It's been 8 LONG weeks since I last saw my Beautiful Baby Girl.
I took this picture of her as we drove to meet her recruiter who was responsible for getting her to Boot Camp at Great Lakes Illinois. I have missed her SO much! I have worried about her, endlessly. I have cried, I have laughed and I have prayed. LOTS of prayers!On Thanksgiving Day, my oldest Daughter, Pam (my Princess) drove the 5 hours to spend the day with her baby sister.
Pam reports that Katie is fine ~ thin...but fine. And very, Very PROUD. Proud of herself, for what she has accomplished and proud to be in the Navy. 
My girls spent the day together. Lots of hugs and smiles and love. I was so happy, just knowing that they were together!
This is Katie talking with me on Pam's cell phone.This afternoon, I am picking up my son, Ben (Porkchop) and we are following Pam and her handsome husband, Karl and their three boys (my GRANDSONS!) to Great Lakes, Illinois, where my Beautiful Baby Girl will GRADUATE tomorrow morning!
I am so excited to SEE Katie and to be able to hold, hug and kiss her that it almost hurts ! We've gone 8 weeks and much longer without seeing each other before, but never without the ability to communicate. Boot Camp let us share letters but once a week letters are just not the same as hearing the voice of someone you love and are worried about! I know that my Baby Girl went through hell at Boot Camp....that's what Boot Camp is all about! It was difficult, as a Mom, to know that she was in such a stressful situation, and not be able to comfort or support her in any way! Needless to say: I am SO glad that it's over!!!
So, I'll be gone for a few days. I'm staying at Great Lakes and spending the weekend with my future Naval Intelligence Officer! Ben & Pam and her family are driving back, right after the ceremony tomorrow. Katie and I will spend a few days together ~ she has to report back to the base in the evenings. I will return home on Sunday night. I wish I could bring my Beautiful Baby Girl home with me but she has to report to her fist station, which will be school in Monterey, California! My BBG is going back to school (she graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 2005 ~ or was it 06? ~ and has desperately wanted to continue her education. That dream is finally coming true! I am happy. And proud. And oh-so-VERY Blessed!
Wow, I didn't realize Boot Camp was so short! How is it that she gets to leave boot camp and go straight to school? Is it part of her enlistment?
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! I hope you had a great visit. DH was in the Navy and still considers himself a Navy guy. There's a lot of pride, tradition and opportunity ahead.
ReplyDelete- Franna
Michelle: I think it is because she was enlisted as an officer.
ReplyDeleteNancy: congrats on surviving the 8 weeks. Way to go Katie.
Nancy,
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to Katie on making it through Boot camp! I remember those days with mixed emotions! :0) This is the next step of a terrific journey for her. She should be so proud!
Debi
Tylerfarm
Maine
Nancy...don't worry that she's "thin" as she's just trimmed down to "fighting weight"! She went through all that "stuff" for a reason - Boot takes people and breaks through all sorts of barriers (friends and parents are included here) to build troops up again. The trainers at Boot Camp have just that amount of time to teach an individual to work with others in a very demanding job. There's not many jobs out there where you have to stand tall and put everything on the line for your beliefs. You've GOT to be able to trust that the guy next to you knows what to do too - to make sure you both get the job done and go home safely. Of course, the Army is a bit different than the Navy (Dad was Navy, I was Army - you should'a heard the rucus at our house during an Army/Navy game!)
ReplyDeleteShe's now at the stage where the Navy will treat her as if she was a blank canvas...upon which they will paint her way with training.
Give her a hug from me and please tell her - "Thank you for taking a stand for all we hold dear." God bless her! And you too, Mom....
Nancy,
ReplyDeleteA big congrats to Katie and to you, too for getting through boot camp vicariously as a boot camp mom! I am so proud of BOTH of you! Be careful on the snowy roads driving back.
Terry
I'm writing this from a motel room in Libertyville, IL. I dropped Katie back off at her base where she has to walk a mile back to her barracks in the FREEZING rain/sleet/snow/ice and wind! The storm hit here this afternoon. Everything is coated with ice! We had to find an alternate route back to the base tonight because there were power lines down on the road we normally take! Scary but we made it. My Beautiful Baby Girl looks so wonderful and stands so proud in her Navy uniform! Some of the things she told me were hard to hear. It's a good thing that I wasn't aware of what was happening WHEN it was happening! (Katie bought me a beautiful, gold-toned key-chain that says: "Navy MOM...the hardest job in the Navy") But, she survived and has commplete and total respect for the Navy and all that it stands for. We've spent the last two days together and I'll pick her up again, first thing tomorrow morning. I'm going to have to leave by noon for the L-O-N-G drive home. I sure hope the worst of the storms are over!
ReplyDeleteNancy, I just had a good friend head to basic at Greater Lakes, IL. Its hard to read about what your daughter went through, but know that he'll be the better man after he lives through it. I wish I had the guts to do it, and respect those who have done it. It was a very touching post and give the utmost respect to you and your daughter for both being so brave!
ReplyDeleteGarrett
I know you are proud Nancy. My Dad was Navy as well. Lots of Hugs from here.
ReplyDeleteNorma
I know you are proud Nancy. My Dad was Navy as well. Lots of Hugs from here.
ReplyDeleteNorma