Less Than 2 weeks to go!!!!

Whoa I can't believe it has been over a month since I did an update.  Needless to say things have been CRAZY busy.  After 4 trips to and from Detroit over the last month I have finally received all my uniforms with all alterations done.  It was a bit pricey but honestly I am so thankful for have done all this work before arrive at training. I will post pictures as soon as I wear my uniforms the first time!
Along with the uniform craziness I have been spending a lot of time with friends and family and trying to tie up lose ends at home.  I scheduled my movers for June 28th and have been making final preparations for the move and my 4 weeks of training in Alabama.  Of course I have had some fun over the last month including taking in a Tigers Game, lots of boating and of course the NKOTB cruise.  I have been trying to cram in a summer of fun in 5 short weeks.  Needless to say I am exhausted but wouldn't have changed anything.
My last day of work at the VA is Thursday June 21st.  I was informed that the VA will hold my job for up to 5 years while I am on military leave.  I really want to make the Air Force my career for many years however if for some reason it doesn't fit for me it is such a blessing to know that I have a job waiting for me.  I have finally come to the understanding as to why God put the VA job in my life right when I was deciding about the Air Force.  I truly believe it wasn't because he was saying to me "take the VA job instead of the Air Force" but was teaching me to trust yet again.  He has a plan and his plan is perfect. The VA job wasn't a road block as I thought it was back in January it is a bridge.  A bridge to help me learn  about the military over the last 5 months and to become even more comfortable with my decision to join the Air Force.  The support and encouragement I have received from my co-workers and veterans has been astounding!  The VA job has also been a cushion. Knowing that I have a job here if I ever decided to part with the Air Force helps me feel at peace. I am so incredibly blessed. 
After 4 years of just accepting my life the way it was I finally decided to take a leap and so far it's been the best decision for my life, career and my overall happiness! I am so incredibly blessed for the opportunities that have come my way over the last year and for the adventures I have yet to experience.
I have begun to say goodbye to a few friends as well which is already taking it's toll on me emotionally.  I have wanted to move out of MI for many many years but I guess I didn't think it would be so hard to leave.  I have been blessed with amazing friends who have turned into family.  They have guided me and encouraged me throughout this entire process.  Being in a completely different time zone is so hard to comprehend right now.
Lately people have asked me how I am feeling at this very moment and I have answered them honestly.  Scared. Excited. Apprehensive....basically an emotional roller coaster.  The unknown is the scariest part (how training will be, where I will live, meeting new people etc...) however the overwhelming positive responses I have received from friends, family and strangers has been amazing and has helped to take some of the fear and anxiety away. 
The encounters I have had with perfect strangers over the last few weeks have been astounding.  I wish I could write about them all but it is impossible.  God has had a hand in all of these encounters and I feel like it is him saying to me "this is the right road."  I am holding tightly onto these experiences and people I have met and talked too.
I have also recieved a lot of personal emails and private messages on facebook from people I know but that I may not be close with.  Thier words are encouraging and supportive and some have told me how I have "inspired" them to look at life differently and to go after dreams that they have.  This moves me to tears.  To know that my journey may have helped motivate and inspire even one person makes everything worth it.  Thank you to those of you who have reached out to me.  I posted this on my facebook status a few days ago and felt that it fit here on my blog too. "If you are discouraged or feel like something is missing in your life, career etc...take a leap of faith and change it. You only have this one life...go after your dreams, surround yourself with people who encourage and lift you up, leave drama behind and realize you can make your life as amazing as you want too. You just have to believe in yourself. Things truly do happen for a reason. Thanks for the continued support and encouragement! I'm here to return the favor! "  Get out there friends!!!

Some of you have wanted to know what the next 8 weeks of my life will look like.  Well here it is:

June 21st:  Last day at the VA
June 28th: Movers come and take all my belongings.  They will move it to a storage unit in California.
June 29th: See Ya Later party at my parents
June 30th-July 1:  I will leave Michigan and drive to Maxwell Air Force Base.
July 2:  Officer Training (COT) begins.  It will be a busy and crazy schedule.   My day begins at 4:30am and ends at 11pm. My days will consist of workouts, classroom training, marching and a lot of studying. I will have limited time to talk to friends and family while I am in training.
August 3:  Graduation at noon
August 3:  Begin drive from Alabama to California.  One of my besties Amanda will be joining me on this amazing adventure.  I am so blessed for her and the fact that she planned this entire trip for us.  We will be making stops in San Antonio, Sante Fe and LA.  We will see sites like the Grand Canyon and another amazing things and we will be spending time with friends and family along the way.  We will then take the coast from LA up to Travis Air Force Base.  It will take us about 4 days.  I cannot wait for this experience.  It will be a fabulous reward after the grueling training.  Make sure to check out facebook for pictures and up dates throughout the adventure.
August 7:  Arrive at Travis Air Force Base.  House hunting begins.  I will be living on base until I find housing off base.  I have no idea how long this will take but hoping I find something quickly so that I can be reunited with my belongings.
August 13:  Begin my new job!

Some of you have also asked for specific things to pray for and I so appreciate that.  Here are some things that I am struggling with now:

1. Mental and physical strength during the 4 weeks of training.  I am scared.  I have no idea what to expect.  I have heard a lot of stories.  As an officer training will not be as difficult as basic training however it will be be demanding.  I will have a lot to learn in a short period of time.  I am worried about the heat, lack of sleep and remembering everything.  I will complete exams, presentations as well as my first PT test.  Pray my shoulder remains strong!
2.  Travel.  Please pray for safe travel to Alabama as I will be driving 13 hours alone.  Also for safe traveling from Alabama to California.
3.  Housing.  Please pray that I find housing quickly and in a good area.
4.  Transition.  Please pray for a smooth transition from leaving Michigan to settling in California.  It will be strange for weeks not having a place to call home and having all my belongings in storage.  I am worried about the little things that I always could call my brother or Dad to come over and help me with.  Please pray that I find a network of people  that I can turn too when I need help. 
5.  Peace of mind.  Please pray that my anxiety and worry does not take over my mind over the next 8 weeks.  For those of you who know me well understand that this is a daily struggle.  I am so excited about what lies ahead for me but getting there is a whole other story.  Pray the next 8 weeks are smooth with very little problems.

For those of you who have also asked about sending letters, care packages etc while I am at training, here is the address:

1st LT Megan Tieri (COT CLASS)
550 E. Maxwell Blvd. #9000
Maxwell AFB, AL 36112-5000

As always I appreciate all the continued love, support, encouragement and prayers.  Please understand that for the month of July I will have very limited communication but will update my blog and facebook as much as I can. 

Love to you all,

Megan
xoxo

UNIFORM CrAzInEsS!!!!

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile...things have been busier than ever.  I am trying to spend as much time as possible with friends and family, maintaining my workouts (strengthening my shoulder)packing for my cruise and more importantly the time it is taking to prepare for my officer training and this big move.  6.5 weeks to go!

On Wednesday May 2, 2012 I drove with my recruiter to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to purchase my uniforms.  Craziness is not even the word to describe the day.  I left my house at 5am and we arrive at base around 11am only to find that the base was on lock down. We waited an hour and the gates re-opened and we began what I thought would be a quick trip. We were hoping to be back in Detroit by 5pm so I could drop off my uniforms at Selfridge Air National Guard Base for alterations.  So we were rushing! 

What no one told me was the size difference in military uniforms.  I think I tried on 10 different size pants, skirts and shirts until I finally found a size that worked for me.  It didn't help having a male recruiter with me LOL as he had no idea how things were suppose to fit for a female.  Needless to say the pants for both uniforms are super baggy and I have to have lots of alterations done. 

Before I knew it 3 hours had passed.  I was able to get almost everything except for my boots, shoes and a few other items.  We obviously didn't make it back to Detroit in time.  I drove 10 hours that day to Detroit, Ohio, back to Detroit then home. 

Then on Saturday May 5, 2012 I drove back to Detroit and dropped my uniforms off at Selfridge.  I had never been to that base before.  It was fun to drive around see the planes and to talk to both active duty and veterans.  I have two more trips to make to Selfridge to drop more clothes off for alterations but I will be ready to come come July!  Due to the amount of officers that will be at training in July I was advised to have all my uniforms ready to go when I arrive.  With the craziness of the last 5 days purchasing, ordering more stuff online and alterations I would be a complete stress ball if I had to do all of this when I arrived at Maxwell AFB. 

While on my trip to Wright-Patt on Wednesday my recruiter gave some self reports from other officers who had completed Officer Training.  The 4 weeks that I will be there will be like being back in school all over again.  Lots of classroom time, homework, presentations and of course physical activity.  I will have very limited amount of time to talk to family and friends as my free time will be used to prepare for the next day, study etc.  I am so nervous about this training so please send some prayers my way!!!!

I felt so rushed and overwhelmed this last week that I didn't have time to "take it all in" so writing this blog entry helps a bit. This whole process has been such a stressful yet rewarding experience.  I don't think it has truly hit me yet that I am leaving and beginning this whole new life.  I have met some amazing and helpful people along the way and for this I am forever grateful. 

I will post pictures of my entire uniform with all the pins, tags etc once I pick them up from the alterations but for now here is the one picture I have :)

AND yet another trip....this time NYC!

I made my last trip to NYC to see my sister, brother in law and 3 nephews.  When I get to California I will not be able to travel for over a year so I wanted to see my sister and her family before I left.  It was a great visit.  Spending the time at my nephew's school, taking the kiddos to the Central Park Zoo on a beautiful day and having some much needed one-on-one time with my sister while shopping in Soho made the trip so memorable.  My nephews are so smart and so funny!  I had soooo much fun with them!  Here are some pictures from the trip...I can't believe I did not get a picture with my sister or brother in law!

View of the city when I flew into NYC!

My nephew Whitaker and me

Dash, Whitaker and me :)

My youngest nephew Truman

Like many of the trips I take I was again reminded of how blessed I truly am. I have 5 handsome nephews and one beautiful niece.  Parents, a brother and a sister who I love so much and a sister-in-law and brother-in-law who are gifts from God for my siblings and myself. It is hard to imagine leaving everyone and moving to the west coast but I still feel called to the mission.

I wrote on my Facebook page earlier today while traveling home "saying goodbye to my sister, brother-in-law and nephews is hard but today was much worse. I will not see them for close to 1.5 years. This is the first of many goodbyes for me with family and friends...I know joining the Air Force and moving to California is the right decision for me but it sure doesn't make it any easier." 

As I am writing this blog the movie "Bucket List" came on TV.  On my previous blog I wrote about having a bucket list with moving out of Michigan being on the top of my list.  I found this pretty ironic that this movie was playing at the time I was updating my blog.  Leaving will be hard but I am so excited to be able to cross the #1 thing off my list!

 I am blessed to have such amazing people in my life to support and encourage me through this journey.  Thank you to my family. 

Impromptu Road Trip!

On Saturday March 24th myself and one of my fav girls decided to hop in our cars and drive to Cleveland, Ohio.  Cherry lives in Toronto so it was a 4 hour drive for her to meet me in Detroit.  Then it was a 3 hour drive from Detroit.  We did a road trip like this back in September together and had SO MUCH FUN. 

Why you ask did we decide to go to Cleveland at the last minute.... well for NKOTB of course :) Three of the boys were in town for the day and I had free tickets.  We went back and forth all day  on Friday and Saturday morning if we wanted to drive that far.  Then it was decided that we couldn't pass this opportunity up.  The trip was more for Cherry and I to spend some time together before I move to California.  The boys were just an added bonus.  There is never a dull moment when the super hero twins are together! These are the times I will cherish and miss the most when I move.  I love you CBOMB.  Thanks for creating even more amazing memories with me...I am so blessed to call you a friend! xoxo

BTW we were not allowed to have our camera in the event so sorry friends no fun pictures of the boys (except the ones I "borrowed" from NKOTB.com)! 

Cherry and I at our gorgeous hotel!

All dolled up for our boys!

At the venue :)

Crunchy and me

How can you not love them?!?!?

Cherry stopping the bus...!

Road Trip fun...stuck in traffic in Ohio!

Saying goodbye is always hard (at the Detroit/Canada border).

HOUSE HUNTING!

So today started the housing hunting task for California.  Travis Air Force Base is located in Fairfield California.  Basically it is between San Fransisco and Sacramento.  I have narrowed down the cities I would like to live in which include Fairfield/Vacaville, Davis which is close to Sacramento and it's a college town (yippee LOL) and Vallejo which is close to San Fransisco. I have just been looking online for places I would like to check out when I arrive and have been getting some great advise from friends who live or have lived in that area.   

I am a bit stressed about the entire move and showing up in California after training without a place to live.  The movers will come and pick up my belonging on June 29th.  Everything I own will go to California and stay in storage.  I will drive to Alabama on June 30th for COT (Commissioned Officer Training) until August 3rd.  After graduation on August 3rd I will drive cross country from Alabama to Travis Air Force Base.  I should have a few days left when I get there to house hunt before I have to report for my first day. I will pack some belongings and live out of a bag and on base until I find a place. Please pray that I find a place quickly!

 

 

I have a bucket list (if you don't have one....make one!) and driving cross country is one of the many things my list. I am so excited to be able to experience this with one of my best friends. The adventure, the sight seeing and the laughs will be something I will treasure forever.  It will be a great way to drive into my new life...with one of my BFF's along side of me!  I am truly blessed.  Thanks Potter for taking the time off of work to travel with me.  I am forever grateful!

A few nights ago I was laying in bed and started crying about leaving all my friends and my family (especially my niece and nephews).  It is all happening so fast and before you know it June will be here and it will be time for me to leave.  I worry about my relationships with my family and friends taking a back seat to the Air Force.  I worry about missing them so much and me thinking I made the wrong decision.  I know it will be hard but I hope that the reasons why I chose to travel this road will overtake my homesickness. I am excited for this journey just not looking for the feelings of missing home.  I am excited to meet new people, to live in California and to help all those who have served our country! 


“Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk." ~ The Dalai Lama
This quote is so fitting for me right now.  Thanks Jen for posting it and letting me steal it! 


Thank you for your continued prayers and support!!!!

 HAPPY ST. PATTY'S DAY!!!!!

What a fun weekend!  Myself and 7 of my friends including my aunt from LA all headed to Chicago for St. Patty's Day weekend.  We had an amazing room/suite with a great view of the river that was dyed green on St. Patty's Day morning.  The weather was gorgeous!  I was hurting pretty bad Monday morning from the lack of sleep and I lost my voice.  I wouldn't have changed it for anything!   

My friend Jordana, Michelle and me standing by the river

after it was dyed green! 

All of my beautiful friends out in Chicago!

The view from a roof top apartment building. 

The boy is my roommate and best boy BFF Tony! 

These are the trips that I will miss so much when I move to California. I have a lot of mini trips planned between now and June so stay tuned. If you want to see more pics from the fun weekend check out my facebook page!

 

Videos of my Air Force Ceremony on March 3, 2012!

First Video: My Oath


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK56-a4TugE&feature=share


Second Video: My first Salute (I obviously need to learn how to salute properly) and a small speech.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_7PtZwOTR8&feature=share