Letters Home

My wife and I are like goofy teenagers when we look through the days mail. Even my daughter...the always low key, mega-cool one, was excited when she told us that there was a letter from Patrick! Actually two more letters yesterday. One written while still in Reception and the other from BCT.

When he wrote the letter from Reception he was still figuring on being there for several more days, maybe a week. He was bored and anxious to move on. His time in the Army must be changing him already...he mentioned that a fair part of the time in Reception was spent cleaning the bays, and then he followed with one of the most stunning things he's ever said "...and I liked it." Liked it? Cleaning? Patrick? Wow, the Army really does change them! He mentioned that they had worked with some NCOs that were re-upping and he really enjoyed that. Patrick was bummed that some of his new buddies were shipping out to Basic the next day. He REALLY wanted to get on with Basic.

Well, it must have come as a big surprise to Patrick when he shipped out for Basic the next day as well!

In his letter from Basic it seems he's pretty homesick, very happy with the guys he's with and very emphatic about how much they need to rely on one another. All good signs! His insight on the Drill Sergeants was that they were "strict, and they're not nice, but they're fair and sometimes it's almost like they are actually taking care of us." He's letting the days tick by, not dwelling on any one aspect of it and working to absorb the info and roll with the punches.

I'm hoping and praying his attitude holds, its' very reassuring to read what he has written so far, to see the positive attitude and "soldier on" approach. I'm impressed with the changes in such a short time...but I know he'll face some big tests in the days and weeks ahead.

My wife, Donna, and I, have a couple of projects this weekend. First we're taking Pizzas over to his recruiting station. His recruiter is a great guy and seems to have set Patrick on the right path for his Army career. We're extremely grateful. Then we're fixing the flag mount on the porch, flying a new American Flag, and adding an Army flag as well.

That's it for this exciting update- tune in again for more.

PS Sorry for for for the multiple posts of this Entry...blogger.com kept getting hung up on 0% published...so I kept trying! Doooh!