#cradledescending

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(via From friendly seas into the storms of life.) From San Diego to Virginia Beach, I learned grew and found new friends and nemeses in the Navy. But mom remained my constant tormentor and antagonist.

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From friendly seas into the storms of life.

Recently, I have received several emails from readers asking me why I have stopped writing. Writing is a love for me and I have been writing my whole life, however, I am at a phase of my life where crap happens and grandkids keep you busy. Since before the holiday season, I have been baking, shopping, and going to doctor’s appointments for myself and my husband. Time has been at a premium for me…

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From getting the boot to no second chances and getting carried away.

Having never really traveled anywhere I was excited about seeing California. When we landed, I looked out the window of the plane and saw the bluest sky I had ever seen in my life. While exiting the plane there were so many new and interesting things to look at and listen to. In the terminal I noticed there was a group of people called Hare Krishnas, dressed in long oranges dresses with scarves.…

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Graduation the joy and the heartbreak

As the company prepared for graduation day excitement was high, boot camp was about to be a memory. We survived and now it was anchors away for the group that spent eight weeks together. For myself, Rachel, and Amy, we were feeling the loss of a shipmate that we had known and grown with for nine weeks. We all agreed that this graduation day would be a dedication to Kim, and we hoped, and I…

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Kim.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season filled with family, blessings, and much love. I needed to take a break after that last blog. You see I had not thought about Kim in quite a few years and writing that last blog brought back all those emotions, and unresolved feelings. Kim was my friend and I felt guilty for many, many years after her passing. I wondered if I would have said something…

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When things get miserable, we can tend to laser focus on our own grievances. But, we shouldn't forget that others' pain may be just as horrible, or worse.

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But wait there's more! Just hang in there for a tragedy.

After the test was over, our company headed to chow for lunch, no-one was very interested in talking at lunch because the test was hard and failing it meant, one more week in boot camp and a second attempt at the Blue Jacket final exam. As we all marched back to the dorm after chow, we settled in waiting for the test results. The minutes seem to takes hours as most of us listened to tick-tock of…

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The company commanders thought that cleaning while exhausted was a new challenge for me. Well the joke was on them. Working at The Gateway Clipper Fleet more than prepared me for that. But, my mouth forgot where I was.

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Who thought Hell was seven days afield with a scrub brush and chopping knife?

As week four was ending anticipation was high for Hell Week. Another company was graduating and moving into The Fleet, while my company was preparing for week five. We were told a list would be posted and we would find our names to see where we would be for Hell Week. Once the list was posted, I noticed that this Hell Week everyone was worried about was a list of chores, they called it “field…

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Drilling up sailors with mountain climbers toward one hell of a week.

It didn’t take any of us long to figure out that boot camp was an eight week training program designed to break down the civilian bad habits that we all had grown up with. This boot camp program was a building or rebuilding of physical, mental and emotional strength. Designed to create competent sailors who would represent the United States, while serving in the Fleet across the world. “Okay,” I…

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Welcome to the Cradle Descending Series, Part II

“Cradle Down” On December eleventh, I posted the prologue for the Cradle Descending series, Cradle Down and have not posted much else since. This past week I have had sick family members, who ran fevers around the 102.8° mark. And I have also had my end of the year doctor’s appointments. Today is Saturday, December sixteenth with no more sick family members, and the doctor’s appointments over,…

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Welcome and dive into to Cradle Down. Part Two in the three part Cradle Descending Series. I am now trapped in the middle of my life and realizing I married a narcissistic man, who was my mother with a Y-chromosome.

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Cradle Down

Welcome Back, and Welcome to the Cradle Descending Series, Part 2 Prologue From boot camp, to The Fleet, to a series of poor life choices can age a person very quickly. For me it wasn’t the aging quickly, it was more the weight gain and could I gain enough weight for this guy to leave me, so I could get out of the hell hole I created for myself. I grew up in a big city, Pittsburgh,…

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(via Gone... But not going to forget. February 21, 1983) On my induction day I had a thousand things running through my mind. There were many things about Pittsburgh I would definitely not miss, some I would and one I would love always.

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Gone... But not going to forget. February 21, 1983

Riding the bus so early in the morning was sort of eerie in Pittsburgh. It was dark, quite, and just a touch scary. Although, the closer we got to the Federal Building, there was definitely an uptick in people’s energy. “Were all these people going to the same place as me?” I wondered. I didn’t worry about it, because I had my first mission, to be accepted and inducted today. When I walked into…

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It turns out that keeping your mouth shut can be very unpopular, when people think that you have something to say. Who knew? Thank goodness for good friends.