CHECKIN' IN! MALS-39 ORDNANCE BABY...IYAOYAS!

 

I love this pic of my friend Kim and I from our days at MALS-39. 

Kim chose to get out and I chose to stay in (who's the idiot here??? you pick :-)

This pic really makes me smile and reminds me of the good times...

the times before baby..

before recruiting duty..

before Nick..

ultimately...

before responsibility.

We did as we pleased.

Drank as much as we wished.

Came to work as hungover as possible (and sometimes with purple hair...hahaha)

but we still made it happen.

MALS-39 Ordnance ruled the planet in my opinion :-)

Today, I checked back into MALS-39.

It's been 3 years. 

3 years doesn't seem so long...

but when you go back to your old unit and realize you know no one...

the ones you knew are either out of the Corps or have moved on to new duty stations...

The ones that remained have picked up rank, or are totally different people.

The guys I used to party with and go out with EVERY single weekend are now married.

Some have children.

Some have just settled down.

Some are getting kicked out.

Some are a rank lower than when you last saw them...

It's amazing what happens in 3 years. 

As for me...

I've changed a LOT.

I left MALS-39 as a careless young adult.

I loved being a Marine.

I loved deploying.

I loved training.

I loved everything about the Marine Corps.

I partied every chance I got.

My social life was MY LIFE!

I had the Marine Corps at my hands.

I had the world (it felt like).

Within a year of leaving...

I was on one of the most challenging billets in the Marine Corps...pregnant...and married...

AND within 2 years, I became a mother...

That single moment when I became a mother is the day I decided that the Marine Corps was not for me.

Honestly, I'm not sure if it was recruiting duty that changed my outlook on the Corps or if it was becoming a mother.

All I know is, I am counting down the days to EAS....(end of active service).

I look forward to finishing school.

I look forward to spending every moment (good and bad) with my daughter.

I look forward to cooking dinner for my husband every night.

I look forward to be able to driving my daughter to ballet practice...

I look forward to it all :-)

I also have some fabulous new friends that I met thanks to my wonderful hubby!

Sarah, Becca, Victoria, Lindsay, Kari.....

They have definitely kept me sane.

Here are some pics of the "old" MALS-39 crew....

Some of the good days when I was in LOVE with being a Marine.

These days make me smile.

These are the days that I will be telling Dannika about when she's older (minus the drinking and irresponsible stuff... ;-)

The ladies of MALS-39

Here we are! The entire ordnance division...Semper fi!

My favorite PC people (PC does not mean politically correct)

This is me double dutching at work with turret parts.....

McGooglage...aka...Rachel Gordon...she got married...got out of the Corps...moved to the east coast...has a kid and half (one on the way).

SSgt Duffey...aka...WO Duffey....that guy was a great bipolar dude to work with...haha.

JON! LOVE HIM! He got out...moved back to Louisiana...working with oil rigs (or something with oil)...man...Jon and i had some good times...he was with me in the ER with his girlfriend Steph when I got roofied in Carlsbad (and that's not even half the stories I have with this guy)

TECH REPS...all former Marines...loved them!

RACK SHOP...this picture makes me laugh...and Gibson (far left)...this was before he became permanent PC...hahaha

And this is Gibson learning PC....He now runs it...hahahahaha