The Plan

We’re in the waiting game now. I’m phasing myself out of a job at my current command and planning our move; what to bring with us on the plane, what to send as an “express shipment,” and what to put in storage until we find a new place to live.

I managed to finagle a good deal out of the Navy for my detachment from active duty. When stationed overseas we’re encouraged to complete our final outprocessing paperwork at a Navy base on the mainland. Since I’m from Illinois and much of my family still lives there, including my parents and sister, I arranged to complete my outprocessing at Great Lakes Naval Station north of Chicago. While I’ll have to report in for work through the week, my wife and kids will have more time than they have ever had with grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousins.

Coincidentally, my time at Great Lakes will also coincide with the Christmas and New Years holiday – nice.

Once I’m done at Great Lakes I have 31 days of terminal leave where I will be using up my remaining vacation days before I am completely released from active duty – but I will have no active duty obligations. We’ll be visiting our friends who live in southern Illinois and then flying out to our new home of Denver, Colorado where my wife’s parents live. We’ll be with them until I can find a job with a steady income and get back on our feet.