You and the Navy. Full Speed Ahead

Well, it's official. My brother and brother-in-law have now joined the Navy. (Side note: I realize this is a picture of Uncle Sam calling people to the Army, but it serves it's purpose here.) This is an exciting and nerve-wracking time for my family. Andrew and Beau have been talking about this for awhile, but the time finally arrived.

Monday, Andrew came down on the shuttle from Abilene to go to MEPS, Military Entrance Processing Station. Mike and I went to visit him at his hotel that night in downtown Dallas. He was SO nervous. I have never seen him so anxious. This is my brother who never gets worked up about anything. I mean, he gets worked up, but for the most part is quite unresponsive and unexcitable. I could not believe how jittery he was. Although, when you think of signing your life over to the government for four years, that will definitely work your nerves! Anyway, Tuesday morning Andrew was standing in line when a nurse came up to him and pulled him out of line. She said that he was pasty white and asked him if he was feeling okay. When he told her that he was sick to his stomach (nerves, no doubt), she immediately pulled him out of line and told him that he would have to wait until the next day to do his physical and paperwork. He was supposed to be going home that night!! Not anymore. Now he was sitting in a room all by himself for the rest of the day waiting to get back to his hotel room to anxiously and nervously await the next day. At this point, his mother and sisters were calling him incessantly to make sure that he was okay and to make sure that this is what he wanted to do. I was a nervous wreck all day! I was crying at the drop of a hat; my stomach was jumping constantly; and every time my phone rang I was getting that sick to my stomach feeling. Oh it was so horrible and draining.

The next day he got up and headed back and got through the physical. Then came the paperwork and career counseling part. Andrew had decided that he wanted to be a Master at Arms, which is the Navy military police. They told him that he couldn't do that, that he had to be a missile technician. They told him he had to do that or he couldn't be in the Navy. Ever. (Which, by the way, I was calling serious bull on because since when is the military turning able-bodied men away????) Because Andrew scored really high on his testing, they wanted him to do something that fewer people test high enough for. So they had him sign a contract for a missile technician on a submarine. Of course, this is pending a lot of testing that they have to go through to determine whether they can stand to be in an underwater tin can for long periods of time. (Pretty sure I would fail those tests big time...Pretty sure they wouldn't allow a doggie paddling woman on a sub anyway, but that's beside the point.) So Andrew was sworn in on Wednesday afternoon and then went back to Abilene.

Beau headed to Dallas for MEPS on Thursday, and went through his process on Friday. I think he considered doing submarine work as well, but he decided against it because he would be away from Jayme, Gaite, and Paige too much. He wanted to be a Master at Arms and be a diver as well. Divers are apparently in high demand, so I am sure they were thrilled to see Beau come through!! This is a great opportunity for him, and it gives him some reassurance that his family will have the benefits that they need. Especially with two new little babies! He was sworn in Friday afternoon and headed back to his family that evening.

All in all, I think that this is a great opportunity for Andrew because he finally feels like he is doing something with his life. I must agree. I am so excited that he has found something that he is excited about and is considering doing as a career. I am excited about the opportunity for Beau because this is a stepping stone in his future goals for law enforcement. Both of them are leaving in a few months for Basic Training. I will keep you posted as things progress. We are so proud of them!!!