Dark, dark, dark!

I am amazed how dark it gets so early here. When we landed at O'Hare it took us so long to go through all the motions anyway that I didn't really notice when it got dark.

The second day I went to Great Lakes Naval Station to check in for my temporary duty while I do my final admin for leaving the Navy. After doing my business on base, I visited the Navy Exchange at probably 4:30 or so. When I came back out at 5:00, all was dark. I called my father on my cell and asked him who turned out the lights! On Guam it never got dark earlier than 6:00, and that only in the wintertime. I drove to my sister's home through the darkest night - so many cars on the road, so many cars, period! All of them dirty and covered with salt.

My kids are constantly amazed at the darkness too. When we lived on Guam we did dinner around 6:00 and had them in bed during the 7:00 hour. They almost never were out after dark. In fact, that was a special treat when they were out after dark because they could see the moon and the stars very clearly. Now it's dark even when we just go to my sister's house for dinner. They don't get how early it really is.

We're still adjusting to the major time zone shift after arriving on the mainland two days ago. My oldest slept all night last night and was the only one of the family to do so. My wife and I were wide awake at 1 AM (that's 5 PM on Guam). Both the boy and girl twin woke up during that hour, and we were fine with that because we couldn't fall asleep anyway. The girl walked into our room looking for mommy just a few minutes after she convinced the boy to go to sleep, bribing him with a cup of water (his favorite nighttime treat).

I can see how seasonal affective disorder can affect people!

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.