Perchance to dream, of orders

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To be living in paradise, on the coast of somewhere beautiful, on the shores walked by Hemingway and Truman, oh what a wondrous Coast Guard day that would be. No, we did not get orders to the locale pictured here, but oh how I desired to see that on our desired destination list.

Picturesque, isn't it? Can't you just see yourself jumping into the photo? Go ahead, sink your toes into that warm, soft, white sand. Feel the cool, breeze caress your cheek as you whisk a tendril of hair away from your glazed over eyes. (And, yes, I was there--no, I didn't want to leave.)



And, yes, Virginia, there is a Coast Guard unit there....in paradise. In fact, there are many options for which someone can dream.


There are neat nautical and maritime treasures you will see as you traipse about the town.

My friends, that is Key West.

I got a little ahead of myself last summer when the man in blue referenced Key West might be an option for his dream sheet. Seriously! Woah, I was jumping up and down inside at the possibility. I researched the heck out of the school system. The man and blue and I even planned a mini-vacation/second honeymoon (of sorts) to this amazing destination before dream sheet time. We knew it was going to be one of our top places. Everything appealed to us, not to mention we have friends down there and he has traveled there for work on numerous occasions.

Sadly, we never had the opportunity for a dreamsheet this year. Yes, we were due for a rotation. PCS 2010 is our year. Still, one fateful afternoon, the man in blue received an email. "Pick your cutter, before it picks you." This was before the shopping list was even out. Yay for impending advancement, but bummer for no chance to submit a dreamsheet this time around. And, no, Key West was not an option on that list the man in blue received.



dum da dum dummmmm dummmmmmmmmmmmm

sucker punch to the stomach

stop me if you have heard my lament before



Anyhow....fast forward six months since we first received word of the man in blue's actual duty station, I'm doing okay.


The coast to which we are headed is not somewhere I've ever lived. Sure, I've visited, but to experience 24/7 for a period of up to 3 years, well, that's going to be a tad bit different. On a positive note, the man in blue and I are heading out that way to check out the area soon. We are going to try and narrow down which area appeals to us most that is in reasonable commuting distance to his new unit. He is being great about it though and really letting me focus on what I want this time. After all, he'll be underway most of the time and it'll be me and the little ones living there mostly.



I'm focusing on the beach. That's right. I'm looking for a beach area with a relaxed atmosphere. The home does not have to be pristine or upscale, but I will need a place to focus on my writing. I'm getting back to the novel. That's right, I have to. I said 5 years ago I would write it. I stopped. I let life get the better of me. I forgot me and ran fast with the rat race. I'm committed to enjoying this next home of ours and the relaxation/semi-vacation/hiatus it will bring for me. And, yes, I will still be on the coast of somewhere beautiful chillin' with my Kenny Chesney music on more often than not. :)



~~~~~~~
For a true writer each book should be a new beginning where he tries again for something that is beyond attainment. He should always try for something that has never been done or that others have tried and failed. Then sometimes, with great luck, he will succeed.

- Ernest Hemingway (who called Key West his home)

So much to do!

We got the official word! Yep, the man in blue received his message CGHRMS or whatever telling us where we are headed. I know, I know, we've known for over a week, but NOW it's far more real.

I'm going to find out about listing the house tomorrow and moving ahead with that piece. It's pretty bittersweet. We are not super attached to this place, but it was our starter home and the home we've spent most of our time as a family in so far. Before, we bounced around from condos to apartments and the man in blue was often underway. So, this has been 'home' to us.

If we cannot sell, we will try to rent. That's both scary and exciting. The word 'landlord' conjures up an image of a worried crazy person chasing down rent from an unruly tenant (okay, that's a bit much, but it happens). Our friends (yes they were a CG family) had a really bad experience last year when they were renting out there home. I really don't want to find ourselves in that situation. There renter worked them over good and they are good, no, GREAT, people. It was really unfortunate and made me really second-guess this next step for us. The good news is, there situation turned around thanks to their working together and making sacrifices, they found a resolution to their problem. Sadly though, they were out a lot of money and another CG family that was line up for the house was put in a bad spot too. :(

I'm trying to be optimistic though. We are elated to hear that the man in blue doesn't need to attend any pipeline training. Apparently, he has all the schools he needs for his next cutter, which is huge! That means more time at home with us before everything changes again.

We have a report date too, but that may change depending on our oldest child's school release date. She wants to stay forever, of course.

Yes, we told the kids. The oldest is really the only one who "gets" it. She held back tears when she heard. I was really proud of her for trying to be strong about it, but really it's a lot for a kid to take. They have so many emotions about moving and whether or not they will make new friends at a tender age, that it's heart-wrenching sometimes. Of course, if the man in blue retires as he wishes (before I had/have planned, hee - hee), she won't have to endure the moves through high school because he'll be retired by then.

Alright, that's all for tonight I guess. Just lots on my mind and so much excitement and anxiety in our house lately. It's time for a vacation.

Oh, yeah, I'm going on one soon.......more on that later.

Ironically, I've been virtually speechless.

I haven't posted in four days. Shocking, I know. I'm still trying to absorb the recent news. We still haven't seen the official orders, but they should show up sometime in the next two weeks, or so I'm told.

Right now, we are focusing on how to prepare our home to list it for sale. Another option we've considered is renting, but we are not 100% sure we are going to do that given we will be moving 3,000 miles away. That being said, we've had multiple offers for pseudo property managers. Nonetheless, it's a daunting concept. We may entertain it in time, but currently for sale the house must go.

Additionally, I've learned that housing is NOT an option for us where we are headed. So, that's a bit frightening. We were hoping it was a least something we could fall back on if we couldn't find a decent rental. Alas, it's not. We've been perusing the online newspapers and conversing with some folks we know out there. The rental market is not too shabby, and hopefully BAH will cover what we need.

I just learned that my children will be in two different schools. That kind of stinks as I was hoping the older two could actually attend the same school. The baby (not so much a baby anymore) will either be home with me or need preschool. Yes, I am considering staying at or working from home again. I am not sure what the market holds for my degrees and/or professional experience. As such, I can't really make a decision on that yet.

Oh, and I found out some fantastic, more than terrific, news. A friend of mine is going to be living within 30 - 50 miles from me. She and her hubby are doing the GEO thing next year, which will take her to a home practically next door to me, more or less. I can't tell you how much better this has made me feel.

'Til next post.

It's only been few days, but what a rollercoaster ride.

So, I've gone through every possible emotion thus far. Okay, not denial. I'm sure that will come when we are actually physically leaving this place behind.

I cried like a baby at first. Felt like someone punched me in the gut. I was literally sick. Part of me thinks it was just the initial blow and reality of it all. The other part of me thinks it was excitement. I know, a weird way to express excitement.

We've told our families and most of our friends by now. I don't think anyone was expecting this, especially my mom and dad. They (everyone here that we know and are related to) have all been spoiled because we have been here so long, they never thought we'd actually transfer out. Well, folks, it's happening.

I've come to terms with it. What else can I do. I won't bloom where I'm planted; instead, I plan to enjoy the crap out of this upcoming extended vacation. I have already started exploring options for jobs (eh, just ok) and the landscape for excursions (way cool). I'm going to be out of my element, but I'm pretty adaptable. I think it'll be just fine and then some.

Now, if I can just persuade some of my dear friends to somehow manage to get orders there too.

The word came down.

The man in blue can expect orders shortly. We learned this within the past 30 minutes.

I am going to break the news to my parents tomorrow. I may even make the drive out to where they live, which isn't nextdoor, but still close enough.

*cue sad sappy music*

After looking at the local information on schools, housing, jobs, I am a bit more optimistic than I was yesterday. I now have to figure out how go about selling a house here and finding a new job there. At least I found out now instead of March or April.

And away we go----weeeeeee!

I'm at lunch today. Ring, Ring. Hi honey....what? When?

That's pretty much how it all began.

Apparently, the man in blue received an email today. Basically, it said pick your new unit before it picks you. Of course, that doesn't mean even what he picked will be where we go.

And, the fun begins.

He shares with me the limited options. My, oh, my. They weren't any of the places we had contemplated so far. DH guesstimated what would be coming open this year. Sadly, none of those places were on this particular list.

What's a girl to do? Well, I asked him to tell me again, and I would call him back. I go through the options in my head. What's the weather like there? How are the schools here? Oh, gee, I don't know because we have all of fifteen seconds to choose.

Okay, so that's an exaggeration, but we wanted to get a response back asap. So, he picked after we discussed the pros and cons in warp speed, and he submitted.

Now, we wait.

As a side note, experience tells me I shouldn't get ahead of myself. Once upon a time, the man in blue had orders cut for a particular cutter and was in pipeline training only to have the orders pulled and given a new set. Yep, that's the fun and exhilaration of it all folks.

Away we go!

Dog Days....making way for PCS 2010 craziness

The summer is still here, but with the rush of students to school and fall on the horizon, we are clinging on. Well, at least I am.

With excitement and anxiety, I know that this could be my last summer at our current location for awhile anyway. That's right folks, PCS 2010 is our year! Yikes! I should note that I have never done a household PCS. I have only done a small DITY move once upon a time pre-children/pre-marriage/pre-hubby. In his multiple tours thus far, DH and I have been fortunate to stay relatively close to the same area, that his orders didn't warrant your typical PCS move. I'll leave it at that so I don't have virtual eggs of jealousy thrown at me.

I have said "I want to go", "Let's see the world", "Travel is for me" so many times that it may finally become a reality. However, as we all know, hurry up and wait hasn't even set in yet. We will soon see cuts come down for rates. Following that or possibly simultaneously, shopping lists will be published for the members. Then, it will be crunch time for research and on one little piece of paper (or computer screen if you will) shall reside our top picks. Will we get what we want? Will priority hinder us? Will seniority or junior rank be an issue? What about schools for the kids? How about a job for me?

The most important question, what beach will I get to enjoy? :)

So, since this year is going to be a whirlwind for me, I'll try to update more often to share with you all of the ebb and flow excitement. Stay tuned...for my camrades are sure to poke fun at me. And, I promise I will try to laugh at myself and not pull all of my hair out. Key word: try.

Stats, profile letters and “the list”, Oh My!

The Coast Guard community is buzzing with recent news of advancement information that has recently come out. Spouse forums, listservs, association meetings, and the like, are lit up with requests and questions such as “please send me an email with the stats”, and “what does my spouse’s placement on the list really mean?” You can feel the excitement and anxiety, just by reading various threads and listening to people talk. It reminds me so much of dreamsheet time, the timeframe when orders are cut, OCS list publication time, officer promotion lists, and Warrant Officer announcements. Still, what it all boils down to is hurry up and wait. You know the drill.

We get eager for what is about to come down the pike. We wait. We lose sleep over it. We stop eating. We binge eat. We run to calm our nerves. We chat about it. We research. We are consumed with it all. So much that is released in a single message or even over the telephone through a detailer dictates our lives. Sure, we may try to act nonchalant and pretend it does not matter. Some of us have a façade about going through the mundane of our day-to-day activities. Still, in the back of our minds, what the Coast Guard decides for our spouse greatly impacts us wife/husband; even if we are talking about a dual active duty couple. We are itching to know what comes next. We have to know.

Why do we have to know? Perhaps for you it means the upcoming cuts means a short-tour or maybe your neighbor know has PCS orders and should be researching elementary and high schools for their kids. For someone else, it means possibly having to relocate their civilian job or maybe even give their two weeks (or 6 months) notice. Deny it all you want, but the Coast Guard has us so spun up throughout the year, all because of what comes through to the masses in the way of messages.
I have to be honest; I routinely read internet published ALCOASTS. I swear—I try not to be that wife. I am just keenly interested in what is going on in the Coast Guard world, because despite the fact that I was not issued in the man in blue’s sea bag, it is my world too.

So, what has got you hopping up and down excited right now in the CG world? Or, maybe something has you biting your nails anxiously. Tell us about it!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy day to all of our mom readers out there!

I remember my first mother's day. It was also the upon day upon which my first anniversary fell, ironically. My husband woke up that morning to leave for a C school states away. Of course, I was disappointed. In fact, I was downright angry. I knew the rules of the game, even early on in our marriage that he would have to leave now and again. It wasn't new to us or to me. Still, alone is not how I wanted to spend this very special day. Perhaps it was a little bit of postpartum hormones getting the best of me too.

The man in blue was bummed about our anniversary, but at the time categorized Mother's Day as just a Hallmark holiday, man-speak for I didn't get you anything, and I don't plan to. Seriously, he thought this. So, I spent the morning begging him to stay (even though I know he couldn't) and probably crying a lot. Out the door he went, and my newborn baby and I hopped in the car and drove to my mom's. I was lucky enough to live within a few hours of her, so that helped to ease the loneliness that came with my husband leaving on this particular day.

At any rate, fast forward to this morning. My man in blue is home this year. yippee! The family has grown and I know have three eager children bestowing me with cards and homemade gifts. My husband even gave me the most beautiful claddagh ring with an emerald set in it that he got from a port call in Colombia about 5 years ago. It's beautiful. Needless to say, my man has come around, and loves to surprise me, Hallmark holiday or not.

So, today we are home enjoying each other because we know that next year may bring a different scenario. He could be home, he could be away, only time will tell. Whatever the case may be, I think I've grown a bit and the water works may not be as bad if he were to be gone again. Still, I suppose we each deserve to succumb to the sadness a little bit on occasions like these. We just don't have to let it consume us.

To all of you mother's out there, I hope you have a special day whatever you may be doing and whomever you may be spending it with!

"I don't want daddy to leave."

My kids were born into this fluctuating CG life. They really don't know much else. Accept for the fact that awhile back daddy was gone all the time and now he's home more often than not. When discussing the possibility of moving next year with our children, the subject of another cutter came up, not surprisingly. While it would be advantageous for numerous reasons for the man in blue to go back to a cutter, my eldest child was less than thrilled. To be honest, she was devastated.

I was actually surprised by her tears. She knows her daddy travels. She used to be so accustomed to it that when he did come home it threw her schedule completely off and she just as soon would have had it be her and mommy again. Anyway, now that she is getting older and more cognizant of her father's job and how far away he could go and for how long the separation might be--she is troubled by it far more easily.

The little ones, well, they are a tad bit more resilient. They are still in the 'go with the flow' years where they just know that at least one of us will always be home with them at night, after school. Their big sister however is sensitive to this and starting to show signs of separation anxiety and we still have a year before we will even see orders let alone possible PCS.

Perhaps we brought it up too soon.

Orders, orders, who has orders?

There are many of us in the midst of receiving and awaiting orders as I type this. My man is not one of them. However, I figured I'd blog about it. Why not? Right.

Frantically searching for information on schools, neighborhoods, area crime stats and job markets. It wasn't that long ago that dream sheets were drawn up with anticipation, excitement and hope for a new adventure. Now, the waiting is upon us. The l-o-n-g waiting process. Susie and Johnny have orders and already picked out a house. Why not us? Grumble, grumble, gripe, moan...

Oh, I have been there. How,I have been there.

We have had at least one interesting PCS season story, if not more. I'll be somewhat brief to spare you my babbling. One year we were all set with orders to a particular cutter. In fact, the man in blue was ecstatic. He knew the majority of the crew, had sailed on the ship (TDY) once before and there was a whole slew of other positives surrounding the orders. Pipelined and raring to go, things changed in a flash. Though that's no surprise to most seasoned Coast Guard families, it was a big blow to us. Alright, it was not tragic. Nonetheless, it was not a super desirable situation. The AO ended up giving the man in blue's orders to another CG member and switched my man's cutter. At the time, we were bitter and angry. Yep, me, I was actually angry about the cards we were dealt.

You know how the proverbial they say things happen for a reason? They are right. Well, in most cases anyway. We didn't know it then, but the AO switching my man's orders were one of the best things that could have happened for his career. He gained so much from the new position in the way of experience and leadership. I will admit the situation overall was far from easy, but now, looking back, it was really a great thing to have had happen.

So, as I see other spouses going bonkers about pending and possible orders right now as well as change of plan situations, I reminisce. Surely, I probably won't be this nostalgic and optimistic if I had to endure this situation again. Hey, I'm only human. Still, I am a bit wiser and know that even if things seem crappy from the get-go there is quite possibly an upside to the situation. Remind me of this blog post when I start freaking out next year.

Thanks.