Changes. Goodbye Navy.

This has been sitting in my draft box for a bit now. It has taken several tries over the past few weeks to finish it. I am finally posting it. 

A few weeks ago our lives took a change of course. David was told he was being "ERB'd" out of the Navy. ERB stands for  Enlisted Retention Board. It is a board of people who looked at every enlisted rate in the Navy and decided who they would lay off from the Navy. A lot of people stay in the military for the security of a job. No one expects the Navy or military to lay people off. Because of the economy though no one is getting out and people are still enlisting. This is why the Navy needed to go through the ERB process.

David is a Fire Controlman First Class with almost 14 years in the Navy. He will hit his 14 year mark on February 2. For his rate, rank, and time in the Navy (FC1's with 7-15 years) they cut 25% of the people in that section. Each rate, rank, and time in section has different percentage that they were cutting. David's rate has been overmanned for a long time now. It has been hard to advance off the promotion exams over the past few years. We knew that being "ERB'd" out of the Navy was a possibility but it was something I had really thought of. I was focusing more on David picking orders and being positive about him staying in the Navy.

He is 6 years away from retirement and we had everything laid out. We had ideas for duty stations for the next 6 years until he retired. We had planned on me finishing my BA and starting my Masters before he got out and then after he retired I would get a job and he would go to school. It seems Heavenly Father and the Navy has other plans for us.What those plans are I am not really sure. But I know there is a reason for David being laid off from the Navy.

We have already made plans for the next chapter in our lives. We are going to continue on the plan we already had laid out expect a bit smushed together. This summer we are going to be moving to Idaho. David has applied to several schools which he wants to attend. He is going to use his GI Bill to go back to school and complete his degree in Engineering. He has three schools he is applying too. We are hoping his number 1 pick will accept him. We have narrowed it down to two cities that we want to move to and everything just lies with what school David goes to.

It is going to be weird having David home and both of us going to school. With the move this changes my plan a bit for when I will graduate by a semester but that's okay. I will a year and half left of school to complete my BA when we move. So for a year and a half we will both be students. Wow. That is a weird thought for me.

We have been talking to the girls about moving to Idaho. They were okay with the idea at first. Then Lillie really put it together when she realized she'd have to change schools again and she would be moving away from her friends again. She is not thrilled about this. Ivy is doing okay with it because she knows she will be starting school with Lillie in the fall. And Holli isn't worried at all in her little two-year old world. This will be the first time that the girls will ever know Daddy being home with no duty, work ups out to sea, or deployments. We will be able to really connect more.

I am sure this all sounds like we are happy and fine with everything that has happened. I am making it sound way more easy than it is. It has taken a lot for me to get here though. I cried. I cursed the Navy. I got upset. I was confused and frustrated. I have been on an emotional roller coaster the last few weeks since we found out. It hasn't been easy on either us but David is great when it comes to things like this. He plans and is practical where I am emotional and then plan.

There was a point where I was very cynical towards the Navy because of what happened. David made a comment about wondering which uniforms to keep, etc. And I asked why he want to to keep any. He then reminded me that while he was being laid off from the Navy it hasn't been all bad. Then I started thinking of all the things I wouldn't have had if he wasn't in the Navy. We never would have met if he hadn't transferred to SWOS in RI. We wouldn't have our three girls. I wouldn't have my two best friends. I wouldn't have met the wonderful people that I have met. I wouldn't have traveled to the places we have been able to go if it wasn't for him being in the Navy. I wouldn't have connected with other awesome military spouse wives through the blogging world. We wouldn't have made all the great memories we have together if it hadn't been for the Navy. So while I still am lost about why all of this is happening, I am no longer cynical or upset about the Navy. I have accepted what is happening and we are planning for our future.

We will be moving sometime this summer before David's school starts and after my summer sessions end. We will soon be a civilian family. We will soon be students. We will soon be living near some family. We will soon be on a new adventure. Because that is what this will be. We will be going from the Navy adventure to Student Family adventures. I am looking forward to it and I am also terrified of it. And while I won't be a Navy spouse anymore I hope I won't lose the wonderful milspouse friends I've made.