<p>Had to laugh when you mentioned the cleaning. Oh my, Sis NEVER had a clean room for more than a day at a time. TOTAL disaster area. Last letter said getting ready for alpha inspection but wasn’t sweating it. They had scored/passed/completed? room inspections as well as any. She DID add, “can you believe I have a clean room?” Her mom about dropped!</p>
<p>Bill0510 - I KNOW your right, fear and intimidation ARE fantastic motivators! ;)</p>
<p>Can’t wait to SEE this clean room in a couple weeks. :)</p>
<p>wvdad,
take pictures because the next time you see lil’ sister’s room will be four years from now.
Bill hit the nail on the head, fear and intimidation work wonders…so does positive reinforcement and high expectations! :)</p>
<p>I’ll probably need smelling salts for the wife! LOL!</p>
<p>Since only two can have lunch with our plebes, do they come and get the rest of us (who lost the coi toss!) to go see their rooms or how does it work? Is there a meeting point? Any insight appreciated. :)</p>
<p>My son attends church every Sunday and volunteered to acolyte as well (he did that at our church) and also helped with communion twice. I am sure the donuts and down time are wonderful… Adam said someone he knew said that “they live from Sunday to Sunday” during plebe Summer!</p>
<p>In one of his latest letters (he writes every day… amazing for someone who would never write a letter before!) he asked us to send him a small cross to wear around his neck. I can feel all the changes in him each time he writes. He has grown so vey much!</p>
<p>And as we all know, it’s sometimes easier to find God when we are going through tough times! I am just happy that church = a place of peace for him. He thinks the Chaplains are his saving grace!</p>
<p>Just wanted to post that I am thinking about all of your children (ok, they will always be kids to me) and praying for them during their indoc time. My daughter and I were talking (while lying by the pool) that the plebes are in h*ll right now. She said that she was thinking about that too and hoped they were all coping allright. We also talked about how she would treat the plebes when she returned. Just so you all know, they all aren’t gunning for you. LOL We remember so vividly one youngster last year who came up to us and whispered that we had just stepped on some mosaic tile seal. Apparently you DON’T step on it. It was right after we met up on I-Day and hadn’t even noticed. He was the nicest guy and just didn’t want our daughter to get in trouble. After being yelled at all day, it was nice to have an upperclassman smile at you and tell you something like you were a person. (and she never stepped on that seal again. LOL) Hope you all are coping well.
And my favorite saying…“They can’t kill you and they can’t stop time”</p>
<p>I spent four years at the Boat School and don’t ever remember yelling at a Plebe. I spent the summer on the Regimental Staff and had the pleasure of being at Regimental come arounds. While I saw lots of yelling at times, it is sometimes more effective to be the person not yelling but as the voice of reason informing a Plebe that their performance was or had not been up to par and that I didn’t expect to see them there again or if I was at the tables (meal time) I didn’t expect them not to know their rates. That method works on all the people who care about their performance, the ones who don’t care, yelling isn’t going to reach them anyway.</p>
<p>The Plebes that are there can handle the next few weeks if they made it this far. It is only a matter of wanting to be there. The Cadre will start to work on their mind getting them fearful of the return of the Brigrade. The first days will be real quiet (I believe there’s a neutral time when only the cadre deals with Plebes even though the rest of the Brigade is back) and then all hell breaks out for awhile. Like you said, they can’t stop time and before they know it, Plebe year will be over and as Youngsters they’ll be the forgotten Midn.</p>
<p>one plebe with very limited time and way too many people that want a chunk of it. Trying to find the right balance. Worried that while we (and our plebe) have found a balance and are on the same page, way too many others are not.</p>
<p>I’m afraid not. Each individual has to find that balance for themselves. Some find it easily, others don’t. Some seem never to do so. Hell, I may fall into that category.</p>
<p>The best the folks at home can do is to be there for them, but not try to impose upon their time too much. I imagine that has to be very difficult, but if you push too hard, they are likely to simply drift further away.</p>
<p>I actually think it’s a common phase that everyone that age goes through. I certainly did, but now almost 20 years later I’m closer to my father than ever before. Go figure. </p>
<p>What I do think the Academies do is either a) make it stronger, or b) make it weaker. Sounds strange, but that’s the nature of the place. I can only assume the other Service Academies are the same.</p>
<p>Just out of curiosity, if we remove the upperclassmen (no avoiding them), and remove you and your husband (just for the exercise), and finally remove the GF (because she has all the time she can expect, being right in town), who else wants a chunk of the Torpedo’s time?</p>
<p>Hopefully most of the AFA parents got to enjoy the long Labor Day weekend with their son or daughter. </p>
<p>Now that Parent’s Weekend is over and I have had time to reflect on the impact the Academy has had on our son, I am so joyfully blessed! Our son is happy and knows he is where he wants to be. The roommate situation if fine as well. The academic load is getting better. He was one of only 32 4 degree’s that got to validate out of Chem. He has even started a help session one night a week for anyone in his squadron that has questions. He has participated in a few “Spirit Missions” that undoubtedly will be great stories in the years to come. He managed to get food, sleep and watch lots of (on demand) movies at the hotel. We still heard gumblings about the food, but only after we asked about it. There is no doubt about it, the Love-Hate dynamics are there. It is all part of the process of preparing them to be Officers in our military. </p>
<p>Saying good bye was not too hard. I did get a little bit teary eyed. Something would be wrong if I didn’t.</p>
