Finally!

This post has been 3 years in the making, and boy, it has been a LONG 3 years!

Scotty has been wanting to be in the Air Force for as long as I can remember.  I knew long before I married him that it was something he was going to work for--heck, he almost went to the Air Force Academy, but he was dating this girl:

 who he decided he really wanted to marry instead (AFA cadets can't get married until they graduate!  No thank you!).

Fortunately, getting married didn't mean that he couldn't pursue his dreams of following in Grandpa Rodee's footsteps:

UVU works with the ROTC at BYU, DET 855 to give their students the AFROTC experience.  Scotty joined up with the Air Force ROTC as soon as we learned of the opportunity and examined all the details.

Amidst a long journey that has included numerous major changes, getting orthodontic care approved, and emotional struggles about weather or not this would all be worth it, we have finally reached a milestone:

Wednesday morning (4/10/13), about 3 weeks (it almost felt like another 3 years) after we had expected to learn our fate, Scotty got a call from Laura (the DET 855 secretary), who set up an appointment for him to meet with Maj. Gregory about weather or not he would be selected for field training this summer.

The decision was delayed because of the Sequester that has been going on with the military, and it only added to my nerves.  I just kept thinking that with all the budget cuts our chances were going down by the minute.

Scotty called me and told me his meeting for Thursday was at 8:30 a.m. and I was basically a nervous wreck for the next 24 hours waiting to hear the fate of our future.  This meeting would determine if we go military via ROTC, if Scotty would enlist after graduation, or if we pursued a military career at all.

I had class at 8 a.m. that day, but I could not stop checking my phone for that text message telling me to come outside.

When it finally came, I was walking toward the ROTC building as Scotty walked out of it.  I wasn't wearing my glasses, and I couldn't tell if he was smiling, or trying not to cry.  He finally gave me a thumbs up and I almost passed out then and there from relief.

Apparently this is how the meeting went down:

Scotty enters Maj. Gregory's office:

Maj. Gregory: "So, Cadet Rodee, do you have any other options?"

Scotty: "Um, honestly, sir, if this didn't work out I had planned on enlisting..."

Maj. G: "Good.  I can write you a nice recommendation letter that will help you get to OTS (oficer training school) quickly; I could also get the Colonel to write you a good recommendation letter...and that's the route you would be taking, 

if you weren't going to field training this summer!"

When I heard the story I was a little frustrated for Scotty about the way it went down (I would have probably started crying if I were in the office), but the relationship he and Maj. Gregory is such that it was funny and it makes for a fun story afterwards. 

We FINALLY know where our future is going.  We FINALLY can tell people we are actually in the Air Force.  We FINALLY can start planning our future and have somewhat of an idea how it is going to play out.

My word for this moment is FINALLY.  All the anticipation and hard work is FINALLY paying off.

I have no idea when Scotty will be going to field training, but he will be gone for 4 weeks, and it should be after June 22, because of Chacy's wedding (Engagement video in case you haven't seen it yet):