16 1/2 weeks
No, the 16 1/2 weeks does not pertain to pregnancy. It is how long Caleb will most likely be gone this fall. Let me back up a little bit....
So, last month Caleb came to me and told me he might want to be in the Air National Guard-- you know 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks a year. I wasn't too excited about it, yet I know the military has always been in his heart, so I've been praying about it and gathering information. Last week we went to visit with the recruiter out at Gowan Field Air base. We went over our list of questions and got lots of great information and 1 piece of not great information-- we found out that he'll be in boot camp for 8 1/2 weeks and then go straight to his job training for another 8 weeks. that's a grand total of 16 weeks. He'll probably leave in August and not get home until Christmas. That's a LONG time. The good points of the job are that he'll get a $20,000 bonus for joining, the GI bill and it's kicker (meaning he'll get about $675 a month if he goes to school full time) and also the tuition reimbursement from the state of Idaho for about $100 a credit (when he goes to school full time). We'll also be able to get better insurance and be able to stick it to Blue Cross forever. And, there's the VA retirement benefits and loan stuff. Now the big question I had was what about the war... well, I guess about 98% of the guys that are overseas with the Air Guard have volunteered. So, there's a 2% chance that he'll go against our wishes. That's not huge and he'll only have to go for 45-60 days. Not bad considering he'll be gone for training for 16 1/2 weeks!! So, all that to say, we're going to have huge changes this year. Pray for me... I don't look forward to the long separation. Yet, I know it's God and I know we can make it through and be better because of it.
So, last month Caleb came to me and told me he might want to be in the Air National Guard-- you know 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks a year. I wasn't too excited about it, yet I know the military has always been in his heart, so I've been praying about it and gathering information. Last week we went to visit with the recruiter out at Gowan Field Air base. We went over our list of questions and got lots of great information and 1 piece of not great information-- we found out that he'll be in boot camp for 8 1/2 weeks and then go straight to his job training for another 8 weeks. that's a grand total of 16 weeks. He'll probably leave in August and not get home until Christmas. That's a LONG time. The good points of the job are that he'll get a $20,000 bonus for joining, the GI bill and it's kicker (meaning he'll get about $675 a month if he goes to school full time) and also the tuition reimbursement from the state of Idaho for about $100 a credit (when he goes to school full time). We'll also be able to get better insurance and be able to stick it to Blue Cross forever. And, there's the VA retirement benefits and loan stuff. Now the big question I had was what about the war... well, I guess about 98% of the guys that are overseas with the Air Guard have volunteered. So, there's a 2% chance that he'll go against our wishes. That's not huge and he'll only have to go for 45-60 days. Not bad considering he'll be gone for training for 16 1/2 weeks!! So, all that to say, we're going to have huge changes this year. Pray for me... I don't look forward to the long separation. Yet, I know it's God and I know we can make it through and be better because of it.
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