Well, to start off the new year, I was on leave from work for the first eleven days. Not bad, I'd say. It was a sort of miracle that I did, since I had taken post-deployment leave for two weeks in November, right after we pulled in. When I got back from that leave, it was only three days before I transferred to a new command (temporarily). My first day on the job (December 8th) I was asked which two-week holiday leave period I wanted. And I could barely believe it! I had a lot stored up from being gone so long, so it was even possible!
It felt strange, not spending it with my husband, but our relationship is odd all the time, living so far apart from each other. We did, however, see each other for two whole weeks at Thanksgiving. So he understood when I told him I wanted to go see my grandparents for a couple days and then my girlfriend for a few after that. I had already promised my friends in Virginia that I'd house sit for them for New Year's... (including the first 5 days of my leave) so it was all settled. And it went off wonderfully!
I had some time to myself at first, taking care of their chickens and their dog, watching a lot of Call the Midwife on Netflix (which my friend introduced me to) and taking the plunge on Twitter, setting up an account because I wanted to conveniently follow my favorite author (that sounds so creepy). I've since learned people don't need an account to follow people, but because I had buried my head in the sand and treated Twitter like The Plague, I didn't know that. But now I also conveniently follow C.S. Lewis, Cute Animals, WWII History and Historical Pictures. LOL! Oh, social media.
So, I got in my car on the morning of the 3rd, and drove all the way to my grandparent's place in western North Carolina. Lord, how I love the Blue Ridge! It was so fun to go back! The last time I had been there to see them was a year and a half before (2013), as I was driving through with Michael as he was working long distance that summer so he could live with me. Long time ago!
It was so lovely to sit and chat with no time schedule just like we always do when we visit. I guess I say "we" because I'm usually with Mom when I'm visiting. This was the first time I visited them alone since 1998! And they were living in Missouri then... and I was 14! So anyway, we caught up. Talked a lot about deployment and different aspects of it. They had lots of questions for me.
Had dinner with them and my aunt and uncle at the favorite haunt the first night (Mexican restaurant oddly called "Papa's and Beer" - shouldn't that be "Papa's and Cerveza"? Whatever. It's a wonderful place.) after we went to see the film Unbroken (which has an opening to die for in the belly of a B-25). The next day, between lots more relaxing, chatting, reading and puzzling, we saw the film Wild, and went over to my aunt and uncle's house for a fun evening.
Late the next morning, I took off for West Virginia to see Julie. How beautiful are the mountains! I was in awe, driving across the Appalachians of Tennessee, then the Shenandoah through Virginia, and through a couple mountains/hills as I came to the winding roads of WV. So much fun! And so was seeing Julie for the first time in a year! I had flown her out to Norfolk last January for a quick visit before I left... and that is much too long to wait to see a dear friend like her. My goodness, being deployed makes you really miss people. I have gone years in the past without seeing her... I think being far apart brought me closer to people. I thought that a lot as I wrote emails to people at least monthly while I was gone. Which I never do when I'm at home. Irony.
The first night we went out to dinner and spent nearly the whole time giggling like adorable idiots... just like we always do. If I've said it, I've said it a thousand times... we are like peas in a pod, the two of us. Suddenly and actually by accident, we started talking about our fears... it was my fault, as I happened to use the phrase "top ten" when I told her about someone I was afraid of. It'll be one of those conversations I'll never forget; it was intimate and encouraging.
The first three days I visited were working days. So suddenly I was a fourth-grade teacher's assistant at a small, private school. It was SO MUCH FUN! I had to re-learn a bit of multiplication tables and help out with book reports on a book I've never read (flashbacks about Balboa: Finder of the Pacific came to mind as the kids could barely remember the plot). Julie even had me give a little presentation about the Navy on my first morning. I wore my working uniform, showed the kids pictures of ships and rating badges and youtube clips of the Truxtun in the Turkish straits... and the kids were amazed. :) I heard from one parent later on about my celebrity status. And it was super fun to watch Julie teach.
We spent the rest of our time together relaxing, reading, watching Weird Al youtube videos and laughing our guts out. And we went out to dinner with her church friends twice! And we all got along marvelously! First restaurant was in a town called Nitro! What a name! Had to leave on Sunday after church, but I thought to myself, why should I rush back to Norfolk? So I stayed an extra couple hours for a fabulous lunch with the same crowd. It hurt my heart to leave.
So I've been back in the Navy this week... continuing with Honor Guard duty. Five funerals this week... no time to even practice after a long break. I actually cried at the last one today... the pastor gave a great message quoting Paul about faith and Revelation about worshiping God... and there was a bagpiper playing Amazing Grace... and I was already emotional before it began. Shooting the rifles went PERFECTLY. But I need practice on six-man flag folds.
Jw
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