I sit now in the brightest corner of our house here in Bonita California. The room is full of wide windows that give me a spectacular view of the California hills. Outside it is a typical 73 degree San Diego day, not a cloud in the sky and a gentle breeze that cools our house, which has never needed air conditioning or heater. Why, one would ask, would you choose to move away from such an amazing place? ........I shall, out of respect for the sanity of my own mind, not attempt to answer that question. :) :) But seriously, change is ahead once again for my little family (that is: Ben, myself, and Sugar) and we will have to leave this great place behind, as we did our home in North Carolina, and our family in Missouri. This time, however, our move will send us around the world; to Okinawa Japan..
Nerd in me alert- I'm reminded here of Timon in the Lion King.. particularly in the Lion King SNES game. At the start of the game he appears on screen and simply says "It Starts.." Thats really where I sit now. At the start of the next adventure. Whew. Adventures. Did I know I was going to have this many adventures when I married Ben? Never imagined it for a second. Would it have mattered? Not in the slightest. It keeps things exciting for sure. But if I'm being honest I don't mind a little boredom.. :) But as I was saying...
It Starts..
It truly started over a year ago, when I was faced with the reality of Japan. Ben claims I knew we were going to Japan long before this.. but to be honest I knew the Ospreys were going to Japan, I knew 561 was going to Japan.. I was either completely unaware or in complete denial that Ben and I were going to Japan. Then I attended the first Coffee with the Command Team for VMM-561. That is the squadron Ben joined when we moved to San Diego. And its freaking awesome if I do say so myself. Our CO is spectacular- friendly, understanding, informative, actually knows my name, and not only that knows my background and supports my husband :) and our Family Readiness Officer was better than I've ever seen- once again friendly, understanding, informative, actually knows my name, and takes part in our spouse socials which is awesome. We (and this is the first squadron I've considered myself a part of) also have a kick-butt "patch" and "motto"
Ben and I at his re-enlistment in front of the Pale Horse motto, also the patch (top left) and 00, VMM 561's flagship with their Pale Horse emblem.
Back to my story, when Ben arrived he joined VMM-561 which had just "stood-up" or begun. One way our command team kept the wives happy was by having a Coffee with the Command Team, where they kept us up to date as to what in the world was going on. :) It was an amazing idea, and it helped so so very much throughout the transitions to come. That night we all showed up fresh off the news our husbands had given us the night before. We were going to Japan. All of us, with very few exceptions. Denial Smooshed. Thankfully the Coffee with the Command Team calmed most of us down, and helped me see there was light at the end of the tunnel.. and possibility ahead.
But lets be honest. I had just moved to San Diego maybe 2 months before. I was still unpacking, half of our house was in our trailer, I didn't know the people I was living with (and there was a bunch of them), and I had just made myself comfortable with the fact that I was too far from home (Missouri home) to drive there anymore. So now we are moving WHERE? To Japan? But not really Japan, this little island south of Japan called Okinawa. Um.. K.. Smile Amy. Adventure. What saved me, and continues to save me each time I freak out inside (which thankfully happens very little now) is our marine corps community. They've been there. They know. They lived through it, loved it, got the t-shirt. And Everyone who had been to Okinawa had nothing but amazing things to say about it. Great food, Great people, tons to do, Job opportunities out the wazoo for teachers, etc. etc.
So we were going to Japan. We ARE going to Japan. Our stuff is already on its way to Japan! We're going. Its final. Ha! Sorry.. that's the Military wife in me coming out. Since I'm being honest here, I won't believe it til I'm on Japanese dirt. After the year we have had since that first Coffee with the Command Team, I am in a state of constant preparation. At first that meant preparation for the move, now I see it means I am preparing myself for the next hiccup, the next change, the next big laugh by the mc when they tell us whats Really going to happen and then tell us nevermind. :) I was right about one thing- it is exciting. :)
We did ride quite a roller coaster this past year. Due to a new rule in the military, Marines who have served 10 years and are not selected as a Staff Sergeant would be, in a sense, "let go." Ben is not to that point yet, he hasn't even reached the point to be considered for Staff Sergeant. But, while we are in Japan, he would reach 10 years. Because, on paper, there is no guarantee he would be selected, we were told No, you are not going to Japan. I recall now telling someone (probably, unfortunately, my mother) that it was 98% certain we were NOT going. (The Cubs fan in me is screaming: JYNX!!) Soon after we found out there was a waiver process Ben could go through that, if approved, would allow him to extend his contract past 10 years and go to Japan. So while everyone else got their orders (in October) and prepared to go to Japan, Ben worked on his waiver and eventually turned it in. He was also informed it would be an official re-enlistment instead of an extension. Getting the waiver done was tough. There was a brief period in there where it felt like we were begging for approval, not an easy thing to do. It made us a little bitter about the whole process. But thankfully we, once again, had our military community keeping us excited, reminding us what we had and how far it could take us. Thankfully this occurred because we also found out it wasn't by choice he was jumping through these hoops, but, since he was considered a careerist, a requirement to attempt. Eh, ok, whatever. As I said, thankfully we had passed the bitterness quickly and were mostly content to wait again. So we waited, and waited, and waited, and the waiver got lost, and they found it, and we waited. Meanwhile I attended spouse socials and told them - "we don't know yet" over and over. We worked on our paperwork for Japan and attended informational meetings, just in case. We prepared to the fullest we could without actual orders. And we waited some more. Finally.. 7 months after our 561 friends received their orders, Ben got the OK. Yes. We are going to Japan in August. I expected to have a moment of dread, or fear, or some kind of surge of emotion when we got the word he'd been "approved." I did not. And it was at that point that I realized I was going to be ok. Maybe the military is a roller coaster, but I'm ok with it. For once in my life, that climb to the top of the roller coaster, that click-click-click that prepares you for the big fall did not scare me, it eventually calmed me, and when the big drop came, when we got the yes, I was able to see it for what it really was. A great part of the ride. I know military life can be crazy. I know things may change at any moment. But it no longer makes me lose control, I do have control. Because of that control I was able realize this wasn't going to change my life, not really, my life is what I make it. Going to Japan is just where I'll be living it for the next 3 years. Japan will be another part of my story. A new chapter. In the long run, not some great mountain to climb, just a detoured path along the way to the summit. A pretty one with lots of Cherry Blossoms.
And here we are.. our bags are packed, our minds prepared. We have a few good-byes to say and then we are on our way.
It Starts...
