Patiently Awaiting Orders

Or maybe not so patiently...

Arrrghh!

In theory, Jason gets his orders in less than a week.  Of course, we all know how the military is.  Hurry up and wait, right?

Anyways, Jason applied for staff pick-up and according to the staff on his crew, he got it.  I don't know why the current instructors would tell him that he was accepted, but I'll believe it when I see it in writing because I know the second I start my garden in the backyard, his orders will magically change and we'll be off to Guam.  Or I'll buy curtains for the windows in Kaelin's room and we'll be sent to Pearl Harbor. 

I'm not completely okay with us staying in Charleston for another 2.5 years.  The whole place is a swamp and when it rains, you can smell the paper mill.  It's too hot.  It's too humid.  NWS Charleston is one of the crappiest bases I've ever seen.

For the past several months, I've been planning on moving to Norfolk in September.  My family is in Virginia.  We have friends in Norfolk.  I have my grad school application filled out for Old Dominion and I'm just waiting to put it in the mail.  I've researched neighborhoods and parks and birthing centers and gyms and races.  I've even looked at housing in Groton (Hi Breezy!) and Bremerton (Hi Jeff!) in case we didn't get Norfolk.  Honestly, the only reason I even want Norfolk is the proximity to my family.  Part of me still hopes we go to Seattle.  My best friend lives in Seattle and I would completely bring back grunge single-handedly.  And the coffee...

Six months ago, Jason didn't even want staff pick-up.

It began when I realized how cheap housing was in Goose Creek than any other duty station he requested.  We LOVE our house.  It's huge.  We have a massive backyard with a privacy fence.  We have a fireplace and hardwood floors and a garden tub.  And Harper was born here, literally.  We could never find anything similar if we moved to Norfolk (at least not in a decent neighborhood).  We would be stuck in base housing in both Groton and Bremerton, which don't get me wrong -- base housing is nice there, but not nearly as big and as private as what we are living in now.  Plus, we would only qualify for a 3 bedroom until Jason reenlists in a few months.

But really, the big reason Jason decided to apply for SPU is that he won't be deployed anytime soon.  We could move to Norfolk in September and he could be in the middle of the Atlantic by October.  He could miss Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years.  He could miss our 5 year anniversary.  He could miss Harper's first step, first word, first birthday.

I've been through a deployment as a Navy wife before.  It sucks.  I know that Jason will be deployed.  I just don't want him deployed right now while Harper's so little and while we are planning a bigger family.  Will I want him to get deployed in 3 years?  Of course not.  But with our current situation, it's preferable to being deployed anytime soon.

Plus, we have a big-ass TV we don't want to move.

Although, this whole post is pretty pointless because it's up to the Navy.  Yes, we've been told we're staying here, but who knows?  All I can do is put our life on hold for another week while waiting to hear the news.