Few Friends

Moving day. It is upon me. Justin has been in Jacksonville for almost a week. Now it's my turn. I had been saying that I felt that I was in denial about the whole moving process. Which is not hard since I do not have to do any packing or anything like that. Up until 3 hours ago, my house looked completely the same (with the exception of a missing handsome husband :)) Now that I have taken everything down off the walls, begun my last load of laundry, and have started making a list of belongings that I need to make sure to bring with me, I am starting to get sad.

This move has been harder on me than the previous one from Enid to Corpus Christi. I could not quite figure it out. I mean, Enid is in Oklahoma. All of my family is in Oklahoma as well as all my friends. I had a job that I loved and a little rental house Justin and I could call our own. I was thrilled to be making this move down south and see what else was out there.

A few days ago, I was relaying this thought process to my friend, Jennie, she brought up a good point--- Moving to Corpus Christi was new and exciting for me! I was going to a place I had never been before. I was going to enjoy warm weather, the beach, and all of the fun stuff living by the gulf had to offer. Now, 6 months later, another move is upon me. Except this this time, it is not exactly new and exciting. I have moved away from home, I know what it feels like to live by the beach and enjoy gorgeous weather. The newness of my new lifestyle has worn off and right now I just want some stability. That Jennie, she knows what she is talking about! Which brings me to my next point...

I have been blessed to have two wonderful women enter my life during my time here in Corpus Christi. Jennie and Shannon have been my rocks the last 6 months. Both have such valuable things to offer and contribute to our friendship and I am forever thankful for the both of them.

I joke around a lot, but I truly adore Jennie. This awesome Marine pilot knows how to have a good time, be spontaneous, and doesn't take any crap. She accepted me as the other "staple girl" in our group with open arms. She always has a couch for me to sleep on, is available for nice conversation at a weekly dinner date, and is an all around wonderful friend. She will have an amazing career as a C-130 pilot and I could not be more happy for her.

God truly had something to do with Shannon and I becoming such great friends. How ironic that we both got our masters degrees in counseling (at the same college I might add), both married Navy pilots, and both have ended up down here in Corpus Christi?! I definitely look up to Shannon, and her and Kyle have been great to Justin and I. They are always willing to give advice and Shannon has helped me in more than one stressful situation! I always looked forward to our weekly walks. It was nice to know someone who honest-to-goodness knew exactly what you were going through and is able to help process the situations. Even if all I needed to do was rant, Shannon was there and I hope I was able to extend the same courtesy. I have also thoroughly enjoyed getting to know her daughters better and I will miss them dearly as well.

Although leaving my friends makes me sad. I realize that I can choose to be upset, or see the situation in a more positive light. I have been a navy wife for a little over a year and I have already met so many different and amazing people! I try to not see it as saying "good-bye", but more "see you later". The beauty of the military is that you never know when you could cross paths with the people that you have met again! You just never know! You can tell me the chances of that are slim all you want. For me, I take comfort in knowing that there is always that possibility that I could end up in the same place as they are one of these days.

So, as my days in Corpus Christi turn into hours, I want to say thank you, Jennie and Shannon. What amazing women you both are and I am truly honored to have been blessed with your friendship! I love you both!

Military Moving Moments

Well folks, as you all know Justin and I will be making our way to Jacksonville, Florida soon! He will be leaving on Monday and I will leave 8 days later. I guess we were pretty spoiled on our moves to Enid and Corpus Christi because this move has been TERRIBLE!

Terrible almost does not begin to describe the anxiety and stress this move has caused me. Within the first 2 days of Justin getting orders, I cried, yelled, threw my hands up in the air, and was all around exhausted by the time we got everything figured out (which took a good week or so).

Without boring you with the excruciating details, I thought I might impart some words of wisdom. Whether you are military or not, I hope that this helpful tips can help on YOUR future move!

1. Get it out of your head right now. Everything will not go perfectly. This will save you a lot of grief in the future. Going in with a Plan B can help you not wallow in self pity every time something goes wrong. Go with Plan B, stay flexible, and move on!

2. Stay positive! There's no point in being a Negative Nancy when there is absolutely nothing you can do to change the situation. I was pretty upset about the fact that I have to stay behind a week to wait on the movers to get here. This will be the longest Justin and I have gone without seeing each other since we have been married. Not to mention I have to make this 1,100 mile journey all by myself. However, I realized that I get an extra week to hang out with my friends! So, no complaints here!

3. Don't be scared to ask for help. Offering pizza and beer can go a long way. Plus, most people either have or will be in a situation similar to yours in the near future. So, most people are more than willing to help a friend out.

4. Remember to enjoy the adventure! Even for me, remembering this gets hard some times. I get wrapped up in the moment, start getting sad/mad about moving, and get overwhelmed. However, the big picture is that I am once again going to live in a place I never thought I would! I get to share this with the love of my life and I will make wonderful memories along the way!

These pointers are helpful for me and I hope they help you as well! If Justin and I ever get brave enough to move ourselves, I am sure I will have more "helpful hints". Until then, I will enjoy the movers doing all the heavy work :)

I sure am going to miss this house. And the view!

Wings of Gold

I know that I posted over 100 pictures on my Facebook about Justin's winging day, but I thought it would be nice to really talk about that wonderful, fun-filled, blessed day.

Justin and I had 6 family members from both sides come and enjoy this very special occasion with us. We were sure they would be shown a good time seeing what Justin did on a day-to-day basis during his time here in Corpus Christi. We had a schedule to follow and we would be busy all day. I think I was even shocked at just how genuinely happy Justin and I were.


The day started by pilots and family members gathering in a building near the squadron for breakfast and the soft winging. The soft winging is where the pilots get a new patch on their flight suits that have their wings of gold embroidered. I got teary-eyed just from the soft winging.

Justin getting his soft wings put on. Look how happy he is!

After breakfast, the soft winging, and already a lot of pictures taken, it was off to the flight line to see what this T-44C was all about! Justin's class was also selling a variety of t-shirts, which our family gladly just about bought out. We were able to get into the T-44C and Justin had a great time being our "tour guide" and "expert pilot". I love listening to him talk about the airplanes at times like these because he just sounds so dang smart! We also got the chance to take part in the flight simulator or Sim. The Sim that I got to experience here in Corpus was not as exciting as the Sim I experienced in Enid, but fun, nonetheless!

Me acting like I actually know what I'm doing. I'm so hardcore :)

Me, my naval aviator, and I joked his "second wife", the T-44C

 

After ogling over the T-44C and flying the simulator, we headed on over to the chapel for the blessing of the wings. Justin pinned a set of wings onto the tapestry. I said a prayer and of course, many pictures followed.

Blessing of the wings. I am sure they will stay there for a long time!

What a busy day we had had already! However, we were far from over. Now it was time to head over to the house, scarf down a bit of lunch, and get ready for the ceremony! The ceremony was held at the base Bay Club. There were 10 pilots getting winged that day from VT-31 and VT-35 and I was proud of every single one of them!

There was an invocation, a guest speaker, and all of that good stuff that comes with any graduation. One thing I did not expect though was the Spouse Appreciation part of the ceremony. I knew Justin had bought flowers for me, but I was unaware that there was a whole section of the ceremony dedicated to the spouses of the pilots. I shook hands with all the important higher-ups, held my beautiful bouquet, received my military spouse certificate, and did it all with a huge smile plastered on my face. After 2 years of being behind-the-scenes, it was nice to be publicly acknowledged for the hard work that I put into this too.

Me with my handful of goodies. What a great experience!

Then came what everyone had been waiting for. It was time to get these pilots winged! My husband went from a student naval aviator to a NAVAL AVIATOR! What a cool thing for him to get to say now! I had been looking forward for a long time to pin those wings on him. I was proud that this would be my job and my job alone. Pinning the wings on his held a lot of significance for me. Yes, Justin studied very hard and stayed very dedicated throughout the entire process and he did a great job! But, I feel it was also a team effort. I gladly took up doing most things around the house, I went through flash cards and radio calls with him, kept things positive when he was down. That's really what marriage is all about, anyway. Teamwork. So, looking at each other as I pinned those wings of gold on his uniform is something I will not soon forget.

What a beautiful and happy moment for us both.

My official naval aviator!

After a fun reception, mingling with friends, and dinner with family, it was time for the party! The winging party was held at Doc's which overlooked the bay. It was a beautiful view with a great group of people. I will not say much else besides fun was had by all :)

Such a fun and beautiful ending to a perfect day.

I love looking back on the pictures of this day. Justin and I look so blissfully happy. My dad even made the comment that we looked about as happy as we did on our wedding day! I completely agree. Definitely the second best day of my life. I will not put words into Justin's mouth, but I feel like this was such a validating day for the both of us. All of our hard work and sacrifice has paid off. Justin begins his career as a naval aviator and for the first time, I feel like my role as a navy wife means something. I genuinely look forward to what the years hold for us. I am READY!!

Simplicity

When Justin and I first got married, people would constantly ask, "So, how is married life so far?!" I almost did not know how to answer that. My usual response was something like, "It's great! I love being married, but I feel like we aren't having a 'usual' first year of marriage because of pilot training." Some times, I thought people kind of understood, other times, I feel they just thought I was nuts. I thought I was nuts too, but the last few days proved to me that I was right all along.

Let me explain. Although Justin is PHYSICALLY here while in pilot training, there were many deployment symptoms (for lack of a better word). During primary, I saw him for maybe 30 minutes a day. He would be on base for 12 hours, come home, eat dinner, go to the guest room to study for a few more hours, sleep. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. When we traveled south for advanced, training was less intense, but Justin was still having to throw himself into studying and making sure he did well on all of his flights. I knew the importance of studying, so for the past year, I have been doing a lot on my own.

So, not exactly a dictionary description of a deployment. I was comforted in knowing no matter how busy either of us were that day, he would still be sleeping next to me that night, however, I would try to pick up the slack around the house, make dinner dates with friends, work out, read, whatever! I had to fend for myself because most of the time Justin was either flying or upstairs studying. I am always thankful for the time that he is physically here with me, because I know that a deployment is not too far off. However, now that pilot training is over (for now)...

I FEEL LIKE WE ARE TRULY A MARRIED COUPLE!

Hallelujah! I have told some friends that the transition from living in pilot training world to non-pilot training world can be tough. I feel like our whole lifestyle switches around. But, once we get past the initial, "Oh, you can do the laundry now!" "I'm going to dinner with a friend. What do you mean you will not have anything to do?" it really is great. Justin and I enjoyed a two-and-a-half week vacation in Oklahoma and the last few days we have been just hanging out. No flights to study for. No crazy hours. He is here and we get to just hang out! I never thought I would see the day where I would feel so normal just by being able to cook dinner together, or to spend 3 full days together (with the occasional interruption for paperwork). Although we will be headed to Jacksonville soon and it will be another couple of months of studying, flight planning, etc. I am relishing in this time together to be just Mr. and Mrs. Waldrup. Not Mr. and Mrs. Waldrup and airplane. 

I hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th! Now, this pilot's wife is going to go snuggle with her TV-watching husband :)

I Have A Dream! At Least, I Think I Should.

Last night I could not sleep. This has become a rare phenomenon since the end of grad school. I thought about just getting up and blogging, but my stubborn self kept my butt in bed until I finally drifted off to sleep about two hours later. I have always been happy and content with my life (especially over the past year, hello! awesome husband alert!), but I could not help but notice that I am missing one crucial part of what I feel makes me ME!

Meaning.

Even as I am typing this I feel stupid. I have so much to be thankful for and so many blessings around me. Why am I so caught up in feeling like I have no meaning right now? I know myself well enough to know what I thrive on: relationships and making a difference. I have plenty of relationships, both here and back home, I just do not feel like I am doing anything worthwhile down here. My dad had told me, "Julia, not everyone gets the opportunity to have a job that is full of meaning. Sometimes people have to work solely to provide for their families." This would be a valid argument if I had a family to support (sorry, Dad. I know you are reading :)) And while I pray to God that my time will come, I cannot help feeling the way I do. I am missing the validation of knowing that I am helping someone, that I am making a difference, and that what I do matters. It makes me want to cry just typing these words out. I honestly had no idea how much I would be affected by no longer being in my element of constantly helping someone or working toward something. I want so badly to know where my education and experience will take me and honestly, I think I am just getting a little antsy. 

I always try to see things in a positive light. I try not to be a Debbie Downer. However, I believe writing this blog is exactly what I needed today. I needed to get my thoughts and feelings out even if they are somewhat depressing. All I can do is keep praying that something good will come along and that I will have the opportunity to be a shining light. 

P.S. I can see how many people view these blogs, but I hardly get any comments at all! Comment away, people! Ya creepers ;)

Keeping Independence While Being A Dependent?

Being a novice military wife, I feel like there is a lot I have yet to learn. I feel that sometimes there is this "military wife mold" that I am expected to fit into, and quite frankly, I am not feeling it. The expectations of military wives are weird to me and the stereotypes honestly render me speechless sometimes. I have lost count of how many times I have been asked why I am working and why am I not just spending my time relaxing. Because, ya know, we are not going to be here for very long. And to that I say, "Because I like being independent!"

Of course this point I try to make seems to be coming more and more moot. Independence? As a military spouse? No way! For cryin' out loud my husband is my SPONSOR! I cannot think of a more demeaning word. Every time I walk into the Navy Health Clinic or need to make a call anywhere on base I can almost here the Sara McLachlan song in the back of my head. It makes me feel like I am a charity case and THANK GOODNESS my military husband is willing to sponsor me. I have started to rattle of his social security number instead of mine on the rare occasion someone cares to know mine, career is put on hold (sometimes I feel like it is a distant dream), and just trying to find where I fit in. Sometimes it seems that military life is quicksand and I am slowly sinking. Until I am no longer me, I am part of it.

Don't get me wrong. There are many pluses that come along with this kind of lifestyle. I never thought I would have the opportunity to live in all the different places I do, I am meeting a ton of awesome people, and heck! my husband has a REALLY COOL job! I love being able to support Justin and watch him achieve his dream. I just hate that I feel like I am losing my independence, which I have always been so proud of.

So, my question to my readers. Military spouse or not. How do you keep your sense of independence when starting your career is not an option? Anybody else feel the same way I do?

Paddling Along

It has come to my attention (via myself) that I have only updated this blog ONCE since moving down to Corpus. I really wish I had more to write about, but honestly, I find myself feeling more boring than exciting. My dad and I have come to calling this phenomenon, "Just paddling along." He is more than content with just paddling along, where as I get antsy (it must be a 20-something thing). So, I started thinking back and I realize I have done some things worth noting...

Toured the aircraft carrier, the USS Lexington

Learned to paddleboard

Went to my first airshow in Kingsville

Found out India LOVES chasing jackrabbits

On top of that I have also thrown myself into cooking different things, crafting, and working out (I am IN LOVE with Zumba on Kinect!) I currently work for a property management company and it keeps me busy during the day which is good! I go on weekly walks with my friend from grad school, Shannon, and I have enjoyed getting to meet a lot of great people in Justin's flight! I feel like I am starting to settle down, but of course we have an impending move in about 2 months. Off to Jacksonville we will go for Justin's FINAL stage of training. Then it's off to the real stuff? Whatever lies ahead I am READY!

Of course, being in such a beautiful and new place does not come without the hardships. I hate feeling so disconnected from my friends and family back in Oklahoma. I have to miss out on graduations, special holidays, etc. Like anyone else, I definitely have my fair share of ups and downs. There are good things and bad things about any situation and sometimes I feel like I am disappearing into Justin's life and I don't want to lose sight of who I am as a person. I know how important it is for me to have things that are just MINE. When the bad days do come around, I have to remind myself that God has a great plan for ME and my time will come.

All in all I am really enjoying my time here in south Texas. Justin is not nearly as stressed out as he was during primary in Enid and I love getting to see him live his dream and reach his goals! He works so hard and is so dedicated, he deserves everything he gets! I can't wait to pin those wings on him on July 13!

I guess that about wraps it up for now! I'll try to post more often, but rest assured, Justin, myself, India, and Sir Swimsalot are doing great. As the surfers say...The stoke is high!! :)