Hello Again

Well hello there friends!  It's been a while, hasn't it?  Another year has passed into the history books and I realize it's been around 6 months since my last post.  I know I have resolved more than once to be a better blogger and post with more frequency.  I think that past experience has taught me that I require a more realistic goal when it comes to blogging.  So instead I'm going to simply resolve to blog when I can, and when I feel inspired to write.


So much has happened since I last posted, and to recap it all would take days, if not weeks.  So rather than taking up too much time with that, I'll hit the highlights.  Our move east was successful, and while we miss the slower pace and great friends out in Nevada, it was time, and we have all adapted quite well.  Pilot Pete started a new job that he loves, was promoted, and received his next set of orders.  Surprisingly, these orders will take us back out west later this year.  We'll be in a city we lived in for a year back when we were first married, and while this development was a little unexpected, we are, as always, excited for new opportunities and adventures.  This is Navy life after all!  Little Dude started preschool in September and has been learning and experiencing all kinds of new and exciting things.  We've dealt with a few growing pains along the way, but he is proving to be quite the champ when it comes to dealing with the change and instability that comes with our crazy lifestyle.  As for me, I am finally feeling more settled and grounded, one of the things that I felt I had been struggling with for quite some time.  I think that some times you just need a little change of pace to get to where you want to be in life!


2011 was a great year for all of us, both individually and as a family, and I have high hopes for 2012.  We'll face plenty of obstacles and challenges, but hopefully with light hearts and smiles on our faces.  Today is a fresh start, and, as my dad always says "the first day of the rest of your life".


Happy New Year!!  

Our week in pictures

Going

Going

Gone!

The three amigos

Waiting for Pilot Pete to get out of his plane

Last flight in the squadron...a great tradition!

East, baby!

One last day

Today was out last day in Fallon.  It is so hard to believe that we have been here over three years now.  When we moved here we were new parents (and under 30!) without a clue.  We leave here older, wiser, and still clueless.  As I drove to the base today for the last time the soundtrack to Out of Africa played in the background as I  reminisced on all that has happened in the last three years.  (I know - overly dramatic on my part!)


In the beginning of our marriage, we moved twice in less than two years.  In those halcyon days, moving was exhilarating, challenging, and exciting.  This time it's a little different, and I have a feeling that this is the new standard.  It's no secret that I haven't loved living here, in the "Oasis of Nevada", and yet leaving is very bittersweet.  This is the only home our child has ever known.  He was a wee thing of three months when we moved out here, and despite living in two different houses over the past three years, moving across the country is a concept I'm not sure he fully comprehends.  How do you explain to your child he won't see his two best buddies for a good long while?  How do you explain that part of Daddy's job involves moving often?  These are the questions we are beginning to face as a military family.  The bottom line: I have no idea how to handle it.  We're learning and making it up as we go.  It's a constant battle and balance to figure out what he needs to hear and what he can handle.  I think it will always be a challenge.


We've been so lucky to meet amazing people everywhere we've lived, and Fallon has been no exception.  We've been able to spend a good deal of time with our two favorite families over the past few days.  They have taken care of us like family, and we will miss them terribly.  Tonight our imminent departure really sunk in, as Little Dude's friend E hugged him and said "I love you".  I nearly lost it.


Tomorrow our adventure starts as we're finally on the road.  I can't believe it's time.

And so it begins...

Our move officially starts tomorrow, and I think we're about as ready as we can be.  Memories of our last move have been coming back to me over the last few weeks (we were definitely not prepared for the packers) so we've been trying to get as much done ahead of time as possible.  Our bags are packed, the walls are bare, and now all we can do it wait for the madness of packing to begin.  They've scheduled 2 days of packing and a day of loading the truck, so by Wednesday night this place should be empty.  Such a strange thought.  It's so hard to believe it's time. 


Stay tuned...

Please pardon the interruption while we uproot our lives once more

Hi readers!  It's been a while, hasn't it?  What's that?  What have I been doing instead of blogging?  Truth is, not much.  I wish I had a more interesting excuse, but mostly I've just been lazy.  Of course there has been plenty going on around here.  I could have told you about the trip we took back home to Florida.  I could have told you about the fact that it was 50 degrees out for most of Memorial Day Weekend (crazy, right?).  But instead I haven't told you anything.  And, for a little while longer, I probably won't be telling you much of anything.


See, I had all these grand plans to keep blogging for the last little while, but our impending cross country move is requiring all my brain power.  I haven't done much for it, but I sure am thinking about it an awful lot.  This weekend was actually our first big push in terms of preparation.  The movers will begin packing our house a week from today, and for the first time in almost 8 years and 5 moves, we plan to get out in front of it.  We shredded 7.5 years worth of old documents we no longer need.  We cleaned and organized our garage.  We even washed and vacuumed the cars.  This week's plans look to be even more exciting, filled with fun activities like cleaning out a few closets, taking everything off the walls, spackling, and painting the patches.  Our last move felt a little frantic and hurried, so I have turned into a crazy lady trying to prepare for this one.  My poor husband.


I am hoping to blog while we're on the road.  We're taking 6 days to drive across the country, and while I'm sure much of it will be pretty boring, I have high hopes that some of it will be very exciting.  I'm going to do my best to share with you the exciting bits (unless you really want to know the boring stuff too, and then, well, who am I to deny you?).  The last time we did this we had a 3 month old who slept the whole time.  This time we have a 3 year old who will undoubtedly want to stop to pee every 5 minutes.  Yep, should be fun.


So bear with me over the next two weeks as we clean and pack.  Hopefully I'll be back by the 10th (if not before) regaling you with the finer points of the all exciting Navy move.

Three things for Thursday - the burnout edition

So, we're moving.  Again.  Soon.  When, you ask?  Well...I don't know.  See, that's the thing about military moves.  Sometimes they're quick and unexpected.  Other times they're expected, planned, and executed perfectly.  Most often though they're chaotic and uncertain.  Even when you know your exact move date, you're never ready.  For us, this move is proving to be the most complicated so far.  There are varying ideas about when we should depart, and none of the interested parties can come to an agreement.  There's the added complication of a shortage of federal funds for military moves (we can thank Congress for refusing to pass a Defense budget - that's right, it's March and the fiscal year started in October).  As of this moment, all I know is that we're moving.  


After living in a rental for the last three years, I am beyond excited as the prospect of becoming a homeowner again.  I have been scouring the real estate listings in our new/old city.  Since we're lived there before (for the three years before we moved to Nevada) this house hunt will prove to be a little easier since we're familiar with the area, and know where we want to live.  That doesn't mean I haven't made myself cross eyed looking a listing after listing, trying to figure out floor plans and deciding whether it's a house we could call a home.  So I'm a little burned out.  I close my eyes and see pictures of the interiors of other people's houses.  I dream about what kind of an offer we'll make, and how the closing will go.  Yeah, I'm only a little obsessed.  Needless to say, this hasn't left a lot of time for me to look at anything else online this week.  So here's my list of three things - three things I have discovered this week in lieu of three things I'm loving:


1. My child really wants to go to preschool.  Pilot Pete and I were discussing taking a trip to go house hunting.  A little voice from the back seat of the car piped in with "Of course we need to go there.  Because we need to find me a school because I'm ready to go to school.  I need to do some learning."  Well, okay then.


2. I really hate Walmart.  I know that a lot of people feel the same way.  I know others (like my mom) love it.  After living in a very small town for three years with no other alternative but Walmart, I can safely say that I will not be frequenting Walmart when we move.  There are so many things to say about this, but I think I'll just leave it at that.  You get the picture.


3. I really wish that people who work in drive thrus would not hand me my coin change on top of a dollar bill or a receipt.  I just lost 31 cents tonight because someone thought it was a good idea to put the money on top of the receipt and hand it to me like that (of course the change fell).  I know I could've opened my door to pick it up off the pavement where it dropped, but it was dark and cold and I was annoyed.  I know I could have made the girl open the register and get the change she just dropped, but there were other people in line behind me, and it was only 31 cents.  All I ask is this: hand me the coins, then the bills or the receipt.  That's all.  I know working the drive thru is a thankless job, but come on, help a tired lady with a cranky three year old out.

Athena

We have a dog.  Her name is Athena, and she's a 5 year old hound mix.  We found her at the pound in Virginia Beach when she was about 8 weeks old, and she was adorable.  She stepped over the other dog in the kennel (who just happened to be her sister) to come see us.  Pilot Pete said, "That's the one I want - she has personality."  Little did we know...


Never having owned a dog, I was excited/terrified of the prospect of adopting her.  But Pilot Pete's first deployment, a 7 month stint, was upon us, and I had a feeling a furry friend would make it a little easier.  I didn't think I was up for two dogs, and I was worried about her sister.  Luckily, another woman was there looking to adopt as well, and told us if we didn't want her, she surely did.


So we signed the papers and paid the fee, and the next thing I knew, we were driving away, Pilot Pete in the passenger seat next to me, with a little puppy on his lap.  That night as she lay sleeping in her new crate, I had the  "what the hell have we done" feeling.  That feeling would visit again a year and a half later, when we found out I was pregnant.

Pilot Pete left on cruise a few months later, and Athena and I toughed it out together.  We took an obedience class, an agility class, and went on long walks several times a day.  The deployment was hard, but I had my constant companion and a reason to get out of the house every day.  Pilot Pete came back at the end of the year to discover a large dog who now slept in our bed.  The price of doing business I explained.  Sometimes you just have to do whatever you have to to get by.


Eight months later Pilot Pete left for another 5 month deployment.  My buddy Athena was again there for support.  Three months pregnant when he left, I wasn't as up for our thrice daily walks, but she stuck by me. Somehow she knew I wasn't feeling up to par, and she spent a lot of time just staying close, never asking too much and always being on alert.


Five years after we picked her out from all the other dogs in the pound, she remains an integral part of our family. She weathered the integration of another human like a pro, and now serves as Little Dude's faithful friend and sidekick.  She's gentle and patient with him, the most important characteristics of a childhood dog.  I know that when Pilot Pete leaves for deployment again in the near future, she'll be by my side, one of the most important parts of my support system.

Adoption day, February 2006

A few weeks after coming home, and she had already grown!

A boy and his dog, 2008.

A boy and his dog, 2011.

My favorite children's book

In our house we read a lot.  It's one of our shared interests - we all love to read.  I feel fortunate to have married a man who loves to read almost as much as I do, and I am so happy to be able to pass that on to our child.  I have read and done a lot of research regarding boys and reading, and I am glad that (at least for now) Little Dude loves books and is interested in reading.  We recently started taking trips to the library together, and I am thrilled to see him enjoy the process of choosing a book to borrow.

Little by little

The little dude and I were on our own for a few nights this week.  Normally his dad in charge of bedtime - they take care of the tooth brushing, bath and p.j.s, and I usually join them for a story and good night kisses.  This is my little reward at the end of the day - a little bit of time to myself.  Plus, it's great for them - father and son bonding time.  I know how lucky I am to have this, and especially lucky to have this right now, because in less than a year it will all change.

We're lucky that my husband (we'll call him Pilot Pete) is on shore duty and gets to come home for dinner pretty much every night.  Once he rejoins the fleet there will be late nights and long separations.  We have separations now, but a few days or even a few weeks is nothing compared to the 6-8 month deployments we'll soon face.  The little dude was 3 months old when we moved out here, and the first time Pilot Pete went away it was for two weeks.  I was terrified.  I couldn't imagine how I could get through that many days and nights with no back up.  And then a funny thing happened.  We survived.  Little by little, after every time Pilot Pete went away, I gained confidence.  I hope that by the time he rejoins the fleet I'll have enough of these little separations under my belt that a big one won't seem like such a big deal.

At this very moment there are thousands of military wives all over the world holding their families together while they wait for their husbands to return.  It never gets any easier, but you do get used to it.  I tip my hat to them, and say thanks for serving.  Our time is coming, and I think I'll be ready.

Anticipation

Carly Simon has invaded my brain. More specifically, her 1972 chart topping hit "Anticipation". It seems funny to me how my brain can pick a song that fits so well with my current mood. And then...I can't. get it. out. of. my. head.

Let's backtrack a little. Some friends passed on a link to a video of surprise military homecomings. It's all over Facebook. Maybe you've seen it? Well, if not, let me spare you the tears. I barely made it halfway through before I had to shut it off, tears streaming down my face. Homecoming is probably one of the best parts of military life. But what comes before it is definitely the hardest part. The separation caused by deployment. Thinking of deployment is where Carly comes in.

For over two years now we've been enjoying the shore tour lifestyle. Basically, this means a Navy job with no overseas deployment. In less than a year, all that will change, and we'll find ourselves back in the pace of deployment cycle(s). Of course none of this is news (or new, for that matter). I always knew this was coming, and I'm no stranger any of it. What is new is our son. He was 2 days old when his dad came home from his final deployment before starting this shore tour. The idea of explaining to him where dad is and why he can't call home is terrifying to me. However, seeing the joy on the faces of children in the video today made me realize that when the time comes, it is possible to weather the storm, and we can get through it. I've done this before, and it's my job to make sure the little dude gets through it too.

Until then, however, I'll be anticipating. Fortunately, Carly reminded me of something important to focus on to in the meantime:
And tomorrow we might not be together
I'm no prophet, I don't know nature's way
So I'll try to see into your eyes right now
And stay right here, 'cause these are the good old days.

Waiting...

Today, while I was waiting for this week to end, I started thinking about all the waiting I seem to do in my life. Patience is an asset in Navy life, as we spouses seem to spend a lot of time waiting. Waiting for the ship to leave, or waiting for the ship to come in, waiting for the mail, waiting for a phone call. The list goes on and on. You get the idea.

From the start of our relationship I was waiting. Waiting for the weekend to come, so that we could see each other. Law school (for me) and flight school (for him) were separated by a 3 hour car drive (which, after a year, turned into a 6 hour drive when he moved even further away). My week at school was defined by waiting for Friday so that I could hop in the car and drive to see him. In retrospect I think all this waiting was probably helpful - little did I know then how much waiting a Navy spouse actually does.

Waiting can be a good thing - waiting for the birth of our little dude was the best 8 months of my life. Until he came a month early and then I was waiting again - for his dad to come home and meet him. But that 's a story for another day.

Eventually the waiting becomes so rote and familiar that you stop realizing you're waiting because you're too busy getting on with your life. That's the thing I learned very early on - stay busy and try not to think about the waiting. Otherwise you'll wait your life away. Once you get past the waiting you realize all the exciting things you can be doing to help pass the time (like blogging).

I think Dr. Seuss said it best, in one of our most favorite books, Oh, the Places You'll Go!
...Headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place...

...for people just waiting...

Everyone is just waiting.
NO!
That's not for you!
Somehow you'll escape all that waiting and staying.
You'll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.
With banner flip-flapping
once more you'll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you're that kind of a guy!

I hope I'm that kind of guy. Because let's be honest - doesn't the "bright place where Boom Bands are playing" sound like somewhere you'd like to be?

Hello World!

So here I am, blogging...This is certainly something I have been thinking about doing for a long time, I just never quite got up the nerve. But, here goes.

First, a little about myself. I am a Navy wife and mother, a job I find to be challenging, exciting, frustrating, and ultimately rewarding. I met my husband 17 years ago, on our first day of high school. Before you ask, no - we were not high school sweethearts. We might have dated for a minute or two every other year, but we did not become a couple until 8 years later. We married a little over 10 years after we first met, 3 days before Christmas and a week after I graduated law school. We've lived in 4 different states and have survived multiple deployments and countless separations. We have a fabulous little boy who we love dearly and enjoy every day of our lives. Despite all the difficulties involved in being a military family, we truly love our life.

But that doesn't mean it's all easy-going all the time. "Catching the 4 wire" is a phrase Naval Aviators use to describe landing their aircraft on the carrier. The 4 wire is the last arresting wire before the end of the ship - the last chance they have before falling off the end of the ship (they snag the wire with their tailhook, which "arrests" the plane). I have heard many a time that the 4 wire is good enough to get on deck. I find this to be a fairly appropriate description of how I might feel on any given day - the 4 wire is good enough to keep me from falling overboard.

My purpose is to share with you, dear reader, my crazy experiences, to bring a smile to your face, and to hopefully keep us all from falling overboard!