Well obviously, since I am only now writing this, a whole 5 months later, there is no surprise or big reveal. By now you all know that Jordan selected Cobras, Hawaii. However that day, as I drove out to base to pick Jordan up, I had no idea what to expect. I almost didn't want to arrive at the squadron to see Jordan. Although the decision had been made and the news revealed to him hours earlier, there was still hope in my current, present state of existence, for the future and path we both desired. Despite knowing full well, that the odds of getting both the helicopter and duty station we wanted were nearly impossible, on that 10 minute drive to base, my heart could still be filled with hope and possibility. In my mind, until I saw Jordan and heard him speak the news, there could be no final, life altering decision just yet. I may or may not have driven a little slower than normal, and made an extra loop around the parking lot before texting Jordan that I had arrived, just so I could hold on to this moment a little bit longer before our lives were to be forever altered, one way or another.
After sending a text informing Jordan that I had arrived, I sat in the parking lot waiting for a few minutes, thinking of the many different possible combinations of outcomes that may have occurred. I also was picturing our drive back to the house to see my family and having to share the news with them, as they too were sitting on pins and needles anxiously waiting. This could go either really great or really terrible! I mean who wants to talk to their in-laws after possibly the most crushing news of your life! Finally, interrupting the negative downward spiral of my worrying thoughts, I saw Jordan walk out of the doors from the Squadron. As he walked out to the car, I tried to analyze every part of his demeanor and body language: his face, his eyes, his posture, anything to give me a sign! I started to panic again, and prayed, "Please God, whatever happens, please let me handle it in the way that is most supportive to what Jordan will need in that moment!"
As he got in the car, he didn't look at me. I sat there, body twisted, facing him, expectantly, "Well?" Jordan's response, "Just drive." Heart racing, mind blank with fear, I didn't argue. I didn't question. I just faced forward, buckled my seatbelt, and started the car. As I put the car in 1st gear, Jordan stopped me with his hand over my hand. "Cobras,-Hawaii, Babe. Cobras-Hawaii." *Cue breakdown* Through my sobs, I probably asked him "really?" a million times in that moment. He handed me his selection card, and I still couldn't believe it even when I saw it. I knew what the odds were, and I couldn't believe that he actually received his first choice in both helicopter and duty station. Selections don't normally go in people's favor. It is all dependent upon the week you graduate, and the slots the Marine Corps has available for that particular week. There are three different types of helicopters and three different duty stations, and the odds that you get your first choice in both, is not common considering sometimes not all helicopters or duty stations even have slots available at all the week you graduate. How were we so lucky and blessed? Perhaps Jordan finishing the top of his winging class for his squadron helped to shift the odds in his favor just a bit! ;)
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| Jordan is holding his selection card: Cobras, Hawaii and doing his "tssssss" snake hand! |
I don't know how long we sat in the parking lot, just soaking in this moment together and the news of this new life-path that lay unfolding in front of us . I could not stop bawling, mostly because after everything I had seen Jordan fight through, he received the helicopter he deserved and so strongly desired more than anything else. Well that, and the fact that we would not be moving to North Carolina for the next 3-4 years! Although, as I have always said, I would be happy as long as Jordan got the helicopter he wanted, and would have made the best of whatever duty station we were assigned to. But, thankfully I didn't have to make good on that promise and the earnestness of my unconditional support, happiness, and positivity regardless of duty station, would not have to be tested. Sayonara East Coast, and hallelujah!
Controlling the tears and somewhat regrouping, we headed back to share the news with my family before we headed to pick up his parents arriving at the airport in Pensacola. After playing some loud celebratory music, with the windows down and singing at the top of our lungs on the drive back to the house, we composed ourselves as we pulled into the driveway and put our game faces on. It was time to play a little game with my family, just as Jordan had played on me! I am not sure how well we fooled them, or again fooled his parents when we picked them up at the airport a short time later, but the excitement and emotions that night were palpable. And together, with both of our families and the exciting news of our future, we enjoyed a wonderful backyard bbq at our house together. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect evening together and a kick off for the winging ceremonies to follow...
Event 1: Squadron Tour and Soft Patch Ceremony
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| Jordan taking all of us on the tour of the hanger, flight line, and squadrons |
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| Jordan showing my parents the inside of the TH-57 helicopter that he trained on |
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| Troy and Joe, Jordan's dad, learning the ins and outs of the TH-57 |
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| Jordan explaining something about the rotors or aerodynamics or something important ( who knows!) to Dad and Joe. |
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| Dad and Troy in the static hovering helicopter cockpit on the flight line |
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| Flight Simulators |
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| Troy flying the flight simulator with Jordan |
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| And...they crashed and burned! Red screen of death! Yikes Troy! |
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| Thumbs up! Flying the simulator and I landed, or at least Jordan let me think I did! |
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| All of us watching on, as the Lt. Col (Jordan's dad) shows us how it's done! |
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| Jordan showing his dad, an experienced fixed wing pilot, how to fly a helicopter in the flight simulators |
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| Major D, Jordan's on-wing flight instructor shared funny stories about his experience teaching Jordan and his flight partner to fly the helicopter and their trials and adventures over the last 6 months. |
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| Jordan and his flight partner gifted their instructor with a pair of Cobra snakeskin cowboy boots (complete with a snake head on them), to commemorate their cross country flight to Austin together, as well as the fact that now all 3 of them are officially Cobra pilots. Such a fun, special moment! |
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| The boots! The CO said he would pass a rule that cowboy boots would be acceptable to be worn with flight suits on Fridays in honor of these! Haha! |
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| Jordan, his on-wing instructor Major D, and his flight partner |
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| Jordan's flight partner, the CO (commanding officer of their squadron), and Jordan. The CO is the one whose house was "white trash photo-bombed" for the squadron photo when he was out of town as well as the one Jordan flew with on his last flight in the Grey Ghost! He was such a great sport and an amazing mentor! |
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| After the Soft-Patch Ceremony, Me and Jordan. So proud of this guy! |
Event 2: Blessing of the Wings
On Winging Day, before the actual winging, there was an optional event for graduating Wingers and their families. A Catholic Mass was held, followed by a Blessing of the Wings Ceremony in the chapel on base. This was an important event that Jordan and I wanted our families to be a part of. It was a chance to thank God for His help in the journey that Jordan and the rest of the Naval Aviators had made thus far and to ask for His continued blessing upon him and his fellow newly winged aviators heading in to the Fleet.
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| Proud wife on winging day! |
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| Leaving for the Winging celebrations! |
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| Documenting every moment of the day! On the drive to base, so excited! |
Welcome to the Blessing of the Wings Ceremony!
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| The Lippincotts at the Blessing of the Wings. Alex, Jordan's sister, flew down the evening before, the family is now complete! |
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| When each aviator was called up for the blessing, their helicopter selection was also announced |
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| Newly winged aviators about to head out into the Fleet |
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| Jordan with his wings in hand! This is getting real! |
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| The priest blessing each of the aviator's wings |
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| Offering their wings up to the Lord in thanksgiving and gratitude, and asking for blessing in their future ahead. |
Event 3: THE WINGING!!!!!!!
The time had finally come for Jordan to have his wings punched in pinned on. Historically, when Naval Aviators received their wings, they would be punched in by the person pinning them on. Because the wings would not have their backs affixed on, and instead just have the pin points exposed, a good hard punch would push the pins into the skin and draw blood. Well because the Navy's dress uniform is all white and we now live in a very PC world, the tradition has become more tame and back to actual pinning. Jordan however, wanted the full experience, and asked me to punch them in and "really Meg, punch them hard." If you know me, I am a strict rule follower, so breaking this rule brought me great anxiety for the entire week leading up to the event. As they called off every Wingers name, I nervously counted down the list to Jordan's turn and how many more people we had ahead of us. I absolutely did not enjoy the first half of this winging ceremony because my anxiety and good-girl guilt was eating me alive thinking about this rule I was about to break in the name of my husband! Truthfully, I was also dreading walking up on to stage and picturing myself tripping going up the stairs, my dress flying up, and every other worst-possible scenario you can think of. However, it was Jordan's moment, so if he wanted me to punch in his wings, that's exactly what he would, and did, get...a good, hard, punch!
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| Did you catch the Lt. Col's reaction to the punch heard round the world? |
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| They had each Winger's new flight patch with wings by each of their Dress Covers as you walked into the auditorium |
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| Newly Winged Marine Corps Naval Aviators |
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| Joe, Jordan, Liisa and Alex after the Winging Ceremony in front of the TH-57 helicopter |
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| My family and me with Jordan |
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| My aunt Ninalyn and Uncle Randy with Jordan |
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| There was a small informal reception, called the "after-torque," where lunch was served and the Wingers made a toast with their new personalized beer Steins. Each Stein was customized with a picture of the helicopter they would be flying along with the Naval Aviator # they had just winged as. Jordan is Designated Naval Aviator #32,917. Quite fittingly, being the son of an Air Force pilot himself, Jordan's portion of the traditional toast was, "...and to the Air Force, may their heads be in the clouds and their golf clubs always at the ready." |
Event 4: The Winging Party
There are usually 1-2 Wingings every month, and therefore every 2nd and last Friday of the month there are Winging Parties in Pensacola. The squadrons rent out a section of a local bar/restaurant, and family, friends, and fellow student aviators are invited out to celebrate with the new Wingers. Well, when designating responsibilities around the winging festivities (from shirt design to treasury responsibilities), wouldn't you know it, but Jordan got volun-told to do the Winging Party planning, no small task! While at first overwhelmed with everything he had to coordinate, on top of finishing flight school and having visitors in town, we decided to take advantage of this responsibility, and plan it at one of our personal favorite locations: Flounders. Flounders is a laid back, classic-Pensacolan, restaurant/bar right on the water, with live music, sand volleyball, and diesel fuel (their infamous signature drink). The combination of one of the largest graduating winging parties of the year (and therefore a very large tab for food and drinks), the ending of season at Flounders (and therefore a great live band), a great, fun group of family and friends, and probably a little bit too much diesel fuel, made for lots of laughs and LOTS of dancing!
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  Jordan and I at the Winging Party. The front of his shirt has wings and says" I've got the golden ticket" in tribute to the viral video that I posted at the very end of a previous blog:Thoughts on Stereotypes, Sun-Gazing, and Other Spare Time Ramblings . The guys in the squadron love comparing a helicopter to a wonkavator, and would play that video/song over and over again. The back of his shirt has a picture of the wonkavator, and says like the song, " We can go sideways, and frontways, and longways, and backwards..." While the guys had decided on using the song as part of their shirt design, I was the one to suggest tying it in with "golden ticket" from the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie, in reference to their new wings of gold! The Commanding Officer loved the idea and I was so excited that my suggestion was part of the final design! Yay, me!
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| Jordan met these two guys back in Corpus Christi, TX for primary flight training. They all celebrated their tie-cutting, commemorating their first solo flight in the T-34 aircraft together. Look how far they have come! Marcus on the right, will also be flying the Cobra in Hawaii with Jordan. |
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Jordan with our good friend Talleyand another student aviator who was to wing a month later. The Talleys would be moving out to California with us temporarily before they head to North Carolina for their duty station.
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With a fellow Marine spouse out on the sand portion of Flounders, Jordan brought his American Flag and a Marine Corps flag to add to the festive environment
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| Liisa, Me, Joe |
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| My fam |
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| Typical Jordan and Randy, goofing around |
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| Mom and Ninalyn |
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| Me, Alex, and Liisa |
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| Me and Mom |
Although I was sad for all the Winging festivities to come to an end, we still had a few more days to enjoy with family before they left. While my dad and Troy went to the 'BAMA game, the Lippincotts, my mom, Ninalyn and I hung out in Pensacola Beach for the day and made another trip to Red Fish, Blue Fish. And of course before they left, I had to take my parents to our absolute favorite, The Fish House, so they could try the famous Grits-a-Ya-Ya. These grits are to die for!
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Mom and Ninalyn in Pensacola Beach, cheering on BAMA for Troy and Dad
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Jordan and his dad, having a heart to heart, by the water
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| View of the sunset from Red Fish, Blue Fish |
It was an amazing two weeks, and while I wish the time didn't fly by so fast, I think we managed to pack a lot of fun and activities into our time together in Florida.
