i don’t often write about paul being a pilot in the navy on my website.  i mean, it comes up here and there because it does dictate our family’s life, especially in terms of where we live, how long he’s gone for when he deploys, where he travels to… location is huge for us.  and it’s always up in the air.

always.

i don’t often write about being a navy wife on my website.  i mean, it comes up here and there because it’s a part of who i am.  honestly, i don’t like the label.  i don’t like labels in general, but i really don’t like the label “navy wife” or “officer’s wife.”  i’m not down with some of the things that are associated with the label.  nevertheless this is part of who i am.

part.

this morning, i strolled jackson across the street from our apartment complex to “the yard” as they call it, and witnessed I-Day at the Naval Academy.  call it what you will “induction day” or “initiation day” or “idiot’s day” (i’m not the only one who has referred to it as such)… but it’s the day when recent high school graduates who have been accepted to USNA show up for plebe summer.

without going into too much detail about the actual events that take place on I-Day, or during plebe summer, or the fact that i live quite literally across the street from USNA (don’t stalk me), i find myself acknowledging the pendulum that swings back and forth and back and forth more so now than ever before.

10 years ago to the day, paul checked in on I-Day.

july 1, 1999 paul went from being a civilian to joining the navy in the hopes of one day becoming a naval aviator (check that box), and scared shitless (sorry hun, just stating the obvious).  his parents and brother walked with him as he checked in with a folder of paperwork and a duffel bag, and said goodbye.

and this morning, i walked my son across the street and watched as his dad stood guard and separated weeping parents from their children.  photos were taken.  television crews were there.  a helicopter flew over.  and jackson drank his juice.

paul took a brief break from his “bouncer duties” and came to say hello to us.  we reminisced for a bit, being that we are high school sweethearts, and were “going out” during this time 10 years ago.

the night before paul’s I-Day, he sat on the floor of a hotel bathroom talking to me on the phone.  i think i did more crying than talking.  i wouldn’t see him for 6 weeks during plebe summer.  i thought that 6 week separation was the worst thing in the world.

stupid teenager.

little did i know 10 years later i would wind up standing with paul and our son, on the yard, watching kids get checked in and saying goodbye to their parents, their former lives…

the pendulum swings back and forth…

and time marches on.

i’m learning that it marches a little faster once you have a child.