BMT Graduation: Sunday

Sunday was the last day of Graduation weekend.  Michael only had "base liberty" that day so we just stopped at different places on base.  There were a lot of little things he needed to buy to take with him to Tech School so we did that.  It's kind of fun going to all the mini malls and the BX on base because everything is cheaper and TAX free.  A shopaholic could get into a little bit of trouble there.  :)

We took Evie to the park on base again because it was just that awesome.  Within the one park, they have three different park areas.  A toddler spot for 3 years and under, a slightly larger play structure for ages 3 to 5, and a regular-sized play structure for 5 to 12 year olds.  I hope whatever base we move to has a similar playground because I feel way more comfortable with Evie playing on equipment closer to the ground when she's still so small.  As you can tell, she had a lot of fun.

Sunday was a very "chill" day for us.  Although the weekend was fun, it had been long and slightly stressful for all of us.  So much went on and none of us got as much sleep as we'd have wanted.  We spent a lot of time driving around that day, just talking.

Michael had to be back to his squadron at 4:30pm so he could pack up his stuff and help get the dorm ready for the new trainees who would be arriving on Tuesday.  It goes without saying that telling him goodbye was one of the hardest things ever.  After two months apart, four days together was just not long enough.  But such is the life of a military family I suppose.

BMT Graduation: Saturday

Michael had "town pass" again on Saturday, and since no events were scheduled, we had almost the entire day to do as we pleased. We spent the morning hanging out in the hotel room again, but in the afternoon we went to the Riverwalk and the Alamo.

The Riverwalk was amazing!  It is one of the biggest attractions for tourists in San Antonio, and I can see why.  Basically, the banks of the river on both sides are lined not only with beautiful trees, but with restaurants and shops as well.  Since this was the weekend before St. Patrick's Day,  they dyed the river green!  Pictures do the beauty of the Riverwalk justice far better than words.

By the time we got to the Riverwalk, we were all starving so we looked for a place to eat.  This restaurant wasn't as packed as the others, and it had a cute little bistro area outside so we decided to check it out.  It was fantastic!  The pasta I ordered was one of the best things I have eaten in my entire life.  Whenever we visit the area in the future, we are definitely going there again.  Looks like Michael enjoyed it, too.

After the Riverwalk, we walked over to the Alamo which was also really cool.  I have a thing for old architecture so the nerd in me was really excited!

Evie had fun skipping pennies in the small fountain at the Alamo.  How is it that a two year old can do that, and I can't?

After the Riverwalk and Alamo, we were all pretty tired of walking around so we went back to the hotel and hung out for the rest of the day. Michael's mom and sister were flying out early Sunday morning so we did a little photo session before they said their goodbye's. 

BMT Graduation: Friday

Friday of Graduation weekend held the main event:  the Graduation Parade at 9:00am.  Before the parade began, they held a ceremony for trainees who had earned certain physical training achievements.  They also had a ceremony for Airmen who had trained to be Military Training Instructors (MTIs) aka drill instructors.  That was cool to see because although they are the people who make BMT hell for the trainees, their job is a very important one.  You have to volunteer to be a MTI, and most do it because they feel so strongly about making fantastic Airmen out of new recruits.

The Graduation Parade was pretty awesome to watch.  They announced where each flight was standing; Michael's flight was just to the right of the flight holding all of the state flags so it was easy to remember where they stood.  The flights marched by right in front of the bleachers, and because Michael was right on the end, I was even able to pick him out of the group!

After the parade, I had to go find Michael again, though it was much easier that time since I knew exactly where he was standing.  His mom and sister got to see him for the first time after the parade which was exciting for everyone.  Pam and Neil and the boys came to the parade as well which I'm sure was exciting for them, seeing the ceremony from the stands this time!

We did a little photo-op with the new Airman by a plane (if anyone knows what this plane is called, please let me know!).

That morning we also got a tour of the dorm that Michael had been living in for the past two months.  He had drawn me a rough sketch of what it looked like in a letter a few weeks ago, but it was cool to see it first hand.  I am proud to say his hospital corners and general tidiness were very impressive.  (His was the bottom bunk).

I also had to take a picture of the water fountain in the hallway of their dorm.  There are lots of rules that the trainees had to follow that many of us would find useless--such as not using the water fountain in the hallway.  The sole purpose of that rule, along with not getting to use certain trash cans, was to teach the trainees to follow every order, no matter how trivial it may seem.

After the dorm tour, Michael had "town pass" which meant he could leave base.  In hopes of bypassing the heavy traffic that was bound to be leaving base, we ate lunch on base and browsed the souvenir stands.  I have to say, Lackland is probably a very wealthy base with all the families of graduates that come in each and every week!

For the rest of the afternoon, we mostly hung out in our hotel room with Michael's friend Wil and his mom and sister.  Suddenly being able to move around freely, talk to family, and leave base was all a little overwhelming for Michael, so we chose to keep it low key.  So low key in fact, that we all took naps!

To top off the night, we ate at a fantastic authentic Mexican restaurant frequented by the locals called Chacho's.  It was great food at very cheap prices--what more could you ask for?

BMT Graduation: Thursday

Michael graduated from Basic Military Training this past Friday.  The weekend festivities, however, started on Thursday with the Airmen's Run. 

Evie and I left our hotel early, hoping to beat some of the traffic and get a good spot to watch the Airmen's Run.  Apparently everyone else had the same plan because it took us almost a half hour to get through the Gate.  Finding parking was interesting, and we had to squeeze ourselves through the throngs of people in order to get close enough to see anything.  But we finally got situated, and settled in to wait for the Run to begin.

I wasn't exactly sure which color shirt Michael's Flight would be wearing though he had thought they would be wearing red.  Thankfully someone carried a flag with their Squadron and Flight numbers at the front of each Flight so the guess-work was eliminated.  They ran by so quickly that it was nearly impossible to distinguish one recruit from another so I just snapped a couple random pictures.  Luckily I managed to get him in a shot.

After the Airmen's Run, we had to wait around for 2.5 hours until the Coin Ceremony.  We sat in metal bleachers in the hot sun, but Evie behaved wonderfully.  That was probably due to her toys and a few rocks she found lying on the ground.

At this ceremony, they were promoted to Airman from trainee, and received the Airman's coin.  We didn't have a great view (their backs were to us), but it was still an emotional thing to attend.  This is the two sides of the Airman's Coin:

Although the ceremony was interesting, we were most excited for what was to follow:  getting to see Michael for the first time!  The Airmen weren't allowed to move until someone came up to them so it was left to us to find him--and because they all look alike with their buzz cuts and matching Blues, it took a few minutes.  But we finally did, and it was amazing! 

The rest of the day was pretty fantastic.  Because of delayed flights, Michael's mom and sister and his best friend weren't in town until later so we had almost the entire day to ourselves.  We drove all over base to see everything that Michael only knew existed because of the map he had been studying longingly for the past eight weeks.  We played at the amazing base park, ate some Chinese, and just talked.  We talked so much that by the end of the day Michael was losing his voice!  But after two months of only communicating via snail mail and a ten to twenty minute phone call each week, we had a lot to catch up on.

It only took Evie a few minutes to warm back up to Michael.  He had been worried that she'd be shy or even have forgotten him, but she did fantastic.  She played with him a lot that day, and gave out plenty of hugs and kisses.

Bittersweet

I'm feeling a little down right now, and since the person I usually complain to (aka my husband) really doesn't need to hear anything but positive thoughts from me while at BMT, I figured I'd air my feelings here. 

With only ten days left until I get to see Michael, I should feel nothing but excitement and anticipation.  And don't get me wrong, both of those emotions are zinging through me pretty constantly.  But Graduation weekend is more of a bittersweet milestone for me to look forward to than anything else.

Even though I'll get to see Michael for the better part of four days, this is only the halfway point of our separation.  After Graduation weekend, he'll leave for Tech School in northern Texas for another 10 weeks.  While he's been at BMT, I've counted down the days until Graduation in order to get myself through each day.  Now I'll have to start all over again, and add a couple extra weeks for good measure.  I'm not sure just how well I'm going to be able to handle it this second  time around.

As I mentioned in my previous post, this time apart has really done wonders for my marriage.  Without airing my dirty laundry, I can say that absense really does make the heart grow fonder, and that we're both better for having some time apart.  But now that I have a fresh outlook on things, I'm ready for my husband back.  I'm ready for this new start, this clean slate, that we're both looking forward to.

But such are the woes of a military wife, and thus I feel whiny for even putting my thoughts into words.  In the next six years (that's how long Michael's current contract with the military is), we'll probably face many times apart.  Some of them might even be longer than these 19 weeks.  But right now, at this very moment, the thought of going another two and a half months without my husband makes me want to hide in bed under the covers and never come back out.

Two week countdown

Only thirteen days left until the Airmen's Run when I get to finally see Michael again!

The last couple of weeks have been a little crazy around here which is why I haven't updated for a while.  I left to visit my cousin in San Antonio last week which has been absolutely great.  Warm weather, good company--couldn't ask for anything better, especially in February!  I'll be here until after Michael's graduation which is really helping pass the time quickly. 

Evie is having a blast having a daily playmate her age, and is picking up so many new things.  She's more interested in the potty chair, in using her manners (please, thank you, you're welcome), and in sharing.  And of course, she loves getting to go to the park every day, and our zoo trip last week was a blast for her.

In military news, Michael finishes up week six of eight tomorrow.  I talked to him this past Sunday for twenty minutes for which I am so grateful since we didn't get a phone call the week before.  He sounded great--more positive than the last phone call--but he is starting to get bored with the same routine every day.  BMT isn't as bad as he anticipated it would be.  He's ready to get to Tech School where he will learn about his job, and then of course to move to our first base where we can finally be together again.  I wish it were June already!

Michael said the gas chamber (week 4) wasn't bad; it just cleared out his sinuses.  This past week (week 6) was "the beast" where they live in tents for a week.  Basically they put into practice a lot of what they have been learning since they've arrived.  Week 7 doesn't have anything super exciting that I know of; they will probably do a lot of testing for things they are suppose to be able to do.  And then week 8 is the week of Graduation so they will probably be preparing for that.

These past six weeks have held a lot of emotions for me--not all of them great--but in a way, I am glad for them.  They have provided us with an opportunity for growth and self-awareness that I didn't truly expect.  They have made our marriage stronger, and have given us an opportunity to remember what we cherish about one another.  It has brought on a new appreciation for everything and everyone we have in our lives. 

Hopefully these next 13 days fly by very quickly, and then the 4 days I get to see Michael go by at snail pace!

Highlight of my day

Every time I receive a letter from Michael in the mail, it is the highlight of my day.  Today, I received two!  His letters didn't sound as upbeat as usual--but that was to be expected.  I'm told "week three" is one of the hardest to get through, just because they have a lot of classes to sit through and such.  Basically, it's boring and makes the days drag on.  But though the tone of his letters weren't as chipper as they have been (I mean, who is always chipper in BMT anyway?), he still writes about how he likes what  he's doing. 

All he needs is a little encouragement--that's where all you letter writers come in--to help him through these last four weeks.  I'm excited/nervous to hear how the gas chamber and obstacle course go this week!

Next week I'll be leaving for Texas for a three-week vacation leading up to his Graduation.  I'll be in the same area (just outside San Antonio) as Michael, but won't get to see him.  That will be a true test of my strength.  But it will also be a greatly-appreciated distraction from all the worrying and frustration on my end.  And for that, I am truly thankful!

Took me by surprise

I got another phone call from Michael from BMT today, though that wasn't what took me by surprise.  This is the third Saturday in a row that he's been able to call--which is three times more than I thought he'd ever be able to.  He is doing very well, and once again sounded upbeat.  They are starting week four (half way done!) this next week which means the gas chamber (eek!), and the obstacle course. 

So the phone call wasn't the surprise...my reaction when it ended was.  Each time I receive a letter or a phone call, I'm elated.  I am so proud of everything that he is doing, and immensely glad that he seems to be liking the military lifestyle he's thus far been introduced to.  Even though I am sad that he isn't here, and I miss him every single day, I haven't been distraught with grief like some people seem to think I should be.  Four and half months in the long scheme is not that long a time, I know what he is doing is what is best for him and our family, and I refuse to dwell on the fact that he's not here.

That being said, hanging up after what seemed like the shortest ten minute phone call of my life was so incredibly hard.  Last week we were able to talk for a whole twenty-five minutes which compared to today, seems like an eternity.  I know I am blessed that we were even able to have those ten minutes so it took me by surprise how panicked and crushingly sad I felt when I had to say goodbye.  I don't have those moments often--I try hard to keep my chin up and to keep it together for Evie--but when those moments come....it hurts.

In the eight years that Michael and I have been together, we've never been apart longer than a week, possibly two.  We certainly haven't gone longer than a couple of days without speaking, at least on the telephone.  I've never had to be an adult without him.  It's strange, and unnerving, and more than a tiny bit scary.  I know as a military wife these absences will occur more than occasionally, and eventually they will probably seem normal, but right now...it's hard.

3 weeks down, 5 to go!

Michael has been gone at BMT (basic military training) for just over three weeks now...only five more to go until Graduation.  In the letter I received from him today, he worded it perfectly:  the days are going by slowly, but the weeks are flying by.  And to me, it makes complete sense.  One solitary day barely seems to make a dent in the many weeks between now and when we get to see each other again, but then that day joins another and before I know it, another week has gone by. 

Getting letters from Michael is the highlight of this whole experience.  I never know when they'll come or how long they will be, but they always brighten my day.  In fact, today I received two letters.  He is doing great.  He really seems to be enjoying BMT, taking the good with the bad, and is making the most out of the entire thing.  Just through the letters and the two phone conversations we've had, I can tell how joining the military has already changed his outlook on life.  Hopefully, it's guaranteed a brighter one.

He's making new friends, learning new skills, gaining life lessons.  I couldn't be prouder of a person than I am of him at this moment.