Nearly 3 weeks...
Have gone by since I’ve blogged…YIKES!
I’m gonna simplify as much as possible but, this is gonna be a long one, so hold on for the long ride….
I must say that my ‘reintegration’ to home life after being away for 4 months has been great. I didn’t know what it would be like since this is my first extended deployment and my first deployment since being married…I’ve been the one back home while my husband has been away…I have been the support system…so this was new for me and for him. Thankfully though, things have been great since being back home.
Mom had an amazing time visiting during her trip on the Tiger Cruise. She loved sailing with us from Ft. Lauderdale to Norfolk. Here are a couple shots!
My arrival in Norfolk was a great one, mainly because I was so excited about getting back to my ‘normal life’. I felt so removed from everything….being away from all things that I knew made up my everyday life. Though I missed home very much, I approached everyday of the deployment with my eyes wide open so as to catch every sign, message, and lesson that would come my way. But with all of things I learned and all of the great experiences I had, I was SO excited to be back…so you can imagine my surprise when I looked down on the pier and see a sign that read WELCOME HOME KEISHA GWIN-GOODIN! HUH?!? And holding it was my hubby! I was pretty darn surprised and also so flattered that he came all the way out to Norfolk to greet me and welcome me home knowing that I would be back in IL only two short days later. It was awesome! Thanks Jas. That made me feel so special…and loved.
The day after my arrival, Mom, Jas and I along with many other shipmates got the opportunity to listen to the First Lady speak at a welcome home ceremony for us (the crew of the USNS Comfort) and the many members who also returned from the USS Eisenhower. It was pretty amazing and surreal to see our First Lady standing there, even more beautiful in person, thanking us for what we do and thanking the folks who help military members do what we do. I got to speak to the First Lady, shake her hand and get a pic. It was awesome!
I got back home on the August 1st and have done lots of relaxing, visiting, relaxing and relaxing. It has been really great…A week after getting home, there was yet another surprise in store for me….Jas threw me a “Welcome Home/Happy Belated Birthday party”. Many of my family, Jason’s family and some friends came by to celebrate with me. It was really great. Thanks again Jas, I owe you! I ate way too much and had a few too many drinks, but it was one days and I had an amazing day. I had to go in to work a couple times but for a very short period of time…it was nice to see my co-workers…and catch up a bit…
So now that the deployment is nearly several weeks behind me, I have had the chance to reflect on some things that I miss about the ship and many things I am so glad are so far behind me…so in no particular order, here are the
TOP 20 things (10 of each) I DO and DO NOT miss about life on the USNS Comfort.
DO:
10. Sitting outside on the dark nights and looking at the stars that seemed as is they’d fall right out of the sky.
9. The helo rides
8. The wonderful people I met whom I now call friends
7. The experience of helping people…
6. The peaceful, calming sounds of the ocean
5. The amazing sunsets
4. Seeing so many different and new places in such a short amount of time
3. Quiet times that allowed me to reflect on things that are so important to me
2. The slight sway of the ship that rocked me to sleep when we were underway
1. The calming, peaceful night breezes like none other
DO NOT!
10. All the stairs…holy moly!
9. Wearing my uniform including steel toe boots for 97 hours a day
8. The food…don’t get me wrong, some days it was good….all the others days…not so much!
7. All of the blasted announcements WAAAWAAA WAAA WAAA WAAAAAAAAAA
6. The phones that always seemed to go out when I was on
5. The ridiculously slow internet speed…I started to give up after awhile
4. The scary boat rides to shore
3. My heavy Backpack…most of the time I didn’t even need all that crap!
2. My tiny little sardine can of a bed…I missed my King size pillow top bed
1. The gross, tiny showers!! BLEH
I am currently blogging ‘via satellite’ from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. We got here on Saturday and have been having a great time relaxing and doing as little as possible. The pools (7) here are amazing and the turquoise ocean is gorgeous. Unfortunately I am not a good enough swimmer to be able to swim in the high tide that the ocean is currently offering, so I just sit by and watch the waves crash onto the miles of beach while I sip my Cervezas in the one of the oceanfront restaurants. It has been great. Yesterday, we went on an outdoor adventure. It included lots of zip lining, rock climbing, and lots more…to include my least favorite thing of the day…repelling a wall that was almost straight up and down. It was SCARY!!! But also so much fun.
I am going to get back to relaxing and my Cervezas…I’ll be sure to write soon…
I’m gonna simplify as much as possible but, this is gonna be a long one, so hold on for the long ride….
I must say that my ‘reintegration’ to home life after being away for 4 months has been great. I didn’t know what it would be like since this is my first extended deployment and my first deployment since being married…I’ve been the one back home while my husband has been away…I have been the support system…so this was new for me and for him. Thankfully though, things have been great since being back home.
Mom had an amazing time visiting during her trip on the Tiger Cruise. She loved sailing with us from Ft. Lauderdale to Norfolk. Here are a couple shots!
My arrival in Norfolk was a great one, mainly because I was so excited about getting back to my ‘normal life’. I felt so removed from everything….being away from all things that I knew made up my everyday life. Though I missed home very much, I approached everyday of the deployment with my eyes wide open so as to catch every sign, message, and lesson that would come my way. But with all of things I learned and all of the great experiences I had, I was SO excited to be back…so you can imagine my surprise when I looked down on the pier and see a sign that read WELCOME HOME KEISHA GWIN-GOODIN! HUH?!? And holding it was my hubby! I was pretty darn surprised and also so flattered that he came all the way out to Norfolk to greet me and welcome me home knowing that I would be back in IL only two short days later. It was awesome! Thanks Jas. That made me feel so special…and loved.The day after my arrival, Mom, Jas and I along with many other shipmates got the opportunity to listen to the First Lady speak at a welcome home ceremony for us (the crew of the USNS Comfort) and the many members who also returned from the USS Eisenhower. It was pretty amazing and surreal to see our First Lady standing there, even more beautiful in person, thanking us for what we do and thanking the folks who help military members do what we do. I got to speak to the First Lady, shake her hand and get a pic. It was awesome!
I got back home on the August 1st and have done lots of relaxing, visiting, relaxing and relaxing. It has been really great…A week after getting home, there was yet another surprise in store for me….Jas threw me a “Welcome Home/Happy Belated Birthday party”. Many of my family, Jason’s family and some friends came by to celebrate with me. It was really great. Thanks again Jas, I owe you! I ate way too much and had a few too many drinks, but it was one days and I had an amazing day. I had to go in to work a couple times but for a very short period of time…it was nice to see my co-workers…and catch up a bit…So now that the deployment is nearly several weeks behind me, I have had the chance to reflect on some things that I miss about the ship and many things I am so glad are so far behind me…so in no particular order, here are the
TOP 20 things (10 of each) I DO and DO NOT miss about life on the USNS Comfort.
DO:
10. Sitting outside on the dark nights and looking at the stars that seemed as is they’d fall right out of the sky.
9. The helo rides
8. The wonderful people I met whom I now call friends
7. The experience of helping people…
6. The peaceful, calming sounds of the ocean
5. The amazing sunsets
4. Seeing so many different and new places in such a short amount of time
3. Quiet times that allowed me to reflect on things that are so important to me
2. The slight sway of the ship that rocked me to sleep when we were underway
1. The calming, peaceful night breezes like none other
DO NOT!
10. All the stairs…holy moly!
9. Wearing my uniform including steel toe boots for 97 hours a day
8. The food…don’t get me wrong, some days it was good….all the others days…not so much!
7. All of the blasted announcements WAAAWAAA WAAA WAAA WAAAAAAAAAA
6. The phones that always seemed to go out when I was on
5. The ridiculously slow internet speed…I started to give up after awhile
4. The scary boat rides to shore
3. My heavy Backpack…most of the time I didn’t even need all that crap!
2. My tiny little sardine can of a bed…I missed my King size pillow top bed
1. The gross, tiny showers!! BLEH
I am currently blogging ‘via satellite’ from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. We got here on Saturday and have been having a great time relaxing and doing as little as possible. The pools (7) here are amazing and the turquoise ocean is gorgeous. Unfortunately I am not a good enough swimmer to be able to swim in the high tide that the ocean is currently offering, so I just sit by and watch the waves crash onto the miles of beach while I sip my Cervezas in the one of the oceanfront restaurants. It has been great. Yesterday, we went on an outdoor adventure. It included lots of zip lining, rock climbing, and lots more…to include my least favorite thing of the day…repelling a wall that was almost straight up and down. It was SCARY!!! But also so much fun.
I am going to get back to relaxing and my Cervezas…I’ll be sure to write soon…Thanks for stopping by….
Keisha
Keisha
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2 comments:
I am SO glad you're home... I can't wait to see you!!!!
Ivory
It has been awhile since i read a few of the post. I did have a great time with everyone on the Tiger Cruise and my baby of course for letting me experience that trip that a lot of civilians dont get to see. I got too shake hands with the first lady and enjoyed every moment. It was hot that day wind was blowing and of cousre i had a bad hair day of all the day.It is something that i will not forget thanks again Miss Thang for letting me experience it.
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