Chelsea Gonzalez: Home, sweet, homeward bound.

This past week my family of 4 made another huge move. We drove our Jeep all 2,800 miles from Alexandria, VA to the Central Valley in California.

the jeep all packed up!

We have been under so much stress lately, (this whole past year- really.) We have officially separated from the Marine Corps and are considered a "civilian" family now! I could tell you guys that we have been excited and looking forward to the transition, but that would be lying. We really had our hearts set on continuing our life with the Corps. Dillon put in his package for reenlistment last year at his 1 year mark of remaining contract time. He is a GREAT Marine, and had no concern of it's approval. His peers, leaders, and entire chain of command kept assuring us that we had nothing to worry about and that by December 2014 we would most likely be accepting orders to Miramar, California where he had connections and someone who specifically wanted him there to work for him. But as the months came and went we heard nothing.

Dillon was in his Career Planners office every day asking where his package was. We started to worry and then in December we were told that it was denied due to drawbacks and budget cuts. That although he was a "tier 1" Marine, he was out. This was not only devastating, but the hugest heart break we have ever experienced. About a week before finding out this news, he had received an email from a Prior Service Recruiter about a program called "Active Reserves". We had never heard of it and brushed it off, because we thought his Active Duty contract was in the future.

So once we found out about our denied reenlistment, we started researching the other program. Dillon had his application filled out a month before he could submit it, all he needed was an endorsement from his chain of command.

Oliver got to lay out on Dad's seat.

We thought this would take 2 weeks top to go through the whole list of people. Boy- were we wrong. It took 3 months. By the time they got it to the recruiter, it had been lost and found, ignored, and more. Finally, it was there... All to be sent back because some signatures EXPIRED. They were dated too far back. So then it went through the process again and we missed a cut off date for the program's funding and would need to wait 30 days for it to open again.

Jump 30 days, and although it was "open" they weren't going to approve anything for ANOTHER 30 days.

At this point in time, we had 2 weeks until our scheduled C-section, 1 month until our move and 1.5 months until Dillon's contract ended.

So we waited some more and week after week- we heard nothing. We were told once we spoke to the Monitor (basically the person who decides your fate) we would be told if it had been approved or not and where you would be stationed.

So when that phone call came- we were so excited. It was one week before our move. We were driving from base to base fixing our problems with the TMO movers. His coworker called and gave us a heads up that the monitor was about to call us. We waited in a parking lot for 12 lonnnnng minutes before the phone rang. Dillon hopped out of the jeep and had a phone interview with the guy, and then that was it.

She was a good girl and watched movies the whole way.

He hung up, got back in the jeep and said he still didn't know what was going on. He didn't tell him if the package was approved or not... Instead, he said he was endorsing it, and passing it along to his boss. Nobody knew it had a whole separate process AFTER the monitor. He also said that New Jersey was basically our only option for a duty station.

NEW JERSEY? Uhhhh, no thank you. During this whole process we mutually agreed on the fact that anywhere in the U.S. was fine EXCEPT the NE corner. We were tired of DC, and wanted to get out of this corner of the U.S. I personally wanted the West Coast, and our dream was Oregon. So, to hear New Jersey was actually quite devastating.

Play time was every two hours since we had to nurse so often.

We played on the grass while dad fixed our bag... it ripped in New Mexico.

We drove up to the base (about 3 hours from the DMV) and even toured the base housing and base. It was fine. That is all I can say really. It wasn't anything we could actually SEE ourselves enjoying. We don't want to be anywhere that we would be living the same day over and over. Being so far from family is lonely and miserable. Not being included in holiday photos, events and memories is the worst. We honestly just wanted to be stationed somewhere within reasonable travel distance so that we could afford to see our families.

Nursing stop.

So we decided that if it is New Jersey we are going to walk away. We were told by the Monitor and Dillon's PerSO (officer) to move to California and wait... So Dillon decided not to waste time, and started applying for jobs. Before the movers even came to pack up our apartment, he had 2 job interviews lined up. By the time we got to California he had a 3rd. And when we got here he had his 4th. By our 5th day here he had to decide between two offers. And this week he begins his formal training for the position we decided fit us well.

To this day, we still do not know what is going on with the Active Reserve program. We've been told it has been approved but is pending a duty station, but who knows. We still have 30 more days in the wait time frame.. So, until then, now our family and friend know just as much as we do. <3

We were so afraid to walk away from the military, but honestly... It feels likes we've never been happier. My husband looks so relaxed and at peace. He grew a beard in 2 weeks, has long hair that he only gets cut when he wants, and smiles more.

I never thought the day would come when we could wake up and feel relaxed. We go to my sister and brother in law's house to swim, and then grab food. We cook dinner for my grandpa and hang out with my little sister. We may be sharing one bedroom to ourselves right now, but it all feels... Right? It feels like we're where we are meant to be in life right now. I'm so happy.

I have such an amazing, dedicated and hard working husband. I'm so proud of him, and I can't wait to see where we are by 2016.