Life is a cycle of things you've already done before, right? That's where we're at.
Since D returned home in early August, it's been back to the grindstone for us. Sure, we had a week or so together before school and work and drill and everything else started back up, but it seems like a distant memory now.
Two weekends after D's return, he had Battle Hand Off at his old RSP unit. Or he was supposed to, anyway. The person in charge of making sure this went off without a hitch (who will remain nameless) didn't have all their i's dotted and their t's crossed, if you know what I mean. I mean they suck at planning, if you didn't catch my drift - but what matters is that D has moved on from that unit to another.
This "smooth" transition is a story in and of itself, but this was D's first weekend with his OCPC (Officer Candidate Prep Course for those of you who don't speak Army) unit. He says that overall, OCPC is more challenging than RSP was - which isn't surprising, really. He seemed to really enjoy it - and I know he feels like he fits in with the soldiers in OCPC more than he did at RSP or BCT.
He's also been put on the list for Traditional Officer Candidate School (OCS). There are three options for OCS in the National Guard: Traditional, Accelerated, and Federal. The Traditional OCS is formatted exactly like drill - once a month and two weeks in the summer - and it takes 16 months (you read that correctly, months) to complete. Accelerated OCS is 8 weeks long and takes place twice a year. Federal OCS is between the two, with a length of 14 weeks and cycles every two weeks. There are pros and cons to each, but I must say that I'm glad D has chosen Traditional OCS for one major reason: he doesn't have to be away from home.
Because don't get me wrong - our lives are crazy busy with no end in sight, but I'll take it in a heartbeat over the summer, because as this wheel spins (and spins and spins), I at least get to sleep next to him at night.
