Now you see me. Now you don't.

I realized I had not written in a while. I didn't think it was a big deal. But then I started getting e-mails. "Where are you?", "Where have you gone?" Everyone seems quite upset by the idea that I may have disappeared.

Well, ta-da! Good trick, huh? I'm back.

Really I didn't go anywhere. There just hasn't been much to say. Grant went out to sea for a little over a week and then came back for a few days and now is gone again. Most of the drama in my life recently has centered around that. But because of OPSEC, otherwise known as Operational Security, I'm not supposed to post about when or where he's going. This means that all my whining about only getting to spend a few days with him, and all our scrambling to get everything ready went un-blogged-about. Lucky you.

Anyway, I suppose I'm back now. Grant won't be accompanying me on my adventures for a while, but I have managed to wrangle up a small group of friends who are willing to come along with me. They're all GW wives, most have husbands who are Nukes, which means on a certain level we all understand each other. We don't, however, know each other very well at this point. I'll let you know how it goes.

Actually, that reminds me of a story. The other day Grant got restless. We ended up going for a long walk around base at about 8 o'clock at night. When we got close to home, instead of turning left onto our street Grant said, "You want to go to the mini mart?"
"Sure, do you need something."
"No I'm just not ready to go home yet."

So we went, down the dark road with tall warehouses and even taller hills on either side, through a tunnel that echoed our steps and past some buildings we had never been inside and probably never will.

Just as were stepping into the crosswalk a man and woman passed it on the other side of the street. Grant raised a hand in greeting. The man stopped, said in a low voice "I have to talk to this guy."

After we safely navigated the crosswalk Grant shook hands with the man who evidently, works with him on the ship. Then he introduced his wife, Missy. She just got here the day before yesterday. They were living in the Navy Lodge. They would get their apartment on Monday.

"So you're a GW wife." I said. "Do you have any friends here yet."
"No," she answered with a soft southern twang, "I'm all alone on the this great big island."
"Not anymore," I said. "Would you like to come to dinner on Thursday, a few of us get together once a week and have dinner."

I think she walked away a little happier. So did I.

I remember what it was like, to be here all alone. They tell you you're not alone, all the people you meet in your first few days of orientation and paperwork, but they all work here. It's their job to say those sorts of things. It's about the alone-liest thing in the world to be in a barely furnished apartment, half a world away from your family, with your husband somewhere in the middle of the ocean, and not a friend in sight. You feel like you're out to sea yourself. Alone on a raft somewhere, sending messages by bottle and carrier pigeon.

I hope she likes us.

I leave you today with a quote from Ellen Metcalf, "You have to recognize when the right place and the right time fuse and take advantage of that opportunity. There are plenty of opportunities out there. You can't sit back and wait."