<p>no letter here today :(</p>
<p>No letter here today either. A friend I made on R-day got one today postmarked July 1, and it began with, "Holy Sh**! Made me smile.</p>
<p>This link should get you to the "Fun" form letters on plebe-net. </p>
<p>Plebe</a> Net</p>
<p>Anyone else get a call last night?
Thought they weren't coming until this weekend.
All I can say is.............WOW!!!!!!</p>
<p>jbs2012 - Glad for you and it's good to know calls have started and that others could come at any time. Was it a full ten minutes and did your cadet share a lot?</p>
<p>Yes, a lot was said.
Some not so easy to hear, but expected.
It's hard to sit at home and wonder and then get
a phone call that isn't exactly the most positive.</p>
<p>I talked to a few people that made me feel a lot
better about the call.</p>
<p>I look forward to hearing about others................</p>
<p>jbs2012 - don't worry about the phone call not being positive.
Many times your New Cadet - and then Cadet - will only have you to whom to vent. They will complain - why? Because they can.
Knowing what questions to ask is important - so ask open ended ones. Don't ask stuff like - How many blisters did you have after the 3 miler (ew - we don't wanna know - really!) Ask instead about the "fun" stuff - What happened in the NBC chamber, how is shooting going? How were the fireworks?
Tell them how great they all looked in their ACU's at the concert - like "real" soldiers!
Let them complain a little, then move on - and don't dwell on the "bad" stuff. They will get through it.</p>
<p>No letter again today and I have not spotted her in one single photo since the Oath Ceremony. I am going to assume that she is there - ;)</p>
<p>I don't really expect a letter but it would be nice. I have been fortunate to see several photos of him though.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that the most important letters are the ones that you send your new cadet. They are busy---frantically busy---but rest assured they live for the moment when they can get their mail and it's a big downer for them to open that box and see nothing in there. Write daily--they will appreciate it whether they actually write back or not. As it was mentioned above, you will get "that call" or "that letter" and you will be "freked out" by what is said from time to time, but don't worry---you are their "safe zone"---don't feel like you have to solve every problem for them---many times they just need to vent and while you think of them as being in a particular state of mind which doesn't change until you hear from them again, they, most likely, have already moved on. They are in good hands.</p>
<p>Shogun is right on the money....</p>
<p>Thanks for all the encouraging words.
This is a tough time to be a parent, tougher for
them though and I continue to remind myself of that.</p>
<p>So far he tells me none of the good stuff has started, just a lot
of reading and memorizing useless information.</p>
<p>The second half of Beast has a bit more of the "fun" stuff, but it's still pretty tough. Then, just as they feel great about Beast being over, reorgy week begins and the rest of the Corps comes home. Its a rollercoaster ride Plebe year--just hang on!!</p>
<p>What's reorgy week like for the new cadets? When the rest of the Corps returns, do they treat them ok? I understand Plebes are considered sub-human:-), but will they be as miserable as they were during beast? (Assuming they are miserable...I'm assuming mine is miserable, however I wouldn't know because he hasn't written!!!)</p>
<p>No one is treated as "sub-human". Reorgy week is basically prepping for the academic year. Computers, books, etc are issued. The Yuks are assigned 1 or 2 New Cadets to to "watch over them" during the year, show them around, etc. All the Yuks, Cows, and Firsties return to the Academy and the Cows and Firsties devote a lot of "special attention" to the New Cadets, especially during that week. Most Plebes I have talked to said Reorgy week is pretty stressful. New Cadets will become Plebes on A-Day.</p>
<p>So maybe it is a good thing (for them) that Re-orgy week has been shortened? </p>
<p>Still no call or letter, but I am sticking with the philosophy that "no news is good news". At least we have not had a call telling us that he wants to resign. </p>
<p>I did find our son in the photo published on the USMA.edu webpage at the July 5th concert. He appears to be talking, maybe even laughing. I figured as such - he is a very social creature and loves people. Just hope he is discretionary when it comes time for talking vs. keeping quiet!</p>
<p>"So maybe it is a good thing (for them) that Re-orgy week has been shortened?" </p>
<p>Probably :)</p>
<p>One interesting note about Reorgy week: This is the first time that New Cadets will be attending fall academic classes BEFORE they are officially Plebes. A-Day is 2 days AFTER classes start. Officially New Cadets aren't supposed to walk around on post "unsupervised' so I am wondering if their Yuks are going to have to walk them to class? Somehow I doubt it, but maybe a current cadet can chime in on this?</p>
<p>9 days - no letter, no picture, no phone call. <em>sigh</em>
should I call and see if she is still there? hire a private detective? lol.</p>
<p>Oh, she's still there. Getting out is almost as hard as getting in. Isn't the "Ice Cream Social" this weekend? Everyone should get a call then; some of you will actually get the calls early, maybe Thursday, Friday or Saturday. They let some call early because there are so many. It will be limited to the 10 minutes; everyone wants to use the phone. I actually got an email from my cadet telling me she would be calling soon, and about 15 minutes later, she did. Her email also contained a photo that her sponsor took that day, uploaded to his computer and let her send. Could tell my already thin daughter had lost weight, but she was smiling, holding a big bowl of some wonderful looking chocolate dessert. Hang in there!</p>
<p>I guess I'm ahead of myself. Isn't it still too soon for change of detail, and hence, the phone call? Hope I didn't get anyone's hopes up! But still, hang in there.</p>
<p>"What's reorgy week like...will they be as miserable as they were during beast?"
For most new cadets reorgy week is more stressful than Beast. For the first time the new cadets will be outnumbered 3:1 by upperclassmen. However, there are strict ground rules as to what is acceptable "correction" and what is not.
Hang in there - the new cadets are all in good hands and will get through it. It all has a purpose (even though many new cadets will not see it at this point...;))</p>