We also received a big bag of letters from DD when she first came home. We wrote every day, sometimes more than once a day. Mail to the Academy/Jacks Valley can sometimes be sporadic. There were some days she received no mail and some days she received several letters. We numbered each letter so that she could read them in order. Write often. It is no fun watching others get letters from home when you are empty-handed. We copied and pasted news articles, jokes, current events as well as news from home to keep the flow going. DD said that the cadre appreciated many of the jokes. Every little bit helps keep the cadre happy!