Here's my .02 for what it is worth...
I agree with Red totally when she said Basic is a weeding out process. You really wouldn't want him to serve with people who can't make it through Basic mentally and physically. The folks who were trying to get out that early didn't belong there in the first place.
Hell, no one who knows me now can figure out how I made it through - LOL! Especially people who knew me from before the military are surprised.
Expect some really sad lonely letters and very short phone calls while he is there. They break you down physically and emotionally during this time and then build you back up. Know that it is still a kinder and gentler process than it was when any of us was there.
Know that during this process he is still being well cared for. Also know that he is very busy and learning a lot of important stuff while he is there.
I think the most encouraging things people said to me in letters and phone calls were not that they missed me, but that they were "proud" of me and that they knew I could do it and things like that. Try to focus more on the encouragement and how proud you are instead of missing him, even though you do. Those phone calls mean EVERYTHING, and they are very short.
He will also probably graduate with a list of about 10 restaurants he is dying to go to. The food is not that great and I think we had about 4 minutes to eat it at meals.
Hang in there, and keep busy. Maybe read a book like Twilight - Red says she can't put hers down.
