I received a 3-page letter this time. 3 pages, albeit small ones. Other than a required paper for college, I'm sure that's the most my son has ever written in one sitting. I know that as of the first two weeks he was in, I had already received more letters from him than I had in the preceding almost-21 years.
You may not be surprised to learn, however, that this is a young man who can also write about 10,000 text messages a month. Thank goodness for unlimited texting on our cell plan! If you average around 8 words per text, that's 80,000 words - enough to edit into a good novel. I'm sure he's not unique in his generation.
There is a bit of irony there in that my son is truly an amazing writer and poet. I occasionally run across a poem he has jotted down somewhere, and I'm continually impressed with the depth of feeling that comes across in so few words.
In the letter, he let his little brother know that everything about claymores in the video game Call of Duty is a lie since he's already gotten to blow one. He also said that they "Hollywooded the crap" out of the movie The Hurt Locker since EOD doesn't do much any of that. Maybe what that really means to us is that once he gets to come home and tell his little brother what isn't accurate about it, he will then spend less time playing video war games. And maybe he'll go see more movies where they don't blow things up. Nah, who am I kidding? He's still a guy.
He's learning new lingo, which means we are too. I thought my brain had already processed enough alphabet soup, but now we're going to have to remember that LBE is load-bearing equipment, IBA is individual body armor, and that him having his own M-4 is not really something I had always hoped he'd put on his wish list. He also mentioned his platoon was going to the gas chamber since they got their gas masks as well. That's enough to make some of his ancestors cringe, I'm sure. I already knew the IED/UXO/EOD stuff from my work over the past several years, but it doesn't thrill me that it has now become part of my son's lexicon.
He has a tremendous sense of humor, "necessary to survive this place" he says, and so does his DS. I can tell I'm going to have to hold on to mine pretty tightly.
He's also learning something about himself that I've always known. He has an incredible sense of integrity, loyalty and discipline that not everyone possesses. That will help him stand apart from those who don't get it, and will make him stand strong with his fellow soldiers that do. I sound like a commercial.
That's still my baby.
I wish our politicians had a clue as to what this is like for the families.
LOL Voice. Your posts always make me remember certain instances...about "blowing things up" because he's a boy was driven home to me in Target many years ago. I had told the kids we would paint and "redo" their bedrooms - Target had a $1 sale on wall paper borders and I would allow them to choose a border for two walls of their room - one room was for my youngest daughter, the other room was for the two boys. My daughter was easy - she picked something pink and purple if I remember correctly. The boys were not really interested any more after they had looked at a few of the bins. I was a little surprised since they had been greatly enthused on the trip to the store. I told the boys to look in each of the bins, there was bound to be something they liked. There was a man on that same aisle with us - he was looking at things opposite us - back to back so to speak -- I could tell he was a little interested in my boy's remarks about not liking anything. After several minutes of trying to get the boys interested in and choosing one and having no luck at all, I was getting impatience and told the boys to "come on- find something!" Finally, one of them turned to me and said, "We could pick really fast if we just knew where our kind was. Where are the ones with blood and guts and stuff exploding on them?" Then, it was readily apparent the man HAD been eavesdropping...when he snorted, gasped, choked, giggled all at once and immediately, looking straight down at the floor, hurriedly left our aisle. I immediately said, pretty loudly, "no fair! I have to stay here and handle this situation without scarring their little ids!"
bubba, no cell phones in boot camp! I'll be sure to pass on the tips about the gas chamber. That one really makes me feel great too. jeesh!
Voice, does this mean he gets to keep his cell phone in Boot Camp? If so, ain't modern technology cool? ;-)
By the way, it is "just" CS (tear) gas. They will make him go through it with the mask on and then make him take it off in the chamber to experience the CS and learn to trust the efficacy of the mask. If he hasn't been through the chamber yet, tell him to take short shallow breaths with the mask off and to not panic (I know, easier said than done.) Avoid screaming, coughing, and gasping as that will only make things worse. Even though it feels like you can't breathe, you still can and you are in no danger of suffocating. Oh yeah, and ignore the excruciating burning in your eyes on the skin and the snot running down your nose. :-)
The faster you answer your trivia questions, the sooner you get out of the chamber. My drill sergeant thought I was holding my breath because I wasn't in full panic mode. He actually kept me in longer to make sure I was breathing the gas and then asked me a relatively hard question because you know, no one skates by. ;-) That's what's "fun" about Basic, they tailor the training to each individual's capability (within a baseline minimum of course). I had to identify the base commander (which I had only learned of the day prior). The panickers? Recite their birthday, SS#, or current date. Hang in there Voice. He definitely has the right attitude and frame of mind. You done good girl.
Hi Voice,
Since I have a daughter I'll never have to undergo the stress that having a son in the military imposes. Although, on occasion I tease my daughter about her future military career, as yet, she hasn't indicated any desire to be a super soldier but with two nephews I did watch my brother and sister-in-law deal with both of them considering a military career. My brother and sister-in-law quietly accepted their possible future with typical grace. My sister-in-law really, my brother just tends to 'unhh' whenever confronted with most anything.
If it had been my decision, I would have screamed and hollered that no way were they going to expose themselves to that brand of insanity.
I applaud your courage...
You know, I think writing skills are good to have in stressful situations.
He'll be able to express himself precisely and poetically, which can truly change the physical world is front of him.
You did good.
Voice, I wish they did also. I know I don't have any idea how tough it is, I can only imagine.
Every time I hear "I support our troops", I think "so do I. I want them HOME safe and sound with their families!"
Sending prayers your way. You have a son to be proud of. We are all proud of him.