QUALIFIED! BONA FIDE! THE REAL DEAL!

 

The face you see above is the face of a Qualified Nuclear Operator 

in the United States Navy!!!! 

Sign, sealed and delivered, he is done and home on leave! 

We did not attend Prototype graduation since 

our sailor left immediately after to drive from upstate N.Y. 

home to the Dallas suburbs. I will not even comment on 

how quickly he got here...

 

He actually arrived a day before he was expected, so my 

welcome home decor was not as fancy as I'd planned,

but the main thing, the ONLY thing that matters is 

HE IS HERE and HE IS DONE 

WITH NUKE SCHOOL!!!!!

He survived! 

I survived! 

~♥~

 And he is home and doing all the things he loves to do.

Messing with cars...

Helping with the yard.

 Helping out at the church fund-raiser with his dad and brother.

Shooting hoops.

Meeting our new pup and just hanging out.

~♥~

My heart is so happy and grateful.

It is like old times...

a brief reprieve before we give him back to the Navy. 

He leaves in a few weeks to joing his ship.

He got the number one pick on his "dream-sheet" and will be 

serving on the USS Carl Vinson out of San Diego. 

We are so happy, because it is a beautiful place and the 

closest homeport he could have gotten assigned to

while serving on a nuclear aircraft carrier.

Next I will learn to be the mom of a sailor in the fleet, a deployed sailor.

The Navy never stops teaching me new things. 

I am so very proud of my sailor! 

He has worked so hard and achieved so much! 

And now~ I'm a Nuke mom! 

~♥~

the journey continues

This is a long overdue update. 

After Power School graduation things
 got super busy in my life. 

I sell my handmade jewelry at shows and fairs
and fall is, naturally, the busiest time.

My sailor was busy himself, with Grad Hold in
Goose Creek. He had a good

job off base for his 2 month hold time.
I got very used to talking and texting 

with him very often. Gone was the worry
and stress of school. His schedule

was predictable and relatively easy. I slept at night
 with a peaceful heart, knowing 

he had a break from the rigors of nuke school. 

In late October I got the best surprise of my life!
My sailor came walking in our back door!!!

I felt like I was dreaming! He was home for week!
Everyone (and I do mean everyone) 

except me knew he was coming,
but it was a complete and total surprise to me!

I did not want to let him go!!!

But of course our week flew by and it was time to say good-bye.

Our sailor was headed to his next level of training

in Ballston Spa, NY, somewhere near the Arctic Circle. ;)

Ok, not that far north, but far enough.

So, now he is in his last phase of nuclear training~ Prototype.

The hours are long, but this is the homestretch.

After the successful completion of Prototype,

sailors are assigned to a ship or sub. 

My sailor is "surface"~ he will be on a nuclear carrier.

He still has hurdles to leap and several months to go.

My Texas boy has learned how to drive in the snow.

He is learning the hands-on part of his job.

He has learned to cook in a crock pot.

And I have learned how to treasure every text, every phone call, 

every (rare) time I see that he has been on FaceBook.

I have learned to live with a piece of my heart

always far away. I know the weather where he is, 

the Google maps view of the road where his little 

rental house sits hidden by the trees. 

I have learned to keep to myself how much I miss him. 

 I have learned that pride and love and longing 

can co-exist in a mother's heart.

I have learned to be a Navy mom.

~♥~

On the flight deck of the USS Yorktown

Bravo Zulu, sailor!

What a year it has been for my sailor. Well, technically it is a little over a year since he left for boot camp in Great Lakes. I have been  fortunate enough to be present as he has marked some major accomplishments. The first was his graduation from boot camp last September. That was an amazing, but short visit with our new sailor. PIR (Pass in Review) is a awe-inspiring ceremony and was our real introduction to being Navy parents. The next big thing for our son was his graduation from Nuclear Field A School and his promotion to 3rd Class Petty Officer last February. 

Two weeks ago we headed back to Charleston to see our sailor's graduation from Nuclear Power School. What a joyful time! He looked so handsome in his dress whites. I am so very proud of all he has accomplished. Power School is a challenging 6 months and he has earned the smile you see. 

The ceremony was incredible. It was held outside on a perfect September morning. 

 These young  men and women can hold their heads up high and feel very proud of the hard work they have done to reach this point. More instruction awaits them and it can be as much as year until they are out in the fleet aboard nuclear-powered aircraft carriers or submarines. But on this day, there are hugs, smiles, sighs of relief, salutes and handshakes! 

And then~ a weekend of fun, relaxation and celebration! 

 Yes, I took a million pictures! 

 USS Yorktown

Folly Beach

It was a weekend to treasure! 

Now our sailor is on grad hold~ working on base

as he waits to class up for his next level of schooling.

It has been a momentous year~ a year of joy and tears,

of pride and much heartache.

For our sailor it has been a year of hard work and 

self-sacrifice, of learning Navy ways and becoming a fine sailor.

This boy makes me proud.

 I miss him so much, but he is a sailor now. 

~♥~

a year later...

 my son and his girlfriend at Dallas MEPS

Last year at this time I was sitting in a rather surreal place, Dallas MEPS , with my son, his girlfriend and my husband. Well, actually, for most of the time our son was off doing his final processing to leave for Navy boot camp. All around me were young people with stickers on their chests... Army, Air Force, Navy, USMC, even a few with Coast Guard~ all of them set to embark on a life-changing adventure that very day. Dallas MEPS is, of course, huge. There were lots of kids (yes, they sure looked like kids) and family members. But some were alone. That made me sad.

I thought to myself, if the nervous energy in this building could be harnessed, it could power a city.
The future sailors, airmen, marines, soldiers and coasties were at turns joking, laughing and often quiet and obviously a bit fearful and reflective. They were all about to enter a great unknown, a time of trial and then on to different schooling and then off to serve their country. They looked so young.

My son, came out and sat with us from time to time. He was exhausted. The night before he had been in a hotel with a large group of Navy recruits. His recruiter had driven him down mid-afternoon the day before. And that was the first good-bye. We joined him that evening for dinner and then good-bye number 2. Next was the BIG good-bye, the REAL good-bye. I was not looking forward to that.

We watched as his group was called and sworn-in. It was very moving. The room was packed and every parent must have felt the the same sense of pride and sorrow that washed over me.

Finally, after several heart wrenching hours at MEPS, groups began to be called. The young, brave  men and women began to line up. Buses filled the parking lot downstairs. Finally it was our son's turn to stand in that line with his sad little sack of deodorant, toothbrush and phone charger~ and his first set of military orders clutched in his hand. He looked tired and he looked 12 years old. He was 18.

As his group left the building one way, we family members made a stunned, nearly silent exit to the bus area. Huge buses sat running, with doors open like great, hungry jaws set to swallow up our children. So we got our quick hugs. I was strong, no crazy crying, but tears in my eyes and a lump the size of the moon in my throat. The girlfriend, poor thing, fell apart. I understood.♥

And then my son, my sweet, sweet boy stepped onto that huge bus bound for DFW airport and into his future. My heart has never quite repaired the rift. There is a tender place in it that aches for him always.

A year has passed, amazingly, astonishingly!! I saw my son at his PIR (boot camp graduation), at Christmas for 9 wonderful days, and at his Nuclear Field A School graduation in February. We are going to see his graduation from Nuclear Power School in September. You have only to read a bit of this blog to know how much I miss him and how proud I am of him. He strong, brave, smart and independent. He is a 3rd Class Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy studying in what is known to be one of the most challenging programs in U.S. military. He has accomplished so much in one short year. And I have learned to treasure every phone call, text, FB message and rare visit.

Onward and upward my sweet, brave boy!♥

another countdown

The military, I have learned, is all about numbers.

The Navy has bred a love/hate relationship 

between me and countdowns.

Since the day my son signed his Navy contract

I have been counting down... departures, arrivals,

tests, scores, graduations, leave... 

And now the countdown is to Power School graduation.

It will be a great milestone for my sailor! He still has 

some BIG,HARD tests to pass, but hopefully we will 

be in South Carolina on September 14th to see

him and his shipmates in their dress whites GRADUATING!

Of course, that will also be he start of another countdown.

My sailor will have a period of "grad hold" that could be weeks

or months, then he will go on to Prototype... 6 months of

learning and working on a real live, functioning nuclear reactor. 

No big deal... ;)

So, I count... the months, weeks, days and minutes

until I see my sailor! And I count my blessings.

In his almost 1 year in the USN, my son has accomplished 

so much. I am so proud of him.. and all my kids.

 I am very blessed to have great kids and a good life. 

♥I count myself lucky!♥

LET FREEDOM RING!

Thank you to all the heroes 

that protect and defend our freedom! 

things that make a momma smile...

My son has been off on his "great adventure" 

for 11 months!

Sometimes I feel like he left yesterday, but 

more often it feels like he  has been a sailor

for a very long time. 

I miss him. Nothing new there,

but there are things things that warm my heart~

like the photo above.♥

My sailor/pirate is in green

and he is dressed for a day of sailing.

Yes, finally he set foot on a BOAT!!

Okay, not a NAVY boat, but a boat nonetheless!

It makes me happy to see him fitting in some fun

and outdoor activity with some of 

his shipmates. You might have to be a 

nuke mom to totally appreciate this. 

My son is over halfway done with part 2 (of 3)

of his nuclear schooling. He has a lot to be

proud of, but still a ways to go. 

He is working hard and he makes me so proud.

It makes the "missing him part" at bit

easier to bear. 

February was a long time ago. That's when I 

last saw him. If all goes well, he will

graduate Power School on Sept. 14th.

I am counting the days! 

The Navy continues to teach not only my son,

but me as well. I have learned so much

about faith and letting go.

I have learned that you can live 

with your heart in two places at once.

And that makes me smile.

~♥~