I did not join military life by choice, like most people. I was born into it. Until the age of two, I lived on a United States submarine base. I was born in Groton, Conn. as my father served at the New London Submarine Base. On my first birthday my family packed up and moved to St. Marys, Ga. For the next year my father served on the USS Louisiana as Chief Petty Officer. Shortly after, he retired after 21 years of service to this country, but the life of being a Chief Petty Officer never ends. Instead of being in charge of a submarine, he was in charge of three boys.
1. Waking up to "Anchors Aweigh" every Saturday morning.
Yes, every Saturday morning for as long as I can remember my dad would blare the song throughout the house to wake all of us up. It is a memory I will never forget. I have to say I would still prefer this as an alarm rather than my phone on a Monday morning.
2. My Dad loves it when we call him Chief.
Calling him Dad or any other name was just OK. He still liked it but if we called him Chief we were on his good side for the rest of the day. It has carried on to my brother's children as well who either call my dad Nonno, which is Italian for Grandpa, or Chief.
3. He expects the most of me.
We butt heads, but he still loves me and wants the best for me. Any other person, besides my mother, would have given up already but he knows that I will succeed just as he did in much worse conditions. He expects a lot but I know that I am able to achieve those standards that he sees will come from me. My children will have the same values and goals, just as my brothers and I had.
4. We know how to clean up a house.
My mom would leave for a few days every year to drive my grandma down to her house in Florida. In the three days that she was gone, every piece of laundry would be washed. I would go to take a shower and my clothes that I took off before the shower would be in the washer by the time that I set foot in the shower. The house would be cleaner than how my mom left it when she returned from her trip to Florida. I actually hated this time because it usually included my brothers and I cleaning the house as well.
5. We own three copies of "Top Gun."
It was a boat movie that my dad shared with the family. On the submarine they had a certain amount of movies that they broad along with them. "Top Gun" was one, and my father made sure at a young age that we all had seen it. That trait has spread because a few months ago I introduced a friend of mine to "Top Gun." I often use references from the movie to talk to my friends.
But overall I could never ask for a better childhood. I had a top-notch father and an amazing mother who instilled some great traits into my life and I could not ask for anything else. I was raised right and have a feeling the submarine background had a lot to do with it. Love you, Chief!
