Almost a year ago (WOW, can't believe how fast time passes) when Andrew first got his orders for Ranger School, I didn't know much about what it was or what to expect. At the time I thought it was months and months of NO communication and classroom training... little did I know. So I did what any good Army Girlfriend would do.... GOOGLE THAT!
I did a lot of research and I stumbled upon a message board website for the significant others and family of military members. Before that day I had never been on a message board or chat room website, so I didn't really understand how everything worked but I decided to give it a go and start a thread introducing myself and asking about Ranger School. I did so and a few girls responded on that thread within a few minutes and they were all so supportive and nice and offered some really good advice.
A day or two later I went back on the website and saw a private message in my inbox titled "Ranger School". I was confused, but I read it and it was a girl offering some answers to some of my questions and worries. She said that her boyfriend had done Ranger School a year or two earlier and explained to me in detail what it was all about.
I messaged her back and eventually we ended up sending at least one email back and forth each day. We found out that the guys were both Signal Corps, with Infantry Branch Detail. At the time, I was still living in New Hampshire, but driving down to Elizabethtown quite a bit for the good ol' job search and she was living just outside of Philadelphia.
As the months went by, we found more and more similarities. The branch transfer that Joe (her boyfriend) had put in for to go to Aviation fell through and he learned that he would be deploying in January of 2011. This was all happening while Andrew was frantically trying to switch duty stations with someone (anyone really) so that he could deploy sooner than 2012. About a month before Andrew started Ranger School he found out his transfer went through and he would be stationed at Fort Knox and gearing up for deployment.... in January of 2011.
As we continued talking we got really close. I never understood how some couples could meet online and have that "instant connection" until Laura and I started talking. I felt like I knew her, I told her everything and she was the one person I felt could truly understand what I was going through, especially with Ranger School. She and Joe got engaged only 2 a few months before Andrew and I did and it became very clear to both of us that once she came back to the states (from her long stay with Joe) that we would have to meet up somewhere between Hershey and Philadelphia.
She and Joe got married in November and she is spending as much time in Germany as she can before he leaves. We were texting each other over Christmas and we somehow realized that we would both be traveling through O'Hare Airport on December 30th... AT THE SAME TIME!
We tell each other all the time that we were destined to find each other. I can't explain how much support you can get from someone who has lived through what you are living through and knows all of the emotions/feelings/routines that are involved. We decided that this was no coincidence... it had to be fate. So we decided to meet!
I was so nervous waiting for her at my gate (since my flight got in before hers) but I talked to Andrew's mom on the phone and she said "I know you're nervous now, but as soon as you hug her it's just gonna feel like you've met a million times before". And (as usual) Mom was right! It was so great to FINALLY meet her and give her a big hug and just t a l k. It was like we'd been best friends for years! I am so lucky to have someone who knows what I am going though! It's just so weird to think that a year ago I didn't even know this girl and neither of our boyfriends were due to deploy this soon and now she is married, I'm engaged and they are deploying within a week of each other! If that's not destiny, I don't know what is....
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