so you are all going to have to work extra hard to entertain me this week. We are so proud of him – some of you may remember that Nick took summer school courses in order to graduate this summer (the summer before what would have been his senior year) and enlist in the Navy. It’s a good thing, really it is – we’re proud that he wants to use at least a little of his youth in the service. I think it says something about the respect he has for his dad (who retired after 26 years in the Navy) and me (I did 6 years myself) that he wanted to follow our example. And I think it’s a wonderful thing that he has a plan – I know there are a lot of kids his age without even the beginnings of one.
But I’m going to miss him. The house seems a lot emptier already. He’s such a sunny natured guy… He’s spent most of the last few years trying to be a badass, working out with weights and shaving his head. He managed, finally, to look a bit badass, but it’s only skin deep. He has a cheerful disposition and is apparently constitutionally incapable of holding a grudge for longer than 24 hours. We share a similar sense of humor – my husband and daughter are both a bit darker, and are often baffled by stuff Nick and I find amusing. And Nick was the other reader in the house – my daughter reads for school only and my husband only reads magazines and the newspaper. Nick and I like to read and talk about what we read.
I’m going to miss him and he’ll never live here again the way he did – as my boy. He’s a grownup now, and while I’m pretty sure he’s ready, I’m not sure I am.
Best of luck to him. He sounds like an impressive, dedicated guy.
My parents had a tough time when my sister first left for the AF Academy. Keep any letters you get from him - they make good keepsakes. And write to him, often: my sisters said that during basic, letters from home were like gold.
What Ninja Chick said. Both when I was the kid in boot camp ( long about the time Gawd made dirt ) and when my son was in boot, there is nothing like regular mail. You can hol;d it, smell it, look at it anywhere and anytime and IMO, it is better than phone, email, tapes, etc.
Breezy, newsy, family and friends orientated and what ever he writes back, just keep them going…
All other forms of communication are ok too, don’t get me wrong, but in 40 years, he will treasure the ‘letters’ most of all.
Ah, boot camp… It’s been 23 years since I did that trip, but it seems like last week. The kid is in for weeks of being scared shitless and having the time of his life, all at the same time.
I’ll second the “write him lots of letters” notion. I don’t have a clue about whether or not they allow these guys access to e-mail in boot camp (I’m guessing not, at least for a while). But even if they do, getting stuff at mail call rules.
Parenting has always struck me as one of those things God could have designed better. All sorts of people who shouldn’t be parents are, all sorts of people who want to be parents aren’t, and if you’re successful as a parent, you wind up having to share with the whole world the kid who you used to have all to yourself for a whole lot of time. And the better a parent you were, the more you miss the kid when that happens.
Sounds like you’re in that last group, Jess. You’re gonna miss him like crazy, even while you know he’s having a ball. And he will, even amidst the moments of intermittent terror that seem to characterize boot camp.
Thanks for asking, my friend – as you may have noticed, I’m always happy to talk about him!
2 1/2 letters so far! He’s actually been pretty good about keeping in touch. The half letter was the one they sent out the day he got there with all the information we needed about how boot camp works, his mailing address, emergency contacts, etc. That form letter had a space at the end for a note from him – and I got exactly one line – basically, “Hey, I’m fine.” And it was signed “Sincerely, Nick Buchli” – I assume so we would not get him confused with any other Nicks we know who are currently attending boot camp…
But the next 2 letters were much better – 2 pages each and pretty informative. He admits that the first week was hard, but says that he’s getting used to it: to quote, “now it feels like it’s just my life.” He passed his swim quals and first PT with flying colors – he did only medium-well in the run (1 1/2 miles in 12 minutes), but very well in the pushups (80) and situps (82). After his swim he was approached by the SEAL guys who watch the recruits looking for prospects and offered a chance to take the SEAL physical. He had to decline because he doesn’t really swim and the SEAL qualifying swim consists of doing several different strokes that he (again, a quote:) “has no clue” how to do. He is one of the younger guys in his division, but is getting along fine with his fellow recruits. He is getting plenty to eat – for breakfast the morning of his second letter he ate: sausage, eggs, pancakes, a PB sandwich, and apple and a donut. He will be graduating on Jan 14.
I miss him like fire, but I’m thrilled to see that he is going to be a reasonable good coorespondant and that he seems to be adjusting fine (and getting enough to eat).
It doesn’t surprise me that he’s eating so much - I remember how fast I went through food at his age just in a normal day, plus I’m sure the daily drill of boot camp burns up an astounding number of calories.
2 real letters home in just these few weeks - wow, what a good kid! You musta done something right, raising him.
Actually, that’s why I was worried he was hungry – at home he ate like he had three mouths. Because he was into weightlifting, he was on 5000 - 7000 calories a day, counting the 2 protein shakes he had every day. Back when I went to boot camp, we had exactly 8 minutes to eat at each meal and I wasn’t sure he’d be able to eat enough in that short time. But they’ve apparently increased the feeding time – he says he has 15 minutes to eat and, as you can see, he puts that 15 minutes to good use! He is a good boy – I’m very proud of him and I’ll take the compliment – we must have done something right!
alterego – we can’t send him anything but letters – no food or goodies. But I’ve been slipping articles on things of interest to him in with my letters – my husband sends clipping from the paper about his high school footbal team, and I download and print thngs for him. I remember how bad I missed having anything to read!
