy base for the last time. Yes, it was hard. But no, it wasn’t “terrible.” He’s in such a good place in his life, he’s excited about his future, and he seems (is) so grown up now. (For the most part! I noticed he still wrote silly posts on his Facebook page when he had opportunities this weekend!)

But saying goodbye came after spending such an amazing and wonderful time together. Yesterday ended up being a little more mellow than what we anticipated, but Nate was totally fine with that. And it culminated in this marvelous dinner at “Joe’s Crab Shack!” We shared these two big steaming BUCKETS full of crab, corn on the cob, baby red potatoes, clams, and sausage! It was DELICIOUS! And then the wait staff would do this fun line dance thing every 20 minutes or so. What a festive (and did I mention DELICIOUS?) experience! We actually had ourselves some Dungeness crab in Illinois!

Today was awesome. The weather was perfect (sunny and in the 70s) and we took the train to downtown Chicago, which was fun (and very stressless). From the train terminal, we grabbed a taxi and went to the Navy Pier on Lake Michigan and we had a ball! What a beautiful place! I personally think it puts the Seattle waterfront (which I’ve always liked) to shame! Yes, it takes money to make things right, but jeeze, Seattle! It’s time to spruce it up!  Look how cool this is!

It just goes forever, and it’s festive and classy (including an awesome stained glass museum), beer gardens, eclectic outdoor entertainment, easy-access boat tours, a wealth of food choices, and not overly-exorbitant prices. Here are some more cool shots:

This one (below) was taken from the Ferris wheel!

  So was this one!

And this one:

I’ve mentioned before that I’ve been involved with Navy for Moms, a social networking site for us moms with kids in all phases of the Navy. In the boot camp group I’ve been in with moms of kids with last Friday’s graduation date, I discovered that Nate is good friends with one of the new sailors of one of these moms I’ve come to know from that site. And we ran into each other today at the Navy Pier! Here’s a picture of Nate and his buddy, Jared:

He was there with his parents and sisters, and so all of us ate lunch together! It was fun (and interesting!) It was also fun to listen in on Nate and Jared’s conversations; they both had a very similar sense of humor and a bright and insightful way of looking at things. Jared’s family had to leave to catch their plane, and they were very concerned about him getting back to base. So JDub and I assured them that we’d see to it! After his family left, we met Jared at the Ferris wheel (and then rode it!) After some ice cream (for me a diet coke, but I have to say that I have NOT been paying much hardly any attention to Weight Watchers this weekend…), we then headed out of the Pier to catch a taxi back to the train terminal. Jared was so excited; he’d never ridden a train before! Yes, they are young men who have accomplished a whole helluva lot getting through Navy boot camp. But they’re also still boys!

Here are some more of my favorite photos of the day (I think they speak for themselves):

     

It truly was a wonderful day. And now it’s time to try to fit these new sweatshirts and all of Nate’s official Navy photos into my suitcase! We head home tomorrow. It’ll be good to see Mojo and the weenie dogs!

And I suspect I’ll get a call from Nate later this week once he moves to the educational section of the naval base and I’ll get the skinny of what this next stage entails.

I’m going to miss his hugs.

A Day Like No Other!

Well…maybe except the day he was born! (Yes, it was just about that dramatic!)

OK. So. We landed about 5:30 yesterday Chicago time. (Nice flight! Seems like I always “get” to sit above the wing, but at least I had a good view of Mt. Rainier as we passed by):

Came down alongside some awesome cloud towers as we approached Chicago. I’ve never seen clouds like that before — absolutely immense and…towering! It should have been a sign of things to come because it’s been raining here in Chicago-land. Yuk.

After a grueling drive to our hotel about 35 miles north of O’Hare (mostly due to road construction every-damned-where) we took a moment to settle in a bit and then we headed to an Irish Pub located close to the naval base for a meet-and-greet gathering with a bunch of the moms I’ve been conversing with on Navy-for-Moms. It was so fun to meet them! We’ve been online together sharing our angst and grief and fears since June 25th. They’re all moms of sailors (sons and daughters, plus a couple of wives and girlfriends) that all had today’s graduation date. Oh, the emotions along the way! And the absolute unconditional, mama-bear LOVE we all have for those kids! These sailors are young — many of them only 18 or 19 years old (Nate was one of the oldest in his division at 23). 

Here’s a rather piss-poor shot of a few of us moms outside of the pub:

And then. We got up at the butt crack of dawn this morning and drove to the LINE OF CARS waiting to enter the base. We were in line by 6:30 a.m. and it took us an hour-and-a-half to drive the HALF MILE to the entrance. And it wasn’t just stop-and-go. It was stop, stop, stop, stop some more, and then finally inch forward a half a car length at best. Gah! They deal with this every single Friday! Couldn’t they come up with a better method? And then I don’t know how many different security checkpoints. After parking, it was a long slog to the field house and I’m so glad it wasn’t raining at that point! THEN, it was sit on hard bleachers for another 45 minutes or so to wait for the event to begin. (And then another 2 hours thereafter….)

Get this: There were 850 graduating recruits in 11 different divisions. Each recruit could invite 4 people to attend the ceremony. In reality, lots of families/friends greater than 4 came, and although they weren’t guaranteed they’d have a place to sit, they managed to squeeze them all in. That’s a lot of people! It was absolutely incredible! (Sure were many southern accents all around us!)

The ceremony was amazing. With all that these kids had to learn and master these past 8 weeks, they also had to learn and master military formality with precision marching and stances and turns and pomp and circumstance (including fancy flag bearing, ceremonial rifle manipulation, and the recruit Navy band) . To  have 850 youngsters from every walk of life behave and perform so professionally was a sight to behold. (And to quote Nate in one of his letters during weapons training, “A lot of these guys in my division shouldn’t be allowed to use a fork, let alone a firearm.”)

It was pandemonium once they announced “Liberty Call.” The thousands of guests (including us) flew down off those bleachers to the floor to hunt down and hug our loved ones.  And that was when things turned a little sour for us for a while. It took forever to find Nate! We aimed directly to where he’d been standing in formation, but he’d obviously moved and we looked and looked and looked for him. I was starting to feel such despair seeing all these sailors getting armloads of hugs from their loved ones all around me. Finally JDub found Nate, and then I couldn’t let go of him!

Uhm, yes, I was sobby weepy! I’m not sure if Nate was, but he sure had the biggest grin that wouldn’t go away all day!  I had to take care not to get mascara on his brilliant white uniform!

We also had a tough time when Nate had to (walk) back to his quarters (a million miles away) to obtain his Liberty pass (we weren’t allowed to accompany him) and we had to WAIT SOME MORE. And it was a long time because there was a dust-up in his quarters (a petty matter, but in the military nothing is petty) that he had to wait on. In the meantime, JDub and I were growing weary of all the waiting, cold in the Chicago wind, DYING FOR A CIGARETTE, and then concerned about what was happening and knowing there was no way to contact Nate! FINALLY he showed up — nearly an hour-and-a-half after he’d left to his quarters! Jeeze! But things improved a hundred-fold after that!

So today, mostly Nate decompressed. Which means: He talked our ears off! (I loved it!) Oh, the stories! And the laughs! I was so relieved that his sense of humor is totally intact, and in fact, sharper and more sophisticated. He has changed; he has grown up. But it has nothing to do with arrogance or “know-it-all-ness.” It’s more of a humble awakening, pride, and joy at realizing what he’s capable of. He learned quickly to take the “learning” seriously, and the bullshit (like being screamed at) with a grain of salt. He looked at the punishment of having to do ungodly physical activity (based on any recruit screwing up and the whole division having to be punished) as a positive because it kept him/got him in fine shape. He recognized the game of the training (being treated like shit) as just that; a game. And he actually had grudging respect for his Recruit Division Commanders. “They’re paid to be assholes,” he said matter-of-factly. (heh) And he frankly felt that he wasn’t treated nearly as shitty as many of his shipmates.

So we hung out for quite a while in our hotel room and talked and talked. Nate brought us his official Navy picture package (which I’m sure as hell hoping I can fit in our suitcase….) and they are so nice! I also purchased a nice 8x10 photo at the NEX (Navy Exchange) taken during the ceremony this morning of his division and it’s great because you can clearly see Nate. I’ll scan it when we get home. We also went out for a bite to eat, and then I handed over my iPhone to Nate and he called his best friend, Tracy (who was at his going-away party at Camano Is.) They talked for over an hour and I know it was a huge joy for Nate!

Nate is definitely “Go Navy.” I wouldn’t say “gung-ho” because that speaks of arrogance and I don’t sense that at all. I see him as being very happy with the decision he has made (so far!), excited for his future, and confident in his skin. (And he looks so cute in his dress whites!) He’s also looking forward to getting Lasik surgery so he doesn’t have to wear his glasses anymore.

We’ll have about 12 hours with him tomorrow and I’m sure hoping the weather improves! We want to do some sight-seeing! Possibly the Navy Pier, drive into Chicago and see the city, maybe the aquarium which is supposed to be great. We’ll see, sort of play it by ear. I’ve been really enjoying hearing his stories. I look at him and just wish I could take him home with me! But…not to be!

This upcoming week he moves “across the street” at the Great Lakes base for his next venture which is Electronics School. He’s not sure yet for how long — there is a remote possibility that it’ll be until mid-December and then he won’t have to report to San Diego until January. So there’s a *remote* possibility he could be home for Christmas! He says, “They may decide that I need to scrub toilets and paint rocks white during that time, so I can’t count on it.”

But oh, wouldn’t that be great!

Nate’s a Sailor!

I just got off the phone with my brand new U.S. Navy Sailor! He’s been up for over 36 hours straight doing Battle Stations, and the poor kid hardly has a voice. He’s exhausted but happy and relieved, and it was so good to finally have a chance to talk to him. He said he cried during the capping ceremony. He’s no longer a “recruit!” He’s a full-fledged sailor!

And now, I can start getting ready for our trip to Chicago for his graduation! I’ve been holding my breath waiting for that phone call!

~~~~~

Update

I finally received a letter from Nate today (hadn’t heard anything from him since Aug. 2nd!) I was sure glad that the letter came after his “I’m-A-Sailor” call, because I would have been a wreck otherwise. He never mentioned any of this during our phone call, but the kiddo has been really really sick. Like, coughing up blood sick. Not able to keep any food down sick. And then there was this imagery:

“I stood at attention on Tuesday [Aug. 11th] for almost 3 hours for inspection in my nice dress uniform and dripped snot on the floor the whole time.”

The thing was, if he missed any of the requirements for graduation, he would have likely been held back to a later graduation date. And he just wasn’t about to go there. There was a ton of stuff he needed to get through, like physical fitness tests, firefighting, gas chamber (he’d hoped the tear gas would clear his snot but it just made matters worse), and numerous inspections. He refused to go to medical because he just knew they’d keep him and he’d be held back. What’s scary is that swine flu was making its rounds and a number of divisions had to wear masks all the time. I don’t think Nate’s division did, but I have to wonder what he had that made him so very sick. And…the fact that the recruits not being treated (or isolated) were passing on the bug to each other. Jeeze, what a hellacious environment.

Oh, I also learned that Nate won’t be going to San Diego right away for electronics school. He’ll be staying at Great Lakes for another 8 weeks or so (for what they call “A School” in electronics), and then he’ll head to San Diego for Sonar training. He’ll be in a totally different area on base than he is now, and will eventually have a few more freedoms, like being able to have his cell phone and laptop.

Pins and Needles!

Tomorrow.

Sometime tomorrow I will receive that phone call: “Hi Mom, I’m a sailor.”

I can’t quite fathom it! It’s been so long since I’ve heard Nate’s voice (and yet, I can hear it in my head!) It’s been so long since I’ve heard ANYTHING from him. Like, how is he managing? How is he feeling? (Many of the recruits have been quite sick, some with pneumonia, and there was even an H1N1 scare). Will he have full Liberty over the weekend? What does he want to do — official Chicago Deep Dish Pizza? (I’m sure the very first thing he’ll want to do is take a l-o-n-g,   h-o-t shower at our hotel room!) I also know that if anything bad had happened along the way, such as getting really sick or failing any of the requirements for graduation, he would have called (that’s how they handle things in Boot Camp) so it’s really true when they say “No news is good news.” But still.

Tomorrow. I can hardly stand the anticipation! And then it’s get ramped up to take off for Chicago on Thursday. Woohoo!

Today I bought a new laptop case that has wheels. I’ve decided I want to take my laptop with me, but it’s really heavy (17” monitor, so not intended to be supremely portable). The case is big enough (as a carry-on) to hold the clothes I plan to wear to the graduation ceremony just in case the airline loses our luggage! I’ve begun lists — such as remembering to bring quarters for toll roads! Tomorrow while I’m waiting for That Call, I will start checking off items on those lists! (With cell phone in my pocket).

I belong to an online social network called “Navy For Moms” and it has been so informative, as well as emotionally supportive. I’m in a group of moms whose sons and daughters are all graduating this Friday, and we’ve been counting down the days together since the very beginning. I remember when we had 46 days to go! And now we’re down to three! A bunch of us are having a “meet & greet” at a restaurant/bar near the base on Thursday night after we all arrive. It should be a lot of fun to meet all these ladies I’ve come to know on that site. They are from all over the country, from every walk of life.

So Nate does his Battle Stations 21 tonight (for a brief and very interesting video about it on CNN, click here). (Gulp!) Several of the moms (with sons/daughters in different divisions than Nate but who are also graduating Friday), have already received their “I’m A Sailor” call and it’s been fun (and very emotional!) to hear all about it! I can hardly wait for mine.

Tomorrow.

Calm Before the (Good!) Storm

A brief (just two-day!) weekend at Harstine. Unfortunately, the weather is not cooperating! Not raining, but it’s cloudy and COLD. I spent quite a bit of time out on the deck this morning and really got chilled, and I just don’t much get chilled these days! Brrr! But, it’s still so nice to be here. It always is. The “hell” it takes to get here on a Friday evening in killer traffic and rat-race humanity is so worth it once we finally arrive to the peace and quiet and beauty of this place. Ahhh.

Oh, and Mojo has been up to his typical Wild Thing shenanigans. We keep a window open for him to use as a “pet door” and he brought in a live mouse and let it go so that Bailey, the long-haired weenie dog, could “play” in the middle of the night. Gah! Apparently said live mouse did not live long. (Uhm…I slept through the whole ordeal….) And then at some point he also brought in half a bird. JDub discovered that this morning. Lucky him. (Actually, lucky me for not discovering it!)

Evidence on the camping trailer window sill (“pet door”):

JDub was late getting home from work yesterday which was fine with me because I wanted to be there when the mailman came (he comes really late!) I haven’t heard from Nate since a letter dated August 2nd, so I was really hoping to receive one. But not. I was so disappointed. Sigh. But I temper that with knowing that a week from now I’ll actually see him! He’ll be graduated! I just can’t quite fathom it. From what I understand, he goes through Battle Stations Monday night, so I should receive his “I’m-A-Sailor” call sometime on Tuesday.  And then we fly out Thursday to Chicago! I can hardly stand it, I’m so excited!

I’m debating whether or not to take my laptop with me. God, I’d sure miss it if I didn’t. But the thing is very very heavy, and the idea of lugging it through airports sure doesn’t jazz me. I have a hunch I will, though. I need to ream out the bag that I use to carry it back & forth between home and Harstine and do whatever I can to lighten the load. I *think* there’s a shoulder strap buried in there somewhere. I’d thought I could just use my iPhone for internet/email/stuff, but I want to be able to blog if possible while we’re there (Nate will have to be back to his barracks [ship] by 8:00 or 9:00 each night so I’d have some time to surf/blog/whatever). Plus, I have a hunch that my iPhone will be BUSY with Nate calling people and JDub playing Bejeweled!

Plus, there’s the fact that I will REALLY NEED MY FIX.

Ah! Here it is 4:00 in the afternoon and the sun is FINALLY coming out! I’ll take it! Woohoo!

Getting Excited!

I’m a bit premature here because Nate has yet to complete the “Battle Stations” ordeal — the culmination of everything learned in Navy Boot Camp that must be passed in order to officially become “a sailor.”

It’s an intense overnight exercise (at the end of it they’ll have been awake for a minimum of 24 hours straight), and if you’d like to know more about it, check this out. It really describes it very well (made my heart pound and also brought tears to my eyes!) The capping ceremony afterward is pretty emotional, from what I understand. (Due to amazing accomplishment, I’m sure, but also lack of sleep!)

So, a week from tomorrow JDub and I take off for Chicago, and then that following morning Nate will graduate from Boot Camp. (That is, based on everything going A-OK between now and then!) My only real concern at this point is the dogs. JDub was going to check out some options about boarding them, but I don’t think that’s happened yet! And time is now tight. I’ll do some calling around tomorrow. Jeesh. 

I’m back to coloring my own hair now. It’s actually fine, because I’ve never had super success with having it done professionally. My hair doesn’t hold color very well, so what you think you got, ends up not being the case. (Plus, it’s very expensive!) So, for $10 I’ll do it myself, which I did today. And tomorrow I have an appointment to get my hair cut, which will feel really good. Cut off those dead ends and and hopefully give me a little body. My hair is so thin and fine that it needs all the help it can get (and it just can’t be very long or I look like a hag…) (Or a Basset Hound).

I heard from a previous coworker yesterday. She’s actually envious of me being laid off! (Huh). It does sound like life in the trenches has gone from bad to really bad, and much of it has to do with these corporations getting away with treating their employees like garbage (because, after all, they’re so lucky to actually have a job!) She’s been working 50-60 hour weeks, with no extra pay. Morale sucks. (I can imagine). I think about the grief I was given a few weeks ago when I asked for three days of EARNED VACATION off. And yes, I do wonder at the “coincidence” of that.

Oh, I’m so pleased with this. Harstine Island has an art gallery that is very well regarded in the vicinity. It’s mostly a potter (John Dunlap) and I believe his wife, who is a painter. Last Saturday while we were there, we ventured to the gallery, something we tried to do once before, but I believe it wasn’t open at the time. It’s way-way-way down this beaten track in the middle of absolutely NOWHERE (it looks like a rain forest!). What a treat! I love pottery, but I am rather picky about it. I don’t just like any pottery. And this guy had beautiful stuff! I ended up buying this bowl — I could have bought much more, but I’m unemployed. Plus, I wanted something that I would definitely use. Here it is in perspective (it’s pretty good sized):

I love the leaf pattern, and the bluish/green coloring. There was a sugar and creamer set in this same pattern that I coveted, but since we don’t really USE sugar and creamer, I figured it would just get locked up in my china cabinet along with all the bazillion other lovely things in there, and I’d never really take notice of it. So, I’m very happy to have this!

Possibly a weekend at Harstine coming up — not sure if JDub has it off or not, but maybe! And then I need to think about packing for our trip!

What a Great Long Weekend

(Get a load of that grape cluster there in the middle of the picture. They’re growing! And there are a LOT of grape clusters! I wonder when they are considered ripe?)

Even though the weather wasn’t stellar, it was still just absolutely wonderful to be here at Harstine for the past 4+ days. (*Plus* because we got down here by about 5:00 on Wednesday so we had a great extra evening!) It’s been mellow, it’s been relaxing, and it’s been healing. I’d really rather just stay here, if I had the choice! But, John needs to go to work tomorrow. (One of us needs to!) Also, I’m anticipating a letter in the mailbox from Nate. Gosh, I sure hope so. It seems like it’s been ages since I’ve heard from him.

Speaking of Nate: Two weeks from now we’ll be in Illinois and he’ll be all graduated from Boot Camp! He graduates on the 21st, and we’re heading out  on Thursday the 20th, coming home the following Monday (he’ll have Liberty leave that weekend). This is all contingent on him passing all that he needs to pass and it’s a little nerve-wracking not entirely knowing what all is happening on his end. They say that “no news is good news.” But in this day and age of immediate communication, it’s very disconcerting! No phone calls, and letters are few and far between. The letters I have received  have been a good week old! (Can you say “Pony Express?”) And it’s also been troublesome because I’ve heard there has been a whole lot of rather serious sickness on base (including pneumonia and hospitalization), which could possibly send a recruit back a couple of weeks. If that were the case, I would have heard about it by now, I’m sure. But this all makes me just nervous as hell. For Nate’s sake, I want this to be OVER for him so he can move forward with his technical training.  (And have his cell phone and laptop available for communicating with us!) Snail mail sucks! And he apparently has a real hard-ass RDC (Recruit Division Commander) who will NOT allow them phone calls. Grrrr.

As for me, I think I’ve sent him a good 25 letters to date. It’s kind of odd (but also kind of cool) to have this old fashioned letter-writing thing going on. Nate talks very fast, and I have given him grief advice in the past to take the time to LISTEN. With letter-writing, you have no choice! You HAVE to listen (read) and don’t have the opportunity to interrupt or quickly think about your response (without listening). Obviously, that goes both ways. But that’s never been a problem for me. I actually much prefer the writing  communication because it GIVES me the time to think about what to say, or how to respond, etc. And to say it right. My guess is that Nate has learned something from this, too, because he’s never had to deal with written communication this way before (and I do know that he COVETS receiving my letters). I have a hunch we’ve gotten to know each other better than we did before with just regular talking (mostly because he did most of the talking and not all that much listening!)  I wonder how different he will seem to me when we see him at his graduation. I’ve been warned that boot camp changes a person in a big way. I miss him terribly. I miss his wonderful hugs.