The Navy Life from a Navy Wife: November 2010

Friday, November 26, 2010

Happy Be-lated Thanksgiving to Everyone!

Hi All! So I managed to get out a Thanksgiving blog about...well...looks like 7 hours too late. But for those who know me well, being late is my thing! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! As for me, well I endured almost 10 hours working at the bar. I did get to talk to Rob briefly on my drive home. He spent Turkey day playing poker.

Still NO new news to report about our orders yet. Seems this process is going to be painful. I'm hoping now that he holiday is over, we may be able to get some sort of answer with all the higher ups actually in the office working. Will keep you all updated as we know, i promise! I'm off to get my day started, have a good one!

Friday, November 19, 2010

And we wait...

Some of you know that it's that time for Rob and I to pick orders. We talked and agonized over this for months. Not only is the decision difficult but comes with a rough time line as well. As Robs on sea duty right now, he is doing work ups for deployment, later scheduled. We won't to go on this cruise, but he's still in charge of doing the work ups for it with the command. Having said that, he's been gone A LOT the last couple months. And it doesn't stop there, he'll be doing it for several more months. Now after long consideration, we decided to roll the dice, and give recruiting a try. He submitted his application, and this is where the waiting starts. we now have to wait to the info on where we will be stationed for the next 3 years! I know many have asked where and when. I promise to keep this updated with all the info we have! Now...in the next few months, we have to lightly renovate our home, get it on the market, sell it, and purchase a house elsewhere. Seems nuts right? Yeah it kinda is, but its the way it is. We have all of this to do and roughly 5 1/2 months in which time to make it happen. Here's where my Navy wife skills better kick in. As it will be pretty busy for us for awhile, I will keep this blog updated as well as I can to keep everyone informed! Just wanted to get the word out now since I've already inquiries!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Welcome to Our Navy Life!

Hello everyone! I thought it to be the time that I set up a blog. We have lots of new things coming in our life, and thought it be easier to share with friends and family this way. For those of you who know, I am much better with starting up websites. So bare with me with the blog, still a little bit new to me!

So here's our story...

Our Story Begins...

I met Rob in 2003 while living in Ohio. He was already in the Navy stationed in Norfolk Va. We dated for several years, with trips to and from Ohio and Virginia. A very small glimpse into the military lifestyle for me. The trips would always be too short, but we made it work. In November 2005 Rob proposed. I had been living in Va for a little over a year at this point. we had a fairly long engagement as we we're planning a fall wedding in Michigan. (my hometown) On September 8,2007 we got married. This is where my Navy Wife Life began....

I knew the basics of the Navy from living it from day to day for the past several years. But I was in no way prepared. They don't tell you the rules and loops holes when you sign that marriage certificate. They don't tell you that in light of this happy event you and your sailor have had, that you now as well, are military owned, in a sense. Now don't take me wrong, I am a very proud navy wife. I am honored to be apart of something bigger than myself in this life. I many a times said they should require all new Military wives to take a crash course in this new lifestyle, so they can be prepared in some way. As this is not the way it happens for most new brides, you live and learn the hard way.

Rob and I had never gone a day without talking for the better part of the beginning of our relationship. The first time we no longer had this option was September 8, 2008.....one year to the day of our married life together. I knew it was inevitable. He came home and told me he'd be going onboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt for 7 months. Still being a fairly new married couple, I slightly panicked. As to say I freaked out! I tried to stay positive but in the end dreaded this horrible day. Instead of spending my 1st anniversary as a married couple together, I drove him to the pier and had to say my goodbyes. Needless to say I was a wreck for the better part of a month.

You are never truly prepared for this. I remember breaking down when the downstairs toliet broke, and this was something he was in charge of fixing. it's amazing the little things you take for granted until the option id no longer available. So I decided to go to a FRG (family readiness program) meeting to get the latest news on our boys while they were away. While I was there with a handful of wives stuck in the same position as me, I met a few of them and started to get to know them. Well somehow in the mix of going to these meetings, I, along with a friend Emily (our husbands are good friends) ended heading up the FRG for our guys command. I tell you what, if you need or want to learn the ins and outs of the military, talk to a wife who's been doing it awhile! Emily would constantly laugh when I asked what seemed a dumb question to her, but not to me. She and I ran the FRG until our guys came home that following April. A little side note to Emily...thanks for everything! To say deployment was hard would be the understatement of the year! But as I learned so many things along the way, as well as made my relationship stronger with Rob. They say "absence makes the heart grow fonder" Now usually with these types of quotes I roll my eyes, or decide I'm going to punch the person who first said it. But this time it really did ring true. As most married couples, you get into a routine or a comfort zone and forget why you were so excited in the beginning. Put a 7 month gap apart into the mix...you remember in a hurry! As much as I was fuming in the beginning that it wasn't fair they took him away after only a year of being married, after lots of though, I decided that whole "crash course that every military wife should have"....well this deployment was it. I learned to do the things I normally wouldn't have. I no longer freak out when he comes home and says I have to leave for a month for work ups. And I now know to rely on myself to make this all work.

We live day to day and make things work since you never really know what will happen the next day. My words of advice to all new military brides...it's a wonderful life with lots of perks. But be prepared that some days you won't be happy, and some days are harder than others. It's worth it though when your SO puts on that uniform and you can clearly see they are proud of what they do!

The Navy Life from a Navy Wife

Our Little Mister

Love at First Sight

The Mrs.

Like Father, Like Son

The Mr.