Aaron Update

After no contact since my 2-min phone call within his first 72 hours arriving at his basic training unit (I got the call on June 6), I got my first letter from Aaron while in BCT. It arrived on June 12, the letter was from reception and dated June 3, also in the envelope was a form letter letting me know that my solider had arrived at his training unit, and that I could expect a longer letter soon, this was just a note letting me know that he was fine and had arrived at his training unit.

This same form letter also gave his address (hence the updated formatting) and a list of things not to send. I didn't think to mention this in my last post, so I will tell you all now, this is exact wording out of his form letter--feel free to smile (or maybe laugh) at some of the items, I know I did.

The following list of items are considered as contraband and are not to be sent. They will be confiscated and destroyed upon reaching the unit--

any type of food items, civilian reading material (except for religious text i.e. Bibles etc), firearms of any kind, knives or swords, civilian clothing, medication of any type (prescription or non prescription), cameras, audio or visual tapes, stuffed animals and/or dolls, plants (live or artificial), liquid of any sort, any type of tobacco products, any type of caffeine products, and any type of pornographic material (to include pictures, post cards, magazines, etc...)

I haven't gotten any other letter since.

Needless to say, I have been very anxious because of the very limited contact that I have received from him, and I have been praying all week that his platoon would perform well this week so that I could maybe get a phone call today...and let me just tell you all that Heavenly Father does hear and answer our prayers, He knows what we need, and he always sees to it that we are blessed with these needs. It might not be in our time, but he does send His blessings. Today just happened to be right when I needed it, and not a moment too soon!

I waited all day, expecting an early phone call, not getting one, getting disappointed, anxious, nervous, you name it. BUT my blessing finally came at 6:22 tonight I got a phone call from Aaron--it was only 15 min. long, and was timed, but that doesn't really matter, my prayers were answered, and I got to finally talk to him and know with out a doubt that he is doing well.

Aaron really is doing well. He has been blessed with the ability to have a positive attitude even when no one would blame him for not being positive. He also has the wonderful ability of adjusting to whatever life throws his way (or in this case, what his DS throws his way). He was so happy, and eager to tell me all, unfortunately we had a limited amount of time. I made sure that Alexis got to talk to him and that he could hear McKenzie in the background.

On June 12, he had a three mile hike with a navigating course at the top of the hill (because they are NOT mountains). He said the course was cake, but that their were members of his group that were completely lost. It was very hot and many were dropping out with heat related injuries, so they called of the over-nighter that was also suppose to happen during this same time.

He is currently in a lot of classroom settings, and with only an avg. of 4 hours of sleep a night, they are given the option of standing in the back so they don't fall asleep. Aaron doesn't even try to sit, he goes straight to the back. It is such a blessing that they give this option to them, and that he has no problem taking it.

Aaron says they are learning a TON of information and are expected to know everything, even after only hearing something once. This lack of knowledge as a group is getting him "acquainted with the ground"--lots of push-ups and mt. climbers.

Aaron let me know that in his group there are a few idiots who really don't get it--and 'it' means anything; but that as a group they are performing a lot better this week vs. last, especially the last few days. The deal in getting phone privileges was that they had to pass their inspection.

He seemed very excited when he told me about his pugil drills. (if you aren't sure what a pugil is--it is basically a padded stick used for bayonet training--imagine gladiators.) He said that at first it didn't look too great in his favor...he was knocked to the ground, but his battle buddy messed up somehow and lost control of his pugil, allowing Aaron to "whale" on his head, in the end, Aaron won, and you could tell he was so proud of this. :)

He has obviously been really busy, and because he is in the red phase, has had NO time to himself. This is the reason behind his letter absence (which I kind of expected, but I didn't ever prepare myself for a week of no contact). His days are long, his nights are short, and he feels that everything is moving very quickly. I don't think fun is the right word, but he is enjoying most of his time there.

And that was my 15 min.

We love you all, thank you for all of your support and prayers.