<p>You didn't write them down in BIG letters when the letter was sent to you?</p>
<p>go to USNA.edu and click on summer information. Its all there.</p>
<p>I let his girlfriend get the phone calls- Bobby knows his mom is always going to be there- but he had a lot of stuff dealing with the cadres telling him every letter from his girlfriend was a Dear Johnny letter- so the phone calls are hers- plus on one post they had separate times depending on the company-</p>
<p>middiesmom: is that what the Cadre are telling your son? As if dealing with plebe summer is not enough to deal with! Seems like that is below the belt, IMHO....</p>
<p>Just telling him the truth . . . or, at the minimum, the truth of what to expect.</p>
<p>Yep.</p>
<p>Besides, this is not band camp they're at.</p>
<p>i was just concerned cause my son was afraid to open mail fro her. She has sent over 30 letters and with each one- the fear set in. I don't know what will happen with the relationship over the year, but I wanted him to get through plebe summer knowing that there was another person out there caring for him. I have spent a lot of time with her this summer and it has been wonderful- it made me mis my son less- we talk about him, laugh, and share any and all correspondence. She is a great young lady and I am happy that for at least a short time, my son picked well. It showed me a whole other side to my son and illustrated to me that he had been paying attention to the lessons I gave him. I don't want the issue of his girlfriend coloring this summer- its tough enough-so we came up with a plan of action- she puts a heart on the outside of the envelope with the number of the letter- so he knows not to be afraid of reading her mail. Also, i let her text on my phone the few days before his phone call- last time- he had enough free second to text back a message to us. It will be on my phone forever:)</p>
<p>The cadre told us to expect Dear John letters 30 years ago and some came, and some didn't. If the relationship is strong, it'll survive, if not, so be it. I've seen guys date the same girl for four years and live happily ever after, I've seen guys date the same girl for four years and get married June week only to divorce soon after, and I've seen guys who got Dear John letters and then find the girl of their dreams. It's life. THEY will survive Plebe summer and I've never seen a Dear John letter make a guy quit. Its usually, aw crap...now I have no reason to go home so I'd better just stick around here for the summer. </p>
<p>I got two Dear John letters from two different girls during the same week (I put the wrong letter in the wrong envelope...needless to say it didn't go over very well but honestly I just wanted more mail), and in the end married one of them three years after graduation and we just had our 25th anniversary this year. The cadre are just having fun and while it doesn't sound like fun to you, it is to them. AND if and when it happens to some guy (or girl), they can at least expect it a little and say, "I guess they warned me." Remember the Superintendent told you 1 out of every 5 (?) would depart USNA for greener pastures. He wasn't trying to be mean but realistic. Just consider your Mids lucky because we lost over 500 in my year of 1500 Plebes in two years and 2/3 of the starting Plebes by the end of Youngster year. Dear John or not, your kid will make it if he wants to be there. Now, if she would stop putting hearts on the outside, he probably wouldn't be teased. Put them on the inside and use a Fortune 500 envelope to hide her. Play with the cadre. We had a guy who's girlfriend drew Strawberries on the envelope and always took pictures with strawberries to send to him. He never married her but he still gets teased about the Strawberry Girl 25 years later. Be discrete is the way to avoid notice.
Best of luck to your son and girlfriend...it's a heck of a ride to June week.</p>
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It's life.
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Yep, and they have bigger things to worry about right now, anyway, though they may not recognize it.</p>
<p>
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I got two Dear John letters from two different girls during the same week (I put the wrong letter in the wrong envelope...needless to say it didn't go over very well
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BWAHAHAHA!!!!! I'll bet it didn't! :D</p>
<p>Does the wifeypoo still give you flak about it? I would! :D</p>
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The cadre are just having fun and while it doesn't sound like fun to you, it is to them.
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Yep. Don't worry, your kids will have THEIR turn in less than 24 months! ;)</p>
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it's a heck of a ride to June week.
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Brother, ain't THAT the truth! :eek:</p>
<p>"I got two Dear John letters from two different girls during the same week (I put the wrong letter in the wrong envelope...needless to say it didn't go over very well but honestly I just wanted more mail)" mvljog440</p>
<p>what a great story--I laughed out loud!</p>
<p>middiesmom: </p>
<p>I can completely relate. DD left behind a "younger man", he's a senior this year and a really good kid. He has been spending a lot of time with us, almost as if she were here. He's planning on going with us PPW and from the letters it seems that DD is really looking forward to it. We had some long discussions prior to leaving about the "chances" of the relationship surviving. Both are (at this point) pretty realistic in that they both want it to work (for now) and are going to take it one step at a time. Time WILL tell.</p>
<p>I don't know how this relationship will work out- but this young lady and her letters are helping my son get through a tough time. She is a major track star here in Ohio and is looking at scholarships and track programs at some of the Maryland, Va. schools-in many ways she has changed my son for the better and I have been very happy with how things have worked out. I just didn't want my son to be any more stressed with someone telling him the "gloom and doom" stuff. I teach school and could never in my life imagine making a kid even more stressed out like that- it just goes against my teaching philosphy- I realize that its not the same as a military thing- but I often treat my students with the same respect that I would want my son to have in life. Oh well just a thought. Did have a good chuckle this am. Bobby wrote his girlfriend about the math ( calculus results) and told us the story behind and it was a pure Bobby moment. Good to think that there are still parts of him that will remain the same. I am just impressed that he is going to church ( on his own) every Sunday!!!!!!</p>
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.....I am just impressed that he is going to church ( on his own) every Sunday!!!!!!
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</p>
<p>Mine too!</p>
<p>(hey, you don't think it's just because of the donuts, do you??? :( )</p>
<p>Maybe its the air-conditioning & a nap more than the donuts? ;)<br>
mvljog440, I got a giggle out of your story. Ahhhh, to be a young Plebe... Hope all is going well with the new c/o 2010 at all of the academies. They must be exhausted by now but feeling pretty good about the things they are accomplishing. 'Git r done' 2010 & all that!</p>
<p>middiesmom,
your son's girlfriend sounds like a lovely young lady who has been a positive influence on your son. I think the cadre are sadistic for taunting stressed-out plebes about "Dear John" letters. </p>
<p>My daughter told me a funny story that happened last semester in Bancroft Hall. One of her classmates had an overly controlling girlfriend back in Texas. She often had pizzas delivered to the Yard for her boyfriend and his roommates. She even considered giving her sweetie an EPIRB for Christmas so she would know where he was at all times. She called everyday like clockwork right before study hour. First she would call his cell. No answer, no problem, because within 30 seconds she would call the room phone. One evening during a study group my daughter was in the room when the girlfriend called, so my mid thought it would be fun to answer the room phone over loverboy's pleadings. After answering, she handed the receiver to "loverboy." Everyone in the room could hear his Texas sweetheart screaming at the top of her lungs, "Who the he** was THAT?" Don't think they got pizza that week.</p>
<p>Sheesh. What a freak. </p>
<p>Run, Forrest! Run! :eek:</p>
<p>How ironic: Sis joined the Protestant Choir - never sang at church before!
I DEFINITELY think it's the donuts! ;)</p>
<p>With regards to the church issue- I figure Bobby is looking for a place to sit and relqax for an hour. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever imagine him going to church on his own- every Sunday. He also asked for more dust wipes- cleaning- my son. I would love to know the Navy's secret- Some of the things I tried to get done in 18 years- yikes- they have him for 4 weeks and he does it. perhaps they should write a book on parenting:)</p>
<p>Remember the old adage, "there are no atheists in foxholes."</p>
<p>Fear and intimidation are traits that many "new age" parents could learn to use more effectively.</p>
<p>The funny thing is- in my classroom- the kids do what I want for the most part- even had parents ask me at conferences- " Could you get my kid to clean his room"? You usually can get other peoples kids to do something they won't do for their parents. The church thing makes me feel really good- it is something I have wanted for a long time, but feel that it has to come from within- not a forced thing. Bobby's been very postive in his letters both to me and to his girlfriend. Apparently, the kids got some of the their placement test stuff back- and we had some good laughs on that one:)- the laziest kid in his high school calculus class validates the class at the academy. He asked me to email his math teacher and one of the kids who was in his class- he thought they would first not believe it- and secondly think it was pretty funny.</p>