Filling in Some Blank Areas

I wirte this to fill in the backstory as it were...an attempt to make the reader more familiar with my daughter, Allison. She was born on 14 March 1986 at the Naval hospital in San Diego, California. She was special to us because we had been trying to have a child for a while, and when she came along, we were grateful.

One of the biggest blunders I made in my life happened a day or so after Allison was delivered. I went to the hospital, camera in hand in order to document the birth of our newborn...and it turns out there was no film in the camera! We told Allison about that later in life and she never let me forget it. :-))

Both mother and father being in the Navy presented it's own challenges, and when we were transferred to Hawaii in 1987, we were lucky enough that the two of us didn't get assigned sea duty at the same time. My wife was on shore duty and I was assigned to a ship, which meant deployments.

Soon after I reported for duty, the ship got underway for a 6 month cruise. I left behind my wife and daughter and did my duty. During that time, my wife made sure that a picture of Daddy was always nearby, and that each night they would point out where I was at in the world. In the rare instances when I was able to talk to them, it was a pleasure for me, although Allison at almost 3-years-old, didn't quite know who she was talking to.

One of the "milestones" in my  memories of Allison is when I returned home from my first 6-month deployment. My wife and daughter were there on the pier when we docked and I was fortunate enough to be one of the sailors on deck to see their loved ones. Once docked and everything secured, family members were allowed onboard...and I met Allison for the first time again. She was wary of me, but I seemed familiar. With the help of mom I was able to reestablish our bond, although I doubt that it ever went away in the first place.

My wife got out of the Navy and I stayed in. I got stationed in Virginia Beach, Va and she went on to get her degree as a paralegal. Allison started school in Virginia and we stayed there for the next ten years, a plus I'm absolutely grateful for. It provided a stability for her through her most formative years. With the exception of two years when I was stationed on a ship that was gone 9 months out of the year, I was there the whole time she was growing up. Looking back on it now, it was glorious.

Next up, the teenage years...not hassle-free, but definitely not a bad experience.