And so it goes...

"Home is where the Navy sends us". It is our mantra as a military wife - you can insert any branch of the military for "Navy" and it still works. If you are REALLY lucky sometimes it is "Home is where we really want to go and the Navy happens to have an opening for us". I feel fortunate that we've been able to use THAT line for DevilDoc's entire career. Yes, yes - you read that right. We CHOSE to come to Great Lakes. Obviously we hadn't been here before! But, I am an Indiana girl and since we couldn't get in at Crane, IN we took the next best thing to be close to my family. We had just spent 3 years across the Pacific ya know.

When we married he already had orders to NAS Pensacola. After that we CHOSE to go to IDC school in San Diego. From there we CHOSE to go to Hawaii to join the in-laws who were also stationed there. Then this choice. You hear many people call this place "Great Mistakes" but I just can't seem to force those words from my mouth. To do so, to me, would mean that our time here was a bad choice - a mistake. It wasn't.

It was NO mistake that DevilDoc was selected as a CPO when we got here. It was no mistake that I took that train ride into the city with a group of women I had.never.met - those are the same women that became my confidants over the past 2 years. It was no mistake to then go to a complete stranger's house for a potluck lunch/playdate with more women I had.never.met. It was there I met my parallel twin. It was no mistake that I finally began my Tastefully Simple business. It was BECAUSE of my business that I met (or re-met?) my Hawaii connection. How can I call those things mistakes? It is NO mistake that DevilDoc went on to more college while we lived here. Completing all the necessary pre-requisites to apply for the PA program that will lead to a commission. It is no mistake that I found a WONDERFUL school for my children to attend and a job for myself to boot. How lucky am I to be able to come away from that experience with ANOTHER friend I know I will have for life? It is no mistake.

It is no mistake that I volunteered for a role helping families in our military command. That is what I DO - I simply adore HELPING. It certainly was no mistake that I was a part of a team for that endeavor, it is no "one woman show". It was no mistake that I was asked to co-chair an assembly of volunteers. It was the perfect fit for me. It wasn't what I set out to do, what I WANTED to do would have been a mistake.

To call it "Great Mistakes" would be to trivialize what my life - our life - has been here. No mistakes. Only learning opportunities. The chance to better oneself in the face of adversity.

I will miss you Great Lakes. I will miss your morning colors and the call for Taps. I will miss the cadence of recruits being molded into sailors. I will miss the Navy way. We are off to a place where they say things like "I'm going on post" or "I need to stop at the BX". *shiver* I'm still gonna call it "base" and "the exchange" just like I still refer to the "Hoosier Dome" and "Deer Creek".

But mostly I will miss the people who remain at Great Lakes when we leave. I have been reminded over and over the past few weeks what a truly amazing group of people I have surrounding me. And it isn't just friends and personal relationships. I have developed unforgettable professional relationships here as well. I feel so incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet individuals from all walks of the Navy. From commanding officers to students at NHCS, spouses with 30 years of experience in the Navy to those who have JUST married a sailor. It's EVERYONE who makes this place tick - makes it so unique. It truly is like no other place in the Navy. These people, my friends I call them all, these are the people I will miss. I have had more "going away", "last hoorah" and "farewell" events than my mind can get ahold of. It feels good to know I will be missed - but what feels even better is to know that I have in some way - touched each and every one of the people at those events.

And so it goes...thank you for calling me friend. Thank you for taking me as I am - it is no easy pill to swallow, that I know for sure. Thank you for listening, for crying, for celebrating, for tolerating - for being there. Thank you for being a part of my life - OUR life.

Without you, it very well could have been "Great Mistakes".