My Hubby is gonna be a Coastie!

Well, it's high time I got to talk about what's been going on around here. When Brian first started talking about joining the Coast Guard we kept it between us and God because nothing was sure yet. When it got more and more of a reality we talked with our parents and a few friends, but we've come to the jumping off point. He has recently been qualified to join and join he's going to do. 99.9% sure. I admit, when this conversation began I was pretty dang stressed out because joining as an officer in the Coast Guard full time would mean relocation every year, a huge pay cut, and 2 years of him on a ship, away from me. But as we talked about things together and he talked about things with a recruiter a much better decision was reached that he would enter as an enlisted Coast Guard Reservist. This way he'll get to do a lot more of what he's wanting to do like speed around on boats with guns and a lot less of what he's bored about in his current job, sit behind a desk.

This last week he passed 2 of the final hurdles for enlisting which were the ASVAB test and the military physical. I'm going to take a minute here to brag about how smart my husband is! He scored in the 97th percentile on that test which is taken by members of every branch of the military and I couldn't be prouder of him. His scores there and his education mean that he will be eligible for pretty much any training or position that he should choose. His heart is set on Boatswain's Mate (say "Bosun's Mate") which are the people who drive the boats under 65 ft.

Here's a little inspirational (to people like my husband) video. Please turn your sound down or off, I can't endorse this music.

This will bring about some changes around here. He'll be gone for 8 weeks hopefully starting in September for basic training, then another 12 for Boatswain's mate training. Then he would serve one weekend every month for the next six years out of a Texas base.

Here are what I perceive Brian's reasons for joining to be, in order:

5. Have something exciting to do on weekends

4. Catch bad guys

3. Serve our country

2. Get experience for a future career in marine industry

1. Ride around on big boats with guns

Although I'm just a fraction as excited as my husband is about this new endeavor, I do think it will be a great one for him and for our family. I'm very proud of him for taking this step and I look forward to seeing him thrive in this setting as I think he's perfectly suited to it. It's going to suck to have him gone though, huh? I hate it when he's out for a week for work, totally not sure how 3 months is going to look, but we're tough. Have any advice for us? I'll pass any comments along to him as well.