<p>Yep, momoftwins! I’m here for ya! Have that hershey wrapper in my hands while I type. I’d wondered how the other siblings felt about having a brother or sister going to a service academy. I’d kinda asked that once & was surprised not to get much feedback on it. I have an older son who I’m just as proud of. He’s done with college and is a designer in the engineering field on huge construction projects. BUT, he kinda got put on the back burner because all we seemed to talk about was Jamz. It had to irritate. Although he’d never admit it. I still feel tender hearted about it. But atleast he lives close and I get him to come for those great sunday dinners. I know it must have been just as hard to leave another daughter. I just can’t imagine. It must be like night and day experiences though. One you can talk to when you want, the other you cannot. One who wants the great dorm room poster, the one who wants shoe polish & brasso. You’re getting a full realm of it! LOL Go kiss your son & tell him there’s no place he can run or hide!</p>
<p>It’s neat to hear these perspectives on siblings since ours is a “lonely only.” He has remarked that there are very few only children at USNA, and that most seem to be the oldest sibling. Wonder if birth order really does impact life choices? </p>
<p>Anyway, plebe parents, please know that upperclassmen are truly concerned about the plebes and are working hard themselves to lead by example. Ours PTd with the plebes today! </p>
<p>Happy Ac year and have a great Navy Day!</p>
<p>That’s good to hear Mom of 1. I know my daughter is the oldest and from studies, they say that the eldest seem to act very responsibly. However, all that can be thrown to the wind when you also consider that more parents will most likely post on these sites when all is new (the oldest going off to college) than they might after a few kids have been there done that. Happy to hear that the upperclassmen are being so helpful. I know my daughter is very pleasantly surprised by how professional AND kind the uppers are being to her in her platoon. (known for being a really locked on, tough platoon).<br>
NAPS05mom (Tricia)</p>
<p>momoftwins: I would have been shocked and disappointed if you had been able to drop of your #2 daughter without experiencing another round of the “separation blues”. Go ahead and break out the good stuff, the extra rich chocolate made for just such occassions.</p>
<p>I will be interested to hear if your relationship with your remaining son changes at all with his sisters’ departures. We also have a high school sophomore son who now has his room all to himself. Although he misses his older brother, I think he is enjoying the new environment and a break from the “we’re so proud of your brother” comments he’s been barraged with during the weeks leading up to his brother’s departure for WP. While his pride in his brother is evident by the West Point key strap he dangles from his pants pocket, he was overdue for some one-on-one TLC from my wife and I.</p>
<p>Will say a special prayer for you and your family tonight.</p>
<p>Thanks to all of you for the good wishes. </p>
<p>So, I just got home from the grocery store and have the sneakiest feeling that I bought too much food - except for the chocolate, of course.</p>
<p>Steve got an 85 on a speech he had to deliver in his Eng. Comp./Speech class…first one of many; they just started classes on Thursday. He says he’s getting “tons of homework” and though things are somewhat calmer than swab summer the pressures of academics keep things lively. He said he volunteered to go first on the speeches which I told him was a good thing. He was about to start work on his charts for Nautical Science; also taking Calculus, Chemistry, and US History along with PE.</p>
<p>Prayers Prayers Prayers for all in the Hurricane’s path…</p>
<p>My son is coming home this weekend for the first time since R-day. He is bringing two cadets with him, boys from Utah and Kansas. They will get some good home cookin(or Dominoes, maybe!) and a few days respite from the CGA.</p>
<p>Boss,</p>
<p>Lots of the WP plebes will be leaving post this weekend including mine. She has given me a list of foods she wants and just wants to make sure that I don’t wake her up in the morning to do anything at all.</p>
<p>For everybody who has their kids home this weekend, enjoy!</p>
<p>boo hoo boo hooooooooo… Ya’ll enjoy your kids…sniff sniff
Can I come over?</p>
<p>to all- enjoy your visits! and congratulations to your plebes, cadets, newbies, doolies and swabs- for jobs well done! as for me, shipping my soon-to-be-mid off to foundation on wednesday- boo-hoo-- not looking forward to the empty nest thing----where’s my kleenex when i need it!!</p>
<p>Well, hug your child for me, too! Ours came home for Thanksgiving last year and it was just too much, with the 12 hour plane trip each way, then Army-Navy Week, then finals. So this year his very kind roommate has invited him to SC for Turkey Day which will give much more time for relaxation. We, on the other hand, have decided to Adopt an Airman from the local Air Force Base and do Thanksgiving for someone else’s kid(s). Sounds like fun, but very different for us! We have never had a Thanksgiving without our whole family.</p>
<p>Well, have a great Navy Day!</p>
<p>Go Navy, Beat Maryland!</p>
<p>You are too great momof1! If he’s coming to SC for turkey day, he’ll more than likely get a deep fried turkey. He will love it! </p>
<p>And Navy2010, Wednesday will come & go in the blink of an eye! HANG ON TIGHT!!! We’ll be here for ya with our kleenex boxes! GO NAVY!</p>
<p>Daughter’s roommate from Beast took her to New York City with her family for the weekend. We’ll have to wait for Plebe Parent Weekend to see her.</p>
<p>My wife couldn’t help herself and called our son at USMA (Of course I immediately got on the extension). </p>
<p>He was in great spirits despite having to spend the weekend on post. Our son drew Inner Guard duty this weekend at USMA. He thought he had arranged a substitute and was planning to head to NYC. The sub fell through so he’s spending the weekend on post. Since he has to stay on post, he has agreed to take additional guard duty for some of his company buddies so they can take off. He says the going rate for taking the duty was $40 but he’s doing it for free as a favor. </p>
<p>Classes are going well but he says sitting in classrooms is pretty boring compared to CBT. While he doesn’t miss the yelling he misses the physical activities of CBT. For some physical release, he signed up for intermural wrestling. He had his first intermural wrestling match this week and loved it. Says it was great pinning another company’s cadet in front of all his company buddies ( Sorry for the bragging, couldn’t help myself).</p>
<p>Had a funny story about another of the endless traditions at USMA. Don’t know that I got it all right but here goes. Seems that a plebe can go to the superintendent’s house and ask to borrow one of the sup’s BDU. Then the plebe can wear the BDU’s (in this case a 3 star general’s) around the barracks and “drop out” whenever he choses (don’t know for how long). Our son said it was hilairious and wished he had known about the tradition and gotten to wear the general’s BDU’s.</p>
<p>Finally, he says he has made a “friend for life” with a firstie. Seems the firstie left his new class ring in the bathroom. Our son found it and turned it in. Firstie, who had just paid over $1000 for the ring, searched out our son, thanked him, promised to buy him a pizza dinner, and told him to let him know if he ever needs a favor.</p>
<p>Great stories Aspen! Hopefully your son gets some time to relax. I am sure there will be some cadets there more than willing to return the favor for him! Good for him finding that class ring and very fortunate for that firstie!!!</p>
<p>The boys from New London came in last night. They look great…we took them out to dinner and they regaled us with stories of swab summer. Today my son and one of them went to a football scrimmage at his old school and one stayed behind to do homework…it’s great to see Steve and his friends in a relaxed environment. They are off until Monday on their first extended liberty.</p>
<p>I am sooooo jealous! To get a couple of them to watch, talk with, share a meal and just hang around is tooooo neat. I know you are enjoying it beyond belief. So happy for you Boss! And to any others who got a chance to have their kids!</p>
<p>Aspen - Here’s a little something for you to entertain yourself with since you have no one coming to see you either 
Thought you might enjoy this. Its a great article if you’ve not seen it already.
<a href=“http://www.taemag.com/issues/articleid.17027/article_detail.asp[/url]”>http://www.taemag.com/issues/articleid.17027/article_detail.asp</a></p>
<p>aspen,</p>
<p>My daughter is home and said that some cadets have made about $200 by taking on the inner guard duty this weekend. Sorry that your son was stuck, but what a great guy to do this for his friends.</p>
<p>Also, the 3 kids who “borrowed” the general’s uniforms are friends of my daughter. She said that upperclassmen were saluting them and the plebes got a bit kick out of that. One of the girls was actually invited in to spend some time in one of the General’s house. Between that and ring poop, all I can say is, “Oh, those wacky cadets!”</p>