It's kind of hard to sum up a lifetime of Navy life in a few blog posts, and they're relatively long winded as it is. These would be the later years...up to and including the present.
As we rolled into a blissful shore duty tour, it still proved to be eventful. It was where Bill made Chief. Now, for those non-Navy types who aren't aware, there is nothing in any other branch of the service, or even amongst other ranks in the Navy, that is like making Chief.
I paid attention and listened to friends in prior years who talked about the time between results coming out, and them actually being pinned. Once upon a time, it was called 'initiation', but as with everything else in the Navy we've had to become more PC and it's now called 'transition', to get away from the connection to it being hazing. It is a 6 week(or so...it's becoming shorter and shorter every year) process. In that time, there is a whole of lot of shit that goes on, that to most outsiders looks stupid, pointless and could still be considered hazing in the eyes of some. There is a purpose to it all though.
I have joked that I tell young Navy brides to be that if they are marrying a sailor who is planning to make the Navy a career, that they need to make sure their wedding date is not anywhere from the end of July, till Sept 16(the date of the pinning). I had the fortunate luck to marry the love of my life on Aug 24...smack dab in the middle of the season. Ah well, such is life. I decided that my mission was to make everything as easy as possible for him during that time frame. I had heard tales of couples fighting and just adding to the stress of the situation. I told him, tell me what you need me to do. I made sure his laundry was washed, his meals were cooked-and even delivered them to him when he was out till well after midnight doing woodworking(shoe shine kits, hat boxes and charge books take a long time). I downloaded Anchors Aweigh and burned a CD for him so he could learn the song(I figured it's easier to learn a song if you're actually singing along with it). I trekked up and down the I-5 corridor looking for brass hardware and blue felt.
I also saw firsthand what kind of nutbags other wives can be, even after all these years. As I mentioned, our anniversary is about halfway through the whole process. I had no illusions that we'd have a grand celebration that year. So I was quite surprised when Bill came home the day before our anniversary, and with very tired eyes, told me he'd be home around 6 the next day. I looked at him like he had 2 heads and was like 'why??'. He said, it's our anniversary and the rest of the guys told me they'd kick my ass if I didn't come home. Come to find out, it was because just prior to this, we had another wife in the group who was so upset that her husband wasn't home very much that she actually packed her bags and was leaving him. Holy hell, woman, get a grip. It's 6 WEEKS. 6 weeks is nothing, I can do something for 6 weeks standing on my head. I did appreciate the sentiment from the rest of his group, that they were paying attention and took a lesson from it, that they didn't want another of their brothers to deal with a crazy wife. I however, told Bill, I know you have stuff to do, go ahead and take care of it, and we'll celebrate after everything is said and done. Of course, the rest of his years in the Navy would mean juggling anniversary celebrations as he still was an active participant in the following years for the new selectees. Maybe this year, as I will be married to an old retired chief, I can plan an anniversary celebration without having to check if they have a camping trip or some other thing they're doing...lol.
But, as with everything else over the years, we survived. Finally, the day of the pinning dawned and I anxiously sat in the base theatre, waiting waiting waiting, as they kept them out of view till it was their turn. Thank goodness our last name starts with a B as they come up alphabetically. It was so wonderful to see him walk on stage and see him in his khakis for the first time, and to be able to pin his anchor on him. I know what an incredibly proud day it was for him, and I was just as proud of him and for him as I could be. I still remember to this day, the booming voice of the senior chief who was the master of ceremonies, telling the chiefs who were acting as ushers to 'Clear the aisles, Genuine Chiefs coming through' as they were exiting the theatre.
Over the last few years, as a part of the Chief's Mess, it has created new friendships. One in particular has been created that I know will be a part of our lives for a long, long time. A couple years after Bill made Chief, he became a sponsor for one of the new selectees, Rob. I made sure that once Rob was pinned and they made their way to the Chief's Club for the reception, that he had his own mug from the club waiting for him-he was the only newly pinned Chief to be presented with his mug while in the receiving line. In that time, and the time since then, he has become a great friend to us both-he's who I refer to as 'my other husband' as he and Bill were usually on opposite det rotations so I still had someone to hang out with while Bill was gone. He will be the Master of Ceremonies at Bill's retirement, and I look forward to attending his retirement ceremony in the coming years as well.
Here's where my snobbery, if you will, will come out. One of the benefits of Bill making Chief was that it allowed us to move into 'khaki' housing. The area of housing that is Chiefs and officers. I could honestly tell such a difference moving housing areas. The majority of houses and yards were kept up better. The kids were older which means that there were no toddlers unsupervised at the park. The kids were respectful-I remember one of the first times I drove on the street our new house was on, there were about a dozen teenagers playing ball in the street. They stopped and moved to the side-and even smiled and waved. No having to honk the horn to get the little heathens to move and then getting dirty looks because we were apparently inconveniencing them. I still think RHIP still has a place and should be practiced more actively in certain things.
I also made a change in my volunteer work. I have been an ombudsman for the better part of the past 10 years or so. I was worried I'd be doing the position a disservice though, as I know there are erroneous assumptions about the ombudsman program-and unfortunately, those assumptions stem from prior experiences and one bad experience with an ombudsman can leave a lasting impression. It's not uncommon for the sailor to tell his wife, 'you can't go to the ombudsman about
Having known Bill for the better part of 19 years, and knowing him since he was an airman and seeing him progress to the rank of Chief Petty Officer, it has been wonderful to share all the things-good and bad, that Navy life has brought us. While in some ways, I will miss some aspects of active duty life; I am still extremely happy that retirement has finally arrived. I so look forward to having him home with me all the time, not worrying about him missing holidays and upcoming events-like Brice graduating in a few years.
After 35 years, a chapter of my life, the one that has been as an active duty dependent, will come to a close. These preceding 35 years though, are what has shaped how the next 35 will play out. The people through my Navy life will still be there and part of the next chapter. I look forward to the experiences coming up. And I can't wait to be that crotchety old retiree wife;)
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