Therese's Page

Hi Therese, Go to AnnHand.com . That is where you get the N-A-V-Y pin. It's beautiful. Made of crystals so not too expensive. Just browse the website till you come across one with the lstters N-A-V-Y in crystals. I love mine . Where it everywhere I go.

Hi Therese...thanks for your note. It must be very difficult not to be with your son before he "heads out." Daron left yesterday for Athens; he stopped in Lexington KY to visit a friend from his first stint in the Navy. Three weeks was a bit long for him as he was anxious to begin the next phase of his life...however, it was a tearful farewell. We enjoyed his happy face around the house for three weeks. I hope you see your son as often as you can. It is tough on us moms, yet it is worth it. Thanks again for your note. We'll keep in touch. Barbara

Congratulations on the graduation and commissioning! I'm glad you had a good trip. My husband mentioned something about "memories for a life time".
-Chris

Hey there
Congrats on your Ensign, I havent heard from you in while, hope you had a great time in RI takecare Dee

Wow...very cool. I didn't realize you were away from "home" all the time. I would say you are lucky, however, I know how wonderful it is to live in the good old USA. My mom comes from an international family (India, Ceylon, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, England). Who does your husband work for? My husband was in the Navy during the VietNam era and traveled extensively in Asia. He's now a teacher....and we stick around the Grand Rapdis/Lake Michigan area. That's probably too much information...oh well. Take care....see you in a couple of days...Barbara

Hi Therese....where have you been? You mentioned you've only been home for 24 hours? We will be flying in Thursday...getting there noonish. I'm sure Newport will be very fun...lots to see and eat. We are so ready to be there!!! See you at the Lodge.

therese....I look forward to seeing you in five days at Hi Moms...we're staying at the Navy Lodge. Have a good trip.

Hi Therese - The Navy Lodge at Newport is really pretty nice! We stayed there during the OCS "Hi Moms" and graduation. You can get on base with your ID and your son/daughter should have put your name on the guest list at the security checkpoint. We were there in the beginning of February, and it was -7! We're from CAlifornia and were FREEZING! Then we drove 1500 miles to Pensacola, her next duty station. It was fun but exhausting :-) Have a fun time in Newport!

I'm glad I made your morning. At least I did something right today. *LOL*

Oh, I know. We have all these plans to help make things better and to improve the media and environment for our family. It really is difficult to know how to do it correctly-tactfully. At least we have the freedoms we need to be able to express ourselves. I am very grateful for our country!

I will pray that all goes well with the flights. It's hard when the kids grow up and leave home. I have 5 and only 1 still home. He's 30. The oldest is the only girl and lives about 4 hours away. My baby is in the Navy in "C" school in VA. The next oldest is in Colorado and our oldest son just lives about 8 miles away with his wife & 2 children. It really feels like a holiday when we get to see each other.

We have some horses too. We got them before my daughter's family moved because the kids wanted to do 4-H. We're going to a Clinton Anderson Walk=about Tour the weekend of May 29 in Oregon. We have so much to learn!

Well, take care and thank you for not taking my comment about big business personal.

God Bless You!
Charla

You asked about gifts. We did not give any gifts. I didn't see anyone else give any either. I had heard about swords but they weren't important to him.

Hi Therese,

Welcome to the Moms of Officers and I'm a member as well. You'll learn a lot here on the site. Sherry

You have really lived in alot of different places. I will tell him about the zoo at night and the ferris wheel. My husband just parked Jared's car in the back of the shed today. It will sit there for two years. I loved looking out the window just in time to see him pulling in the driveway from Great Lakes where he was stationed before SIngapore, How long is your son enlisted for? Not sure how to get your number to talk with you about Singapore sightseeing. Take care. I hope the sun is out today...I got some new running shoes and I want to go out and use them. :>) Take care. Shelley

Therese, thanks for the info on Singapore. I won't be going to see him but his two older brothers are planning a trip to see him in a year. My nephew, Kirk Weber teaches at Lake Orion High School. He does the Yearbook. Don't know if your son knew him or not at the High School. I got on line and saw a slide show on Singapore and it did look beautiful with so much to see. Thanks again for the info. Shelley

Hi Therese...thanks for your note. We are more than ready to head to Newport. It should be a nice trip. I hear you when you talk about the cost of the uniforms. I feel it's a little excessive, especially in light of the fact Daron says he'll have to replace his khakis soon due to abuse in OCS. I hope they get a chance to wear everything they are paying for. I can't imagine they'll have many occasions to use the formal whites. My husband says he may have some formal things to attend (I can't imagine what). It seems as though Daron said he has to pay for the uniforms in a week or so. I look forward to meeting you. Anyway, have a good three weeks waiting to go to Newport....Actually, it is coming rather quickly. Take care...Barbara

That's so exciting that you will be able to go to the graduation. What day does he graduate? I'm so excited that Reggie is coming home this weekend that I haven't been able to concentrate on studying for finals very well! I'm a week and a half away from finishing my second year of med school!

He's in class 15-09, and they are to graduate just before Mother's Day. What class is your son in? We are planning to leave Saturday. Actually that's more time than I feel I can spare, as we're still planning a wedding. The groom to-be is very helpful, which I am so very thankful for. Blessings - Chris in CO

That is a bit of rearranging you will have to do! You will be so happy to see your son that hopefully you won't notice the difference :-) I'll pray about that one. I am sorry we won't meet in Newport. Hopefully you'll be getting more of those Skype calls. - Chris in CO

Therese,

If you want to find out various details about the Navy, its structure, acronyms, the various paths in it, go to....wikipedia. I was amazed at the info there. Everything! I too had no previous experience with things military and felt totally out of its world and jargon. So I actually made myself a little manual by extracting from the wiki the parts I needed and putting them together in one document.

Hi Therese, Congratulations on your LO's impending graduation from OCS. Which class is he graduating with & what's the graduation date?
We did not stay at the Navy lodge. I made reservations at Howard Johnson's; but when we arrived to check in, we found out that our rooms had been flooded when a water main broke & that our reservation was transferred to the Hampton Inn which was right across the parking lot & was owned by the same corp. It worked out well for us as Howard Johnson's paid the difference in the bill, so there was no additional cost for us. I don't know what the room rates are; but we were totally satisfied with the Hampton Inn & would stay there again if we were in the area. The rooms were clean & comfortable & they served a complimentary breakfast every morning which included a hot entree. The staff was friendly & helpful.
We actually did not see our son on Wed. b/c we arrived late. But saw one of my N4Ms friends out with her son at a restaurant. He told us that they had liberty until 2230. We heard from Nate also that they now had liberty everyday after they were done with their "duties", he just thought that we'd be arriving too late to make it worthwhile to come to the base & pick him up. I wish we would have anyway. We saw Nate the next day (Thurs.) at the Change of Command ceremony. He was able to leave with us after that & we arrived at the "Hi Moms" dinner together later that evening. He could have stayed with us that night if he chose; but since he had to get up at 0430 the next morning for the "Family Run" & still had a few things to prepare before graduation, he decided it would be better to stay on base Thurs. night. After graduation on Fri. he had to do some admin. stuff. He stayed at the hotel with us that night.
As far as getting on base, we had a little bit of trouble; but it worked out. Our names were supposed to be on a list at the gate so that we could get a car pass. Through some error, our names were not on the list. We had to go back to the pass office right outside the main gate. Our names were on the list copy that they had. We got our car pass. Any further difficulty was averted because my father, who is retired military, had his ID with him & got us on base as his "guests". We always left way early for any event b/c we didn't want to miss anything either & as Nate told us..."15 minutes early is on time, On time is late."
We never received anything through the mail. I kept checking for an invitation b/c I'd heard we'd be getting one. It never came. All info re: the graduation events, we got directly from Nate or one of my N4Ms friends; but we did find out and it was absolutely lovely!
As far as orders for after grad & arranging flights...that was pretty tricky! I don't know what your son's designator is; but ours is a pilot. All the pilots & NFOs were last to receive their orders. Nate got his the day before we left for Newport; so of course, we were not able to coordinate our travel plans with his. Up until that time we didn't know how long he'd have in RI until he had to report to the next duty station or if he'd get to come home first (we live all the way in California & Nate needed to pick up his car & drive to Florida!) or if he'd get any leave, etc. So my husband & I ended up flying out of Providence on Mon. but Nate had flown back home Sat. evening. It was ok. My husband & I enjoyed a day on Cape Cod together & still got home in time to spend 6 days with Nate (including Easter) before he drove off to Pensacola. If you want to get back home ASAP, to schedule a return flight for sometime on Sat. morning should be "safe" enough.
Hope this is helpful. Please feel free to ask any other questions you have. I'll answer them as well as I can. Have fun!!