It is Different

We are on a Spanish naval base. We are hosted here but in no way own any part of the base. I do not see the usual guards that I have seen at every other base we have been to. The are no Americans. There are only Armada Española sentries guarding the base.

Some of these sentries look to be no more than children. Perhaps it is only appearances, but I cannot recall an American sentry looking so young. They are also heavily armed, which is rather intimidating when passing through the gate or watching them patrol the fences. I have heard from our sponsor, who lives on base, that hearing them walking past at night can be unnerving at first.

Taking pictures on base is challenging. Where you can take them is controlled for security reasons. There are certain buildings forbidden to take pictures of. Others you can but they have to be zoomed in so the entire building does not show… no other building can show… no building identifiers… So many rules make it not worth taking pictures on base.

Jared officially signed in today, a day early. It did not take them long to take him. He will meet his crew tomorrow by taking the ship out into the Atlantic for the day. Barely any dust on his boots before they have him at sea. Lol At least it is only a day cruise. No, I will not trust that it will remain a day cruise until He is home tomorrow evening. The Navy has fooled me too many times for me to trust them on cruise lengths.

The saddest thing I have seen since our arrival is seeing my normally gregarious children timidly looking over our courtyard wall at the children playing in the small park across the street. No amount of encouragement drives them from their perches. I will be happy to see them overcome their fears and return to being the energetic children I know them to be.

Today, Jun put her ear to my tummy, and I asked what she was doing. She shushed me and said, “Quiet, the baby is talking.” I gave her a few seconds and asked what the baby said. She responded, “The baby is saying, ‘Get me out of here!!!” Perhaps Jun’s own frustrations showing themselves.

So, we are all still adjusting to new surroundings. Being a Navy base, some things are normal for us. Being a Spanish Navy base means some things are different. We will balance them in time and our new “normal” will emerge.

Until then, we live each day expecting surprises. Our little family will do this, Again.