We drove down Thursday night and got into Chicago pretty late. After a short nights sleep we headed down the road to the Naval base. We arrived about an hour before the ceremony and the majority of that time was spent walking long distances in the freezing cold (at this point I was seriously regretting my choice of foot wear). When we finally got to the graduation hall we were surprised to find that there was almost NO seating. We were forced to separate, but Rorie and I found a seat directly in front of Jake's division. The ceremony was wonderful: quick & dignified. An impressive feat considering that there were almost 1500 recruits graduating. At the end of the ceremony the MC announced "Liberty Call!" and huge warehouse style doors behind the recruits opened up to the outside. It was instant chaos as family members swarmed onto the floor to find their recruits. We found Jake fairly quick and it was WONDERFUL to see him. Rorie was a little hesitant at first but she soon let him hold her. He was only allowed to give me a quick hug & kiss and then had to "escort" me to the car. He wasn't even allowed to hold my hand! They were very specific on PDA and what was appropriate for a sailor to do in public while in uniform (Jake had to remind me more than once during the weekend). To celebrate his accomplishment we took Jake to Outback for some "real" food, a.k.a a big fat steak. The whole day made me very proud to be a Navy Wife!
The next couple of days were spent mostly at our hotel (plus a quick trip to Gurnee Mills), everyone just relaxing and enjoying being together. Rorie was THRILLED to have her dad around and I was relieved at how fast she warmed up to him. Almost every other word out of her mouth was "Daddy!" She had so much fun showing off for him and hogging his attention. It made me sad all over again to think how much she had been missing him.
Sunday morning we attended church with Jake on base. The ward was tiny, about 4o people, but the spirit was very strong. It was very apparent that for many of the recruits, church was the one thing that got them through the week. Jake was asked to give a talk last minute (about 5 mn before sacrament meeting started) and it was the highlight of my day. It was very sweet and very tender and for the first time I really realized how difficult the last 8 weeks had been for him. There were very few dry eyes by the time he was done speaking.
Shortly after church my parents and Rorie headed back to Marquette, leaving Jake and I to enjoy Valentines day together. Jake surprised me with a new digital camera to replace our very slow and fuzzy hand-me-down one that we got from my parents when we got married. I couldn't have been happier! We also got to spend half of the day together on Monday before I had to head home. I was so grateful for the time that we got to spend alone together. It had been far too long since we have had any one on one time. It was more than a little sad saying goodbye and leaving him alone on base. It was only bearable because our next visit was less than two weeks away.
Jake left Basic Training on Wednesday and was transferred across base to A School. I got a call from him last night letting me know that he had arrived safely and that he could have his cell phone as soon as I shipped it to him. What a relief! Just knowing that he will have a way to communicate more readily makes A School about a million times better than Basic Training.
Thanks to everyone who called Rorie and I, wrote Jake, and prayed for our family these last two months. It has meant the world to us and has made us feel very loved!
Love
The Kenisons
PS. Enjoy the pictures!
My absolute favorite picture: Rorie trying to salute like her dad.
At a super fancy McDonalds...just hanging with dad
Rorie picked on her poor dad all weekend.
Not the most flattering picture ever...
In case you didn't notice, there are no pictures of Jake is his dress blues (the outfit you probably think of when you imagine a sailor) or pictures of the actual graduation ceremony. This includes Rorie's adorable sailor dress or the new outfit that I carefully put together for the big day. This is because I forgot my camera at the hotel (enter your favorite blonde joke here). Luckily my new camera is nice and small and can fit into my purse. No more bulky ridiculous camera case to lug around with me, which hopefully means no more missed photo moments in our future. Luckily Jake will soon be receiving his Graduation DVD and cruise book (boot camp year book) any day now, so at least we will have some documentation of the big day.
