I remember when Donte came home and told me that he had been selected to be a recruiter. I was shocked to say the least and had heard numerous horror stories about being a recruiters wife. So I did what any smart Army wife would do.....I called my friend Melody because her husband had been a recruiter. Mel said they "loved it", hmmmm loved it huh....OK my nerves are relaxing a bit. She basically told me that they work a lot and that there are some long nights and some weekends where they work but over all its not that bad. There is no CQ or Staff Duty (soldier has to sit at desk and log phone calls and barracks checks for 24 hours, no field problems and no deployments. Essentially its as close to living the civilian life as you can get while still active duty in the Army. OK I am feeling better....
Fast forward to right before we leave Bragg....
Donte went to recruiting school, we had our house packed, painted, found a property manager, put the house up for rent, rented the house, had going away parties (sniff, sniff), and said our goodbyes.
We decided that we would drive both cars from Fort Bragg all the way to Chicago. We left after the boys got out of school and drove an hour to Greensboro (hubbys hometown) where we attended a family members high school graduation...it was very special as this beautiful high school senior that I had known since she was 8 was dying of a Brain Tumor. After numerous treatments and years of fighting the tumor had taken over. She was in a wheel chair and spoke with a slur that made her embarrassed to speak. We had just seen her a few months before and you couldn't tell that anything was wrong with her. She was her spunky little self and I am so glad that we had the chance to know her and love her. She lost that battle a few weeks after the last time we saw her. We then attended her graduation party that was hosted by the Make a Wish foundation. We spent time with family and friends before we headed to Waynes house. Wayne is Dontes best friend, he was our best man and is a huge part of our family. We spent some time laughing and reminiscing about all the good times and of course we got some much humored slack about moving to Chicago.
I went to sleep that night with a heavy heart and butterflies in my tummy. Chicago here we come...you cant get more exciting than that...on the other hand we were leaving our home that we had planted solid roots in.
We left a little late the next morning. The minivan packed to the rafters and the back seat of the Honda packed tight as well. Daniel rode with me and Donnie with Donte......with the assurance that they could switch off and on. They were so worried about getting equal time with both of us. It was like a game to them. I was so relieved to see that they were excited and had embraced this crazy Army life.
we drove through many states and a heck of a lot of rain and 10 hours later we were in Indianapolis. I called Embassy Suites from my cell and got us reservations for the night. We only had a few more hours to go until we got there so we decided to take it easy and even agreed that there was no need to set the alarm that night.
The next day we took off with the knowledge that this long car trip was almost over. We drove right by Chicago. I was so excited and then I realized that I needed Gas. So I call Donte and we take the next exit and land smack in the middle of a not so nice part of Chicago. We get the gas and take off. I am a little bit worried what if he has to recruit in an area like that? We continued on to Great Lakes Naval Base I tried to soak it all in. I do this whenever we move. I look at the buildings and the roads and imagine that in a few weeks it will all be second nature to me. It makes me feel better as if this new place will soon feel warm and comfortable....it would feel like home.
We checked into the hotel on post and unloaded the necessities. Donte hooked up the lap top so we could go online whenever we wanted. We all showered and got ready to go explore. Well we get to the minivan and my battery is dead!!! Oh Fun, at least it didn't die when we were getting gas! I had the battery replaced and prayed that this wasn't a sign of things to come.
Over the next few days we were visited by Dontes Station Commander, we will call him Famous Daves, he told us that the station was great and how great life was going to be. Hardly any long nights or weekends. After we went to the room I expressed how great this was going to be...Donte looked at me and said "don't count on it....I have heard different"...I should have listened to my hubby but I shook it off and went on with the tasks of getting a realtor and finding a place to live. Great Lakes was not only too far but they wanted to put us in tiny housing because the new housing was for people who had lived there for at least a year....sore subject.
We found a great house in the suburbs, 2500 square feet, two car garage, pond in the backyard with a fountain and a school that was located in the subdivision itself. We registered the boys for school (NC would not promote them because they still had 4 weeks of school left there, even though they could have made straight F's and still passed) and set up delivery dates for our household goods (HHG).
The boys were excited and scarred about going to a new school and to tell you the truth I was a little nervous myself. We were out here by ourselves, no other military families to lean on. No Army Brats for the boys to connect with......Please God let this go smoothly.
We walk into the school and are greeted warmly. Both boys teachers have their desks set up with their names and books ready. The other kids come up and welcome them and I can breathe a big sigh of relief. Donte and I decided to speak with the principal and the assistant principal. I was still a little nervous and wanted to make sure that they knew the situation in case the boys were to get upset or start feeling sad. I also had to speak to them about the boys missing the last two weeks of school so that they could go to Sri Lanka for their Uncle Adams wedding. They were both great and as we sat there talking I mentioned that I was looking for a job. They had a position open in the front office and explained to me how to go online and apply. I did apply and two interviews later I received my job offer and was all to ready to enjoy my summer with my family....because he wouldn't be working late nights and weekends....RIGHT??
more to follow....
