The Flutters of Flight School

Let's see if I can write this post without the cellphone ringing, Ross coming in the door, or the dogs going insane. I've tried for the past 3 days with no luck.

Things almost got a little bad for us. On January 18th I woke up, with what I thought, a UTI. Normal for me. Water & cranberry juice typically takes care of it without a visit to the doctor. The pain was getting worse & spreading. Around 5, I felt it in my back & diaphragm. I called the Tricare Nurse & she recommended me to the ER. I panicked since I have never been to the ER, for myself, I got stitches for my finger at an urgent care even. We waited 3 hours, did a catheter, blood-work, & a CT scan. It went from UTI to ectopic pregnancy to golf ball sized cyst on my ovary to stomach ulcers & acid reflex. Ross stayed by my side the whole time. He had been up since 4am and by the time we left it was 2am. He only got 2 hours of sleep & told the flight commander he refused to fly because he considered himself a flight risk. So he lost flight hours. By the time it came to have his last checkride for instruments that he had to pass to continue with his class at BWS, he didnt have enough. On the last day for him to obtain hours, his helicopter had a maintenance problem 18 minutes from being able to do his checkride. He had to land the aircraft & medevac had to come pick them up. They told him that he would not be able to continue with his class...putting him two weeks back....UNLESS he got up at 4am to take his checkride, passed, & then go to BWS in the afternoon. All depending on the weather. We had a line of storms heading right for us. Seeing how upset Ross was with the thought of being held back again, and seeing the odds against us with the weather the only thing I could do was ask for prayers & trick him into drinking decaffeinated coffee so he would actually rest instead of studying all night & worrying. Thankfully the weather held off for us for Ross to take his checkride & pass! We were so happy! The weather caused the base to shut down, so he didnt start BWS, so he never fell behind with his class. He loves BWS so much. He doesn't have a stick buddy right now, because they were unsure he was going to pass or not, so he gets alot of  focus on him & he gets home early before his class. Seeing how much his attitude has changed, makes me think that each student needs to have his own IP. Make it easier on the families atleast!

Ross didnt like instruments very well, he wasnt in a good mood, and then they gave him a map project. (Bless anyone who has a husband do a map project!) He was never at home. I wanted to be at home, with my family. I got a stomach bug, I was having horrible headaches, started feeling stressed/depressed/worried majorly which all factored into causing stomach ulcers...& if I worry or stress out that bad anymore...I'll get them again. I'm trying to take deep breathes, I go outside to play with the dogs or read, I try to take one day at a time....but my mind can't get off the fact, that in 4 weeks Ross gets to select his airframe & where we will be moving next. Ross changes his mind everyday what he wants to fly & where he wants to move.  The move stresses me out are we going to Kentucky or are we going to Korea? At first we were only going to pick bases closest to Tuscaloosa...now we are thinking Washington & Colorado. Which brings up the concerns: What if he gets deployed? What if I get pregnant? That's 17+ hours away from family. Stress & Worry. What if the army really sends us to Korea or Germany, even if we dont want it on our list? It costs $2,000 of our own money just to fly the dogs there. Which is unsafe for them.  Double Stress & Worry.

4 weeks until we will have some idea. We just take one day at a time so the flutters of flight school dont turn into ulcers anymore.

2012

   This is my first post for the 2012 year. I haven't posted much, because honestly nothing has really changed. Ross started Primary, had family day, passed his check-ride, started instruments, had Thanksgiving DONSA where we got to come home, he continued instruments when we got back, then I left two weeks early to help mom & dad out, he joined me later for Christmas, now we are back at Rucker and he is finishing up his instrument course and will be assigned his map project next Friday. Which means, this is his last weekend of freedom before I take away all electronics from him until he completes every last map! They are very time consuming and he has to have them all completed before he starts his next course, which is Basic War Fighting Skills, where he will be flying some old Kiowas.
  Christmas time with our families was much needed. Ever since SERE it has been an emotional roller coaster ride for us and I think time away from Rucker with our family help get the old Ross back. SERE was a marriage tester for sure. I don't think civilians will ever understand what military wives/familes go through whether it's just training or an actual deployment. Sometimes men come back a little different & you learn to give them their space and have patience. Don't push them to talk, just support them, and be there for them to help them recover.  We, wives, change too. We are like pancakes. We are flip-flopped back & forth & change to meet their needs. Not that it's a bad thing, it has helped me become a better, stronger, do things on the spur of the moment,  and more independent kind of woman.
   We were stressed for months with the Jeep. Not financially, but when we would have people ask us to go do things in our free time, we would have to say no after seeing that $500 payment and $140 insurance payment JUST for the Jeep. When the word "children" came up, Ross would always stress about how unsafe the Jeep was. We know children is in our future...the payments were making us bitter....so Ross took one for his family & sold it, to save up to buy a safer, family car.  Instead of being "Fun Guy Ross" he decided to step up and start trying to be "Family Man Ross". I just wish he wouldn't worry as much as he does about our future. It's not like we can snap our fingers & be prepared for our children's college & our retirement, We've only been married for a little over  a year and we don't even have a child yet. One step at a time. Even though after going into the stores he picks up baby items and says "Kassie! Look! haha! my kid is so wearing this!" For an example: Baby Crocs shoes...or the time I lost him in Toys R Us and found him looking at safety ratings on baby strollers.....yeah he is thinking about little Hunters running around. Maybe in about a year.
  Towards the end of February we will know what airframe he will be flying & a little after that we will know what base we will be moving to.  So we are trying to enjoy the last 4-7 months left here at Rucker. We are hoping we stay in about a 7 hour or less driving time distance to Tuscaloosa. But we know God will put us where we need to be. After we move Ross, will have 3 months at the base. So we officially have 7-10 months together before he is ready to be deployed. Chances are, he will be.

I will be posting more this year, due to more things are happening. I will try to keep everyone updated as much as possible.

Here is a video of Ross' Family Day I created. I hope you get to see how awesome my husband is! First scroll down & stop my music player before playing the video! The audio will mess up!