Life Lately: An Update on All Fronts
Happy Wednesday Everyone! The past few weeks have been pretty wild, and I never had a chance to post our Month 11 Marriage update so I thought that I would just give a few quick life updates today. I write a lot about things we are doing, but I also love to share occasionally about how we are doing because I feel that that is more authentic and authenticity is of the utmost importance here. This post is a little bit of both :-)
Life lately:
John soloed and started the Aerobatics portion of Primary, which he has been loving. Typically once students complete their solos they gain "cred" with their instructors, and the rapport is a little more relaxed. Aero is fast paced, (he will hopefully solo on Friday, only a week after his last solo) but John has been enjoying flying everyday and learning the maneuvers. Check out this and this for a better idea of the type of stuff he has been working on. (Total adrenaline junkie..)
He also flew his first night flight on Monday night, which he said was nerve wracking and awesome all at once. While he was flying I had a movie night with some girlfriends (Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason-never gets old..) and when I got home I looked up into the sky and was amazed that one of those tiny moving lights could be my husband. Wild. It's sort of hard to explain, but when I listen to him talk about flying ie. actually being able to fly a plane I feel so awestruck at the fact that that is what he does everyday when he goes to work. It's hard to articulate, and that is just one of the many reasons I am proud of John, but it reminds me of what a blessing it is to be married to a man that I so strongly admire.
Our best friends moved away, and it is tough. Our friends Haley and Travis moved to Kingsville, Texas, last Friday, where Travis will start advanced training for Jets. While we are so excited for them as he moves forward in his career, we were also so sad to see them go. They were like family to us, and we will miss them so much. I have lived in a few different places over the past decade, (Boarding school, Scotland, Massachusetts, Virginia) and said my fair share of goodbyes. Leaving Fredericksburg (My college town) and all of the incredible friends I made there was probably one of the hardest transitions I have made so far, but I would say that this goodbye was a close second. In many ways it seems like a milestone in our Navy career, because this was the just the first of many times that we will say goodbye to sweet friends that we have made in the places the Navy sends us, whether because they are moving or because we are moving. So begins the process of finding the balance between letting myself be a little sad and the "get used to it" attitude. The truth I will cling to is that just because we don't know exactly how long people will be in our immediate lives there is no excuse not to pursue deep and meaningful friendships. The good news is that we have so many amazing friends still here with us in Pensy, so I know that we won't be lonely, and Haley and Trav are just a road trip away.
One sweet outcome of Haley and Trav's move is that I have been so reminded of God's faithfulness over the past week. As I have thought back over the 11 months we spent together here in Pensacola, John and Travis supporting each other through flight school, Haley and I supporting each other as we learned to support our husbands, and all of us traversing new marriages together-- I realized that their friendship was the answer to a prayer that I, as well as many other people, prayed for months leading up to our move to Pensacola. Because of them, John and I know more of His goodness and His provision, and are assured that He does hear our prayers and delights in answering them. We are nearing the part of Flight school where many of our friends will select and move away, (unless they get Helos) and I am so grateful for this perspective now, at the beginning. This is one the harder parts of Navy life, but I am comforted by the fact that we do not live our lives at the whim of the Navy, but rather in the hands of the Almighty.
Finally, I started a new job (sort of)! For a few months now I have been baking homemade pound cakes and muffins for a boutique bed and breakfast in downtown Pensacola, The Lee House. I was filling in at the front desk occasionally for them, but I just started working there consistently two days a week. It has been a blast, and I adore the awesome team I work with. I have a little bit of hospitality experience from my summer spent interning with FOCUS, but I am excited to learn way more about the industry. Lee House also hosts the most beautiful weddings and events, so I am pumped to get a little peek into the Events industry as well! I have been training there these past few weeks, so that plus my normal work hours at Bluetique along with baking and writing at home have kept me pretty busy the past few days, but I am loving every second of it.
What's new with you?! Anything cool that you have been experiencing or learning about? I would love to hear!
xoxo,
Emily
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