Should I book my flight?

[Pattyq]

So I my son is suppose to become a Marine on 10/10. I'm not sure if I should book my flight now or should I wait to I get offical word? What do you all think?

[OB MSG]

You could book now and get a refundable ticket. They are more but you have the insurance on them. Some online companies, (Orbitz, Travelocity, etc), have an insurance for about $15.00 or so.

Is there any reason why your son might not graduate on time? Has he said anything in any letters? If not then maybe just ask him how things are going and to give you a sit rep. Granted, anything can happen between now and then, but if he made it this far he should be fine.

Send him some good luck from us!

S/F

[Pattyq]

Actually I have been quite suprised by the tone of his letters. He loves it. He says some things aren't great but overall he is upbeat and told me to go ahead and book it. If graduation is on the 10th do we have a family day on the 9th? and is so should I fly in on the 8th?

[OB MSG]

Good for him, I remember being the same way when I was going through. It's definitely a culture shock but I would do it again in a second.

Yeah, there's a Family Day the day before Graduation. Also make sure you book your hotel. There may be room on post, if your lucky, otherwise try to get as close as possible. Check with his Recruiters, they may have the numbers of the hotels in the area, on and off post.

Give yourself extra time to get to Family Day and Graduation, both for security checks and traffic. What Depot did he go to? Parris Island or San Diego? After graduation, either get off post quick or stick around a bit and see some sites, traffic issues again.

[proudashellmama]

Hi Patty. . .

here is another website you might want to navigate. . . http://www.recruitparents.com/

It was very helpful to me. Unfortunately I did not discover it until my son was about 2 weeks finished... but if you register, find your sons graduation date and platoon, you can commiserate with other parents of the same platoon.

We got our tickets with the refundable option. You never know if they have an injury or such and have to get held back with another platoon and new Graduation date.

Keep in mind, we had every confidence our son would make it, but other factors... weather, etc. . . . . you never know and the peace of mind was worth the extra $$.

Good luck, your son will be fine. Welcome to your new 'Family'

[proudashellmama]

oh also... they will have a video of your son's platoon about 2 weeks prior to graduation... took me about 20 times to go through my son's video. I thought no way would he look any different than when we sent him... boy I was so wrong....