Because mail call never stops

I have written many times about the ridiculous volume of mail I sent to my Midshipman, especially when he was a Plebe. While I certainly don’t write as much as I used to, even though my son is now a Lt.JG aboard a submarine, I am still writing letters and cards.

Now, I expected to be writing to my daughter at the Air Force Academy and each week I create a postcard from a photo and send it along with a message. But my son needs mail, too, except not the kind I can send him weekly. For his first two deployments, I sent a package of about two dozen cards and notes for him to open when he had a moment and/or was feeling a little homesick. Before the last deployment, my daughter added her own batch for him to take. He said at first, he didn’t think it was a big deal but during his first deployment – a rough one even by the standards of the boat’s veterans – “they were huge.” Even though the second deployment was easier, he said the cards were something of a lifesaver.

So as he completes the PNEO (Prospective Nuclear Engineer Officer) course and prepares for his third and final deployment aboard the USS Florida, I am in writing mode, systematically making out cards of all sorts and preparing to make sure they are in his hands before he leaves. The notes range widely in terms of content – some are filled with jokes, some will just be random facts, others recall special memories, and others are a little more thoughtful.

This go-round is a little different in terms of writing. On one hand, I got a later start than I would have liked, maybe because I was actually able to spend some real time with him while he’s been home. Second, I am in the midst of writing another book, this one focused on my life as a military academy parent. This has required some research and that was on my mind when I wrote a recent note for him and I thought I’d share it here as well, so here it goes:

“Noah:

My plan was to have my new book completed before this deployment. As I write this, I’m not sure if I hit that self-imposed deadline. I did a lot of research on several figures, including John Paul Jones, John McCain, and James Lawrence just to name a few. As I writer, I am fascinated by the complexity of their lives. As time marches on, people are eventually distilled to a one- or two-dimensional character; John Paul Jones was a swashbuckling naval warrior, McCain a selfless war hero, and Lawrence gave us “Don’t Give Up The Ship.”

But it’s not that simple, is it? John was also a bit ego-centric, something of an opportunist, and, according to the British, more of a pirate than a military officer. The others have multiple dimensions to their lives and personalities. The lesson, I think, is that life – and all the people in it – are not binary, it is rarely all good or all bad. That’s too simple and life certainly isn’t simple. Our challenge is to embrace everything in between because it is in between perfection and awful that we truly live our lives, so we must make the most of it.

Love, Dad”

Now, I have no idea when he’ll read this – or if he’ll even read it, for that matter. But as usual, I write for him and myself, because doing so makes me feel connected to him, as if in some way, we can continue to share our adventures together. It’s different than sending mail and care packages to Annapolis, but it’s still important.