Kurt left on a three-week deployment today, which is actually a very good thing. As much as I miss him when he's gone, I seriously needed a break.
It's been non-stop since we found out he's been selected for Chief. He had duty on Friday (he'd switched with someone who needed that Friday off a loooooong time ago), which is why he couldn't come home and present me with new anchors like he wanted to. Usually when he has duty on a Friday, he's home by 10am on Saturday. Not this time. He had all kinds of errands to run to get things for initiation. And then since I had to come over to meet with the Command Master Chief (aka CMC), it just made sense for him to stay over there till I got there. It almost looked like he wasn't coming home at all on Saturday; as it was, we didn't get home till late Saturday night.
Then yesterday we had to get ready to take him back to the ship so he could get underway this morning. There was no way for him to leave this morning and get to the ship before liberty expired at 5:30am, so that's why we took him over yesterday. Unfortunately the ferries were extremely backed up (as usual on a Sunday afternoon), and we decided to drive around the looooooong way. We probably got to the other side at the same time we would have, had we taken the ferry, and for about the same amount of money!
All weekend we've been thinking, breathing, sleeping Navy and Chief. It's more than time for a rest from it all! And with him being underway for the next three weeks, he can get a lot of his initiation done without the distraction of trying to get home to Grace and me. Plus the CMC is setting up a time for them to get their uniforms from the uniform shop in San Diego, which is much more equipped for the needs of the Chief Selectee than the tiny little fleet exchange on Kurt's home base. So that works out well.
The meeting with the CMC wasn't nearly what I thought it was going to be. For one thing, I was the only wife there that had "dressed up." I was wearing cropped trousers and a nice blouse, whereas everyone else was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Secondly, the CMC didn't really tell us anything. We were told that the initiation process was going to be fairly intense, and we could get as involved or not as we chose to be. But it was a good chance to meet the other five selectees' wives.
My brain is still running a million miles a minute. I keep trying to imagine Kurt wearing khakis (I tried in vain to find a photo of US Navy khakis on the internet), and I can't do it. It just doesn't look right in my brain!! I know he'll look sharp, though... even better than he looked in dungarees! ;o) I have to admit, I'm selfishly glad he made it because now the only patches I have to sew on will be his coveralls, and those are easy to do! No more sewing his rank/rate badge onto the sleeve of his dungaree shirt (which is just about impossible), and no more sewing hash marks onto the sleeve of his dress uniforms! I've already told him whatever needs to be sewn onto his new dress uniforms will have to be professionally done. I want it to look good, and I'm not sure I can do the best job.
Uniforms are going to run us a pretty penny. We've been told that a full Chief's seabag will be about $1300. Fortunately the Navy is going to give us about $1000 to help offset the costs, but it will be a while before we see that. Plus the more expensive uniforms (the dinner dress runs about $500 per set) aren't required, so we can save money that way. I doubt Kurt will ever wear dinner dress, although if we ever do something like a renewal of vows, we'll splurge for it.
My father really wanted to present Kurt with the anchors Daddy wore when he was a Chief 30 years ago, but he doesn't think he can find them. It's a shame; it would be so cool for my husband to wear my father's anchors! I think it's awesome my daddy even thought of that.
Kurt's pinning ceremony takes place in mid-September. Unfortunately his father won't be able to come, but his mother and his cousin's son is coming to see him put on Chief. I've already been informed I'm going to pin his anchors on him, which is a huge honor for me. I can't wait!!