Sleeping on a Rock Pillow - Part 2

So, now that I've given you some insight into our internal thought process, I'll just give you the basic lowdown on what's new with the Clark clan.  Jude is in the process of enlisting with the Coast Guard.  :)  For most of you, this will come as a shock- it definitely shocked us!  Becoming a military family was never something we ever considered.  In fact, if you had told me two years ago that this is where life would take us I would have laughed- or cried- or screamed- or all of the above, but now that we're here, we are excited about the possibility ahead of us!

We anticipate a lot of questions, so we've assembled the most popular together here in our:

 Clark Coastie Q&A

1.  Why?  -  The most basic answer is, "why not!?"  However, the more complex answer has to do with Judah wanting to move into a career as a chef. Over time it has become evident to us that this is what Judah loves and is the most passionate about- not to mention he is insanely talented!  So, for the past couple of years Judah has been taking culinary classes and is hoping to transition to a career in the culinary arts.  The problem we are facing is that in order to start out a new career as a chef, Judah would need to start at the bottom, and essentially take a severe pay cut.  Considering our current situation, this would not be a possibility for us, so we started looking into other options.  Here in Alabama we have many friends who are Coastie families, and we have learned a LOT about the military life from them.  I don't remember who initially mentioned the idea of Judah joining the Coast Guard as a chef, but I do remember that he immediately shut out the idea.  He said that he wanted to be working as a real chef, not just "scooping slop on to people's plates."  Well, I was intrigued, so I started doing some research anyway.  

I found out that the military is actually desperate for individuals who are willing to cook, and they are even giving bonus's out to enlistees who will agree to work in the kitchen.  Not only that, but I learned that the whole idea of the military just "scooping out slop" is an antiquated one, and in fact, the chefs have a lot of leeway and culinary freedom to prepare whatever dishes they choose.  Over the years there has been an increase in nutritional awareness throughout the military, and they have even developed a "top chef" type of competition where the best chefs from each of the four military branches come together to compete once a year.  Additionally, the Coast Guard would pay for Judah to take as many cooking classes as he wanted, and he could finish his BA in Hospitality management for free.  Essentially, I realized that it is quite likely that Judah could not only get the experience he wanted to further his career, but he could also continue his education for free.  There is also the major bonus of Judah being able to serve his country (which he had mentioned to me in the past that he had always wanted to do), and all the practical bonus's such as free awesome healthcare, the GI Bill which can pay for 4 years of college for one of our children, veteran's benefits, possibility of full pension at retirement... etc.   I thought my findings definitely deserved a second conversation.  Now Judah was intrigued, and our second conversation turned to a third, and a fourth, and a fifth, and so on...

We considered all of our options, we laid out the pros and cons, and talked to everyone we could think of who might be able to give us some solid- and unbiased- information.  We prayed a LOT about this, and I can definitely say it was not a decision we made easily.  We wanted to be sure that if Judah decided to pursue this that we were both on the same page, that we were going into it as a team, and that whether it worked out or it didn't- we would be united, and openhanded about everything.  Up to this point, we are still on the same page, and we feel really confident that pursuing this is not just the best decision for Judah, but for our family, too.

2- When?- This is the impossible question because there is no way for us to answer it.  We have been told that there are no guarantees with the military until you get official orders, so we know that there is no way to even speculate a timeline.  The biggest hurdle right now is for Judah to get through the rest of the enlistment process without any problems.  Essentially he has two tests to go, and although we don't anticipate there being any issues, like I said before- there are no guarantees with the military.  People get disqualified every day because of things like an injury they had when they were 12, or a mistake they made when they were 16.  Lucky for us, Judah is healthy as an ox, but still- you never know.  

All this said- barring any unforeseen problem- Judah will go to boot camp at some point this year.  We are really hoping for an earlier ship date- something before September- but worst case scenario he'll leave Nov./Dec.  He'll be at boot camp for seven weeks in Cape May, NJ, and directly following graduation from boot he'll fly to San Francisco, CA for his A-school (this is where he gets his job training.)  This school is another 12 weeks.  I can see him briefly between boot and A-school, and I can visit him while he is in CA, but other than those brief visits we will be apart for almost 5 months.  We are renting our home because I would like to move closer to my in-laws so they can help me when I'm alone with Solomon.   They are the only family we have in the area, and currently they live about a half and hour away.  We'd also like to save some money if possible since Judah will take a temporary pay-cut until he's done with his A-school, so we are looking at rentals in Fairhope, AL- right near my in-laws.  It's actually an ADORABLE town- definitely my favorite place in the area down here- and we're actually really excited about the potential of living down there for a season.  We realize we might be renting earlier than needed, but because we don't have any way of knowing Judah's ship date, we figure that too early is better than too late.

3-  Where?  Again- it's impossible to answer this.  The best answer is that, we'll be wherever Judah gets placed!  If he ends up on a large boat (called a cutter), which is the most likely scenario because that is where most food service workers are currently needed, he will most likely have a two year tour at our first destination.  Land assignments - where he would work at a base- are usually 3 years, and cutter tours are usually 2 years.  Of course, Solomon and I will move with Judah, and we will live in the area where his boat is stationed.  The biggest drawback to the possibility of Judah getting placed on a cutter is that he would probably be gone from anywhere between 2 weeks and 4 months at a time (ie. out for three months, home for three months- etc.)  This is probably the factor in our decision that Jude and I labored over the most.  We talked it through and decided that even if he doesn't choose the CG, the restaurant business would most likely be just as demanding on his time and we feel confident that with the right support system in place, we could handle this schedule for a season.  

After Judah's A-school we do have the opportunity to make a list of our top choices for a location where we would like to be stationed.  There are a lot of cutter stations that are near our friends and family like Boston, Portsmouth, NH, Los-Angeles, Mobile, Baltimore, Washington, DC, so we will just put those places as our top choices, and pray we get one of our top pics.  This is an area where I really struggled with.  I HATED the idea of the possibility- albeit rare- of us ending up stationed somewhere like Alaska with Judah gone four months at a time.  But one day when I was thinking about it, and having so much turmoil I just felt God tell me, "let it go- relinquish control."  And since I've started doing that, this process has become a lot easier and more enjoyable.  

Basically, Solomon and I will be here until Judah is done his boot camp and A-school.  Could be 8 months, could be over a year- there is no way to know!  Then we will all move wherever he gets orders for!  It'll most likely be somewhere on the coast, although there are a few cutters stationed inland on rivers and lakes.  We'll stay there for 2-3 years, and then move on to another place for another 2-3 years.  Judah will most likely enlist for about 4 years.  After that point, if he loves it, he can re-enlist, or if he feels like his season in the CG has ended, he can leave and get a civilian job as a chef with his new great experience and education.

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Ok- I know I haven't answered everything here, but I am realizing this is pretty long, and it's very late, so I think I'm going to have to add a part three tomorrow.  If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in a comment and I'll answer them in my next post!