Journal

D's company just posted their first journal about the past two weeks. See the journal here: http://www.uscgbootcamp.com/go/doc/763/292461/

I'm crossing my fingers that there will be another letter either today or tomorrow.

6:12 am

For some reason, unknown to me, Bogey has decided that 5:30am isn't really the best time for us to get up for a walk.

He prefers 4:00am.

After a couple hours of trying to get our 53lb canine infant back to sleep I finally gave up. He spent the next hour playing soccer? Rugby? Football? under the bed with Dallas.

I can't really decide which sport they were playing.

By 6am I finally caved in and started to slowly get ready for our walk. I had put my phone on silent last night, thinking that no interruptions would buy me some sleeping in. Then, as I grabbed my phone to put in my sweatshirt pocket I glanced to see what time it was.

A missed call? From a 609 area code?

NEW JERSEY!!

I called the number back and got Company Commander (CC) P- he's an assistant to D's head CC. I started to panic a little because it's only D's second week and, although from his letter he's doing well, nothing is set in stone.

Me: Hi I just received a missed call from his phone number...?

CC P: Ahh! You must be D's wife!

Me: Yes! Is everything okay?

CCP: Oh yeah. He and another female in his company biked the furthest on their bicycle workout today so I awarded them both with a 5 minute phone call. Hold on let me get him....
MERCHANT!!!!!!!

Then he said, "Is it true that you named your cat Lt. Dallas?!"

Me: Yes.. and our dog's name is Bogey. You know how in Top Gun they say 'I've got Bogies all over me?' That's how we got his name.

CCP (laughing): That's ridiculous!

Me: Well... they're sort of ridiculous so it fits. It was the only names we agreed on.

While I waited for D, his CC said, "D is doing really well, although I'm not letting him know that yet. He'll go far."

D came to the phone and we got to chat for 5 minutes. He was very, very proper in how he spoke, answering everything with a "yes mam" or "no mam."

I started to cry from just be overwhelmed with excitement. I didn't really know what to talk to him about since it was unexpected. I asked him about his blood pressure test when he arrived. He said it was 170/ 69. I asked if they were monitoring him and he said, "No, mam." I asked if they were doing anything about it and he said, "No, mam they are not."

He said that his main CC, CC R, said that he thinks it's funny that we named our cat Lt. Dallas. He also said that CC R is monitoring a CG forum that I post on, and figured out my screen name. CC R told D a few things that I had written.

He said that it's very humid and, "I sweat everywhere I go." Then he added that he's already lost 10 pounds! I said that will help him meet to new weight standards. He said that when he first arrived they measured him at a half inch taller than what his recruiter did. (That gives him an extra two pounds more leeway)

He said his job in his company was to be in charge of the watchmen. Every night someone stays up half the night to "guard" the barracks. Then, a new person takes over to relieve the first person. They do this every night. D said that he's the person that assigns who's going to stand watch each night. I asked him if he's stood watch and he said that he doesn't have to since he's in charge.

Then he said that he was recently promoted to Squad Leader. Their previous Squad Leader did not know the required information as well as D did, so D took his position. Squad Leader is a very big deal! I can't remember what he's in charge of but I know that D has to be able to recite his 11 General Orders, the time the sun rises and sets, that day's meals, etc, etc. all on a moment's notice.

I was SOO excited to hear his voice! It definitely made my day and made my morning run much more bearable!

First Week

(If you haven't noticed I posted pictures from our last weekend together... scroll down to the post below this one to see.)

Here we are in the middle of D's first week at boot camp.

I think I'm doing really well so far. I haven't had any emotional breakdowns, and have been genuinely excited and happy for D. Of course... it's only the first week.

I've only had a couple issues since D left.

#1: My car decided this was the perfect time to develop a coolant leak. Long story short- it was loosing half a tank, at least, of coolant each day over a period of a couple weeks. I took the car in for an inspection and was told there was a possible crack in my block. (Apparently that's bad) I've been car-less for a couple days while a mechanic has been inspecting and working on it. Turns out it wasn't a crack in the block but a combination of the water pump, thermostat and something else. (Apparently, that's better...?) I'm happy that I finally get my car back tonight. (Big, special thanks to those to carted me around for two days... and to the person who bought me dinner... twice.)

#2: I can't sleep. At all. D's departure forces me to now get up at 5:30am to take Bogey for a looong walk before I leave for work. (Otherwise, later in the day, he'll act like a tired 3 year old hyped up on sugar with no nap.) Also, since I'm the only one at home I can't get my body to relax as it wants to be in a protective mode. It's not that I'm not tired- which I really am- it's just I can't relax. Hopefully this will start go away as a new week approaches.

I heard from D a little on Tuesday in between his flights. He said he was really tired but that the flights were good. He met up with bunch of other recruits in Texas. Then, he called me one last time from the airport in Philadelphia.

I've made a friend through an CG wives online forum. She's on the east coast. Her husband and D are in the same company- Zulu181.

I sent out an e-mail to everyone with D's address. If you didn't get it please let me know.

Check out this CG video when you get a chance. It talks about what he's doing right now, this week. Also- his Com.pany Com.mander (CC) is the very first guy they show. (By himself) He's also the guy by himself at the very end. This CC is a pretty famous guy because of these videos that were made. Let's just say that D will be working hard. (Grin!)

Oh...You'll need to turn off the music at the very bottom of my page before you watch the video.

Our Last Weekend

CG station- aka Fort Ma.son

View in front of Fort Ma.son. Not too shabby!

Going out on a case

All of us (well, most) getting a tour of the CG boat.

D and Wy "driving" the boat.

Silly brothers

A semi-complete family picture

Us

Waiting for a fireworks show to begin

Grandmother, D and Wy

Us, again, the day he left.

At the hotel before we all said goodbye.

First Night

Boags and I got home safely last night after a very quick drive home. After getting a little settled (and avoiding laundry) we both sat on the couch together. We sort of looked at each other and thought, "Well, now what?"

It already felt weird to be in such a quiet apartment... so off to my parents I went! I'm sure this is the first of many, many, many drop-ins that I'll have at their home.

My first night by myself went fine. I'm used to being asleep before D would get home from basketball and such. Naturally, Bogey and I fell asleep on the couch watching a movie.

Bogey was not enthusiastic about my 5:30am wake up nudge... then push... to get up for a walk. We had a good walk and it was nice to be out in the cool weather.

After work I tried to keep busy with surfing the web for some information, a little laundry and some grocery shopping. Boags and I walked for an hour and- let me say- it kicked his butt. (Grin!)

I wrote D his first letter tonight, essentially recapping the day and filling him in on random things. Now I'm fully awake, hence why I'm posting after 11:15pm.

I got to chat with D throughout the day in spurts of text messages and a few phone calls. He made weight and swore in (officially) after about 9am this morning. He also got his flight information. Poor guy has another long day tomorrow that starts at 4am. (He had to get up at 3:45am today.) So far he sounds good- excited- which is all I can ask for.

He plans on calling me again tomorrow, but I'm not quite sure when that will be.

Time for cereal and then bed.


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If you're a new person to my blog: Obviously I use nicknames as much as I can, and I try to be as non-descriptive with identifying info. (Where we live, my job, names, etc) Please do the same if you're leaving a comment. (Which you'll need a G.oogle account to do.)

Going Buh-Byes

Today is our last day with D.

Later this evening we're dropping him off at the hotel where he'll stay the night. Tomorrow he'll spend all day at M.EP.S just sitting around. Tuesday he flies out to N.J.

Surprisingly- I'm o.k.

I had one freak out on Wednesday night but since then I've been fine.

I'm thinking the hardest part for me will be the anticipation of a call or text, even though he can't do either. Plus, I'll be super bored.

For now, we're soaking up the last bit of time we have together. We've been having a great time at D's aunt and uncle's house, eating tons of food, relaxing, playing games and sleeping in. Bogey is loving their large backyard...even waking up at 3:30am this morning whining to go outside to play.

No camera cord with me so pictures to come...

BM

When D and I went to Monterrey to celebrate our anniversary, I mentioned that we stumbled upon the CG station. Literally... stumbled upon it while waiting at a stop light. I also mentioned that we had a great opportunity to stay on base for almost 4 hours just getting our questions answered, advice, etc.

Well- let me really back up here... and apologies if this is repetitive. In some branches of service your job is chosen for you based upon a test that you take in your enlistment process. So you would know what your job is before you got to training. CG is not like that. You take the same test but are able to pursue any avenue you'd like within the CG, granted that your test score in that area qualifies. (So the better you do in all of the areas on the test the more you're eligible for)

There are three basic categories: airmen, seamen, and firemen. Within those are a ton of specific jobs to chose from. (Ie: res.cueswimming falls under the airmen program, law enforcement falls under seamen, etc)

Since D has a degree in crim.inology it's only natural to think that he'd want to pursue that route. During the past year rumors circulated that a new rate* was coming out- Mar.itime En.forcement... aka... cop on a boat. I naturally thought that D would gravitate towards that rate but figured he'd also look into some other options as well. Another contender was res.cueswimming. Personally, I had a feeling that he was only interested in this rate because he just wanted to jump out of a helicopter repeatedly.

Turns out I was right.

Fast forward to our weekend at Monterrey.

The CG guys talked about the pros and cons of each rating, without getting their own biases in the way. (Somewhat) A rate was mentioned that we had heard of but-apparently-didn't know anything about: Boats.wainmate**. (or BM) After talking about it I had a strong feeling that this was right up D's alley but I kept it to myself as I didn't want to pressure him into something he wasn't feeling. But, as we got in the car, D bubbled with excitement that he felt that BM was the way to go.

We did a ton of research on the rate when we got back home. D found out that once he was officially a BM that he could qualify for some certifications:

-Co.xswain: have the authority to direct the crew/activities and modify the mission they're on.
-Tac.tical co.xswain: the training to be able to maneuver a boat in a defensive situation
-Sur.fman: normally you get he.avy weather certified to drive the boat in waves up to certain size. Sur.fmans have the training to drive the boat in the highest waves. It's also the highest qualification for small boat operations.

After D finishes basic we'll be moved to our first station. For the next four months he'll be required to just work to experience different aspects of the CG life. This will give him hands on experience to "try on" different jobs before he commits to one. After the four months is up he can place his name on an @-School list to get specific training for that rate. @-Schools are all throughout the US and each are different in length. Sometimes spouses/ families are able to go with the coastie and sometimes you're not. (Depends on how long the school is, basically) Right now, the wait time for BM @-School is 2 years.

By the time D is able to put his name on the list the wait will most likely be longer. So- D is planning to "str.ike." Instead, he'll complete the required four month wait and training under another BM at his station to meet the necessary qualifications/ certifications/ tests while the other BM supervises. Basically- it's hands-on, on-site training with set guidelines he has to meet or else he doesn't pass. The "st.riking" process takes between 4-6 months to complete. Much faster than waiting around for an @-School that's only 12 weeks long!

That's the plan thus far...


*Rate= specific job.... same thing basically
**Boats.wainmate is pronounced: boats-in-mate

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Tonight is D's last night home for a long time. We're going to dinner with my parents and then his parents will be arriving late tonight.

The last couple of days have been strange to me. It's almost as if I'm going through a grieving process: sad, anxious, perfectly fine, etc. and then BOOM... I'm mad. Not mad at D or anything in particular... just mad. D lets me sit (literally) in my anger and then talks me back to normal. I haven't cried yet but have teared up in front of him a few times. (Which then makes me mad) So it's been interesting around here.

Today- I'm more inclined to be grouchy about the heat, a newly developed cold, a semi-active Ping and extreme tiredness.

I'm glad that the week is over for me and look forward to spending time with D's family.