O So Very Proud

I am o so very proud...

O so very proud of my soldier:


Pardon me while I brag on my soldier for a moment. He would never brag on himself, so I am going to do it for him ;)

My favorite soldier has been accepted into the Warrant Officer Candidate school! YAY!! What a huge accomplishment and honor! (We have known about this for a little while and most of our family and friends already know about it, but I am just a little bit behind on the blog...)

So what does this mean for our family? Lots of things... I have been asked several questions about it and so I thought I would try to answer those to the best of my ability;

1. "Will J have to leave for school?"
Yes. This is a 2 part school for J. Part 1 consisting of a basic course that is about 6 weeks long. We hear that the basic portion is much like boot camp. Of course it has been 11 years since J was in boot camp so this should be fun, right??? I have no doubt in my mind that he will do great during this portion. What is going to stink for me and the kids is being away from J (we will not be allowed to travel with him to school) We will also have to wait until he "earns" privileges before we will be able to talk to him. That is going to stink, but hey, we will make it. We have survived 3 very long deployments where we went may days and weeks without any contact so I know we will make it. The 2nd portion of the schooling is a little longer. Nearly 6 months or so. We have the dates for that as well. He will leave in 2013. We hear this is not as strict as the basic portion-meaning he will be able to call us and may even get some weekends off. The kids and I are already planning to travel to see him during spring break.

The question that always follows that statement:
2. "Isn't it going to be hard for him to be gone nearly 6 months?"
Absolutely it is. But we have conquered 3 deployments that were over one year long each. We can handle 6 months. Plus it is stateside.

3. "Do the kids know?"
Yes, they do. They are handling it just fine. I am always amazed at their strength. It is almost as if they (like me) are so use to daddy going off so much that they expect it. That is kinda sad huh? As a matter of fact a little while back Jack and I were riding in the car and he had been sitting quiet for a little while then out of nowhere he asked "Mommy, when will Daddy have to leave to protect our country again?" CRUSHING huh? But it is the life he has grown to know.

4. "When will J leave?"
Soon. Very soon. This month actually. But on a positive note, he will be here for most of Jack's all-star ball games. Oh and we will be together on our anniversary! Which will be so nice since we missed last year (and countless others too) We were joking last night that our anniversary will likely be spent at the ball park. I told him to buy me a hot dog at the concession stand and I will get him a nacho. ;) Sounds like the perfect date huh? :)

5. "Will J still be in the reserves?" Yes. He is still in the reserves.

  Those are the most common questions. If you have any other questions about it, just let us know.


I hope you have a wonderful day!