Deployment Positive Thursday- Week 2

As another Thursday rolls around, its time for another weekly positive! I have found in the past few days that I have been spending a lot of time (when driving, or trying to sleep, etc.) thinking about what my positive will be for this week! I think it is a good thing to be always thinking about the positives, rather than dwelling on the negatives.. Shannon told me once that studies show that that generally leads to happier people!

Even though this week's positive I knew a long time ago, I also have a few more to add.

First and definitely most important: Our favorite show, Archer, had it's second season premier tonight. We have been looking forward to this for close to a year and even though I haven't watched it yet- not to worry, its on the DVR- I am absolutely giddy with excitement. Some of the fondest memories of my visits down to Knox and Benning were when Andrew and his friends would just quote Archer episodes over and over again. I'd be lucky to insert one or two lines before they would all finish the quotes for me. It was sure to put me in stitches every time.

Second: I got the contracts for the Hotel Hershey today! It needs some adjustments, but as long as we get it back to them signed, sealed and delivered by February 14th, that baby is ours!

Third: Shannon called me today and said that she was doing a lot of thinking today after being able to communicate with Andrew last night. She made me realize how lucky we are to have instant communication even though we are thousands of miles away from Andrew. I will admit, I have done my fair share of complaining about missing Andrew by a few minutes or only getting to say a few things to him each night, but when you think about it that way, we've been spoiled rotten! I would never trade places with a military family from a previous war and have to wait weeks or even months for a single letter... heck, we all know how crazy that made me after only 15 weeks of Ranger School this summer. And that was with a phone call every few weeks, as well as a 3 week period with phone calls almost every night.

I also thought a lot about my maternal grandparents. (Background: My mother's entire family is German, she was born and raised there, just like all the previous generations of her ancestors. She came to the US for a temporary job in her late twenties, met my dad and after a few years of dating and her moving back and forth from there to here, they got married, had us kids and the rest is history) My grandfather was a Luftwaffe pilot in the Second World War. He flew over 1,000 combat missions and was one of the most decorated German pilots of his time. I have a lot of pride in what he did for his country, but also know that the people who were leading that country were very bad people and did a lot of bad things, which leads to me having a lot of mixed emotions on the subject. But, as Andrew always tells people- he fought mainly on the Eastern Front, so he was just ahead of his time-- he wasn't bombing any Americans, so we should really be thanking him.

My grandparents were engaged in November of 1944 and 13 days later they were married. He had two days leave and then it was back to war. Just before the war ended he was actually captured by the Allied Forces and held as a Prisoner of War. When the war ended, because he was so honored- by friend and foe, alike- he was released. (I have been told they later killed all of the POWs where he was held, but I really don't know the validity of that story.) He walked (and I'm guessing somehow caught rides with people) back to Germany to his wife, who for 6 weeks had no idea if he had survived. She often tells me how hard it was in those days and how she would wait weeks for a letter. Their story is heart-wrenching and I ache for her, because I can only imagine the pain she must have gone through in those weeks, and throughout that entire war.

So the next time I go a day or two without talking to my soldier, you can bet I will be counting my blessings that we live in an era of instant communication and lots of planes bringing letters and care packages galore to and from Afghanistan almost every day!

I'm Officially Never Going to Sleep Again

This week started out wonderfully, and except for the darn Steelers/Jets game the weekend was just about perfect! Not that I was rooting for the Jets, but football is one thing that Andrew and I will never see eye-to-eye on... but that is another story for another day. Moral of the story: GO PACKERS!

Monday was hands-down the BEST day since deployment started.... and it'll be hard to top in the 350+ days we have left. Mom (Dolan) and I spent the day at The Spa at the Hotel Hershey. Ladies: this is something you must do for yourselves every once in a while. Deployment or not, we all have stressors in our lives and I cannot tell you how much a day of pampering can do for you. It was simply wonderful. We spend hours at the hotel. We had lunch in our robes at a special restaurant only open for spa guests and visited all the shops inside the hotel. We even brought home cupcakes so that Dad could enjoy the benefits of our day, too!

I decided that while we were there, we might as well meet with the wedding coordinator since I still don't have the contract I asked for almost 2 weeks ago. She agreed to meet with us and she put my mind at ease. Sometimes I forget I still have over 18 months to plan this wedding! We talked about some details and she recommended a photographer (who I already contacted) and a DJ so I am checking things off my to-do list left and right! I absolutely can not wait to get married at the Hotel. Being there on Monday really made everything sink in and it actually feels real now! Even in the winter, with all the plants dead and the grounds half-covered with snow, it is beautiful. In the summer... it will be simply breathtaking.

Aside from Monday, this week I have gotten back into the swing of things and the fact that deployment is actually happening and will actually be for a full year has really started to sink in. Sunday and Monday night Andrew sent me emails about 10 minutes after I went to bed. I can't express how frustrating it has been to wake up in the morning to emails from someone you love who is so far away and know that you won't be able to communicate with them for another 20 or more hours. I felt so out of the loop with Andrew's whole life, I didn't even know where he was (expect for that he wasn't to his final destination yet) and it was hard to know that if I had just stayed up 15 minutes longer I would have been able to talk to him.

Last night we had our weekly Bowling League. I love it! We are the Bowlin' Dolans (PPF, as Aunt Lori calls it: Aunt Kathy is a Past Dolan; Aunt Lori and Aunt Mary are Present Dolans; and I am the Future Dolan) and even though we (mostly me) don't have the best average, boy do we have fun- and we won 4 out of 4 games this week! It is so nice to have something to look forward to each week, and as always the Dolans are the best family I could possibly marry into! I couldn't ask for a more supportive and loving bunch of people! Everyone was excited to hear any news from Andrew, but unfortunately I didn't have any. It's tough to not have ANY news for people who also care so much about his well-being.

When I got home after bowling and dinner at Hennigans (also a weekly tradition) I thought I would be able to out-smart whatever force decided that Andrew and I shouldn't be communicating these last few days. I went to bed around 11:30 to read, but kept my iPod there so that it would ding if I got an email or Facebook Message. When it "ding-ed" (dung?!?) around midnight I was so excited! I immediately messaged Andrew back and was absolutely heartbroken when he said he only had 2 minutes left on the computer. Memories of our 5 minute calls after each 3 week phase of Ranger School came rushing back to me: each of us hurrying to say everything we felt was important in the little time we had. Not so much communicating, rather talking at each other. We did get our "I love yous" in though so will count that as a plus.

After Andrew signed off I felt defeated again. It was a let down that we didn't get to have a conversation like I have been dreaming about for the past week. Tonight hopefully I will learn my lesson and just stay up all night until I hear from my soldier. This morning I awoke to a long email from Andrew, though which made me feel a lot better about things. I got updated on which FOB (Forward Operating Base) he is at and how long he thinks he will be there (about another 2-3 days).

My favorite line of the email made me giggle. I can totally hear Andrew saying this to me:

".... so all-in-all I'm doing well. The food is good, the sleep is plentiful, the tents are warm, and we [poop] in plastic bags.  What more could a guy want in life?" 

I may have edited the "pooping" word slightly, but you get the picture. He sounds upbeat and happy. He also got word that come April he will most certainly probably get his own platoon, which is exactly what he was aiming for. He will be leading 40 men into battle and I can't think of anyone better suited for that job. It's what he has trained for, what all the blood, sweat and tears (to be clear: his blood, his sweat, my tears) during Ranger School were working towards, and it is what he is destined to do.

The Little Things

Yesterday was such a relaxing day... exactly what I needed for the first full weekend of this deployment! I even took Jared and Lillia to the Hershey Bears Hockey game last night! They were so well behaved (as usual) and the bears won big (5-1) against the Rochester Americans.

I will be honest though, the realities of deployment were starting to get to me yesterday. I hadn't heard from Andrew since Wednesday night when they left Manas and I had no idea when to expect communication again. I never thought I'd say this, but that was one nice thing about Ranger School... we always knew how many days until our next phone call. Thankfully, the days of Ranger School are long-gone, and now we are are busy facing a new challenge.

I have been battling a cold for over a week and a half so I took some nyquil last night as I went to bed. I wrote a quick email to my soldier and then decided to check facebook before finally hitting the hay. As all facebook users know, it's like a monster that sucks you in. There is no "quick facebook visit". I don't know what it is about the site, but it's impossible to just log-on for a minute or two. So during this late-night facebook visit, I got a chat message from one of Andrew's friends who deployed the day before him. The nyquil was kicking in at this point, and if it was anyone other than someone who could give me information about Andrew, I definitely would have just shut the computer down and gone to bed.

I am so glad I didn't! After saying hi, Smith (Andrew's buddy) asked if I had anything to say to Andrew because he was standing right behind him! I was so excited I just said "hiiiiiiii honey!" Of course the wireless internet in the house picked that exact moment to quit working. I was so frustrated but after running around in a circle with the computer trying to find the signal (there's a nice mental image for you- and as if that's really how it works) I got finally got the wifi signal back. In less than a minute of having no signal I got the following messages from Andrew:

Hi babe!
I'm gonna call you tomorrow from our next place
Thing are going well here
I'll tell you all about it later, but I'm gonna let Smith get back to his computer. 
Love you lots babe!

By the time I got back, Smith was back online, but it was so good to hear from Andrew. In normal circumstances I would have been really bummed to have missed actually messaging with Andrew, but after 4+ days of no communication I couldn't have been happier... and boy, did I have a good hard sleep last night! It's amazing what a little "hello" from someone who loves you can do. Every little snippet I get from Andrew is a gift at this point, and honestly I'll be perfectly happy to just get an "I love you" ever few days. (Although, I won't lie, I am really looking forward to that call from his next place tomorrow! I can't wait to hear all the details of what's been going on in the past week or so!)

One more little thing: 1 week down about 51 to go!

Deployment Positive Thursday- Week 1

When I had this idea of doing a weekly positive post, I was sure that the first few weeks (and probably some- or all- weeks in between) would be near impossible to dream up.
Honestly this deployment has taken me by surprise. I thought I would be out for the count for a long time after Andrew left, but I've been doing fine. Better than fine. I feel like this is all normal already, which is weird to me. It must be a case of the anticipation being worse than the actual "new normal". I think a lot of my "okay-ness" (yes I just made up that word, get used to it) with this deployment comes from a combination of two sources:

1. Prayer and Support of Family and Friends- this has been overwhelming and I am so thankful for each and every one of you
2. The fact that Andrew wasn't a part of my daily life before he left. We were used to the long distance relationship, so why not add a few more thousand miles between us. Technology makes the world a much smaller place!

Okay so on with my positive for this week: Most of my excitement since Andrew left has come from the fact that I've been able to communicate with him every day so far. I am so thankful for this. My expectations were to maybe hear from him via email once or twice in this first week-- if I was lucky. So BIG checkmark in that box! As long as Andrew has wifi, I get texts (and a video chat every now and again)! And given the situation, I couldn't be happier! I told Andrew the other day: so far this deployment is peanuts compared to Ranger School!

I also have something else (on a slightly smaller scale- but something that has been bothering me for a while, nonetheless) to be happy about; I finally figured out how to let those interested subscribe for email updates (thanks mostly to our engagement picture photographer, and friend, Amy!). I played around with it a little bit and if I did everything right (fingers crossed) all you have to do is enter your email address over there --> on the right where it asks for it and this "feed burner" service will send you an email when I add a new post. I tried it out  and it seems to work, but depending on your email service (gmail, yahoo, etc.) it might show up in your spam or junk folder.

New Day, New Routine

Well our first full day of this deployment has officially come to an end. I'm happy to say that I feel fine. I can't believe it, but there wasn't a single moment today where I felt the urge to cry. In all the ways I imagined this day going, I never could have fathomed this.

I took the day off from work because I knew I would need a day to recuperate and recover. Last night I actually slept well. Didn't have any weird dreams and even slept in until almost noon! It was glorious. I was awoken by the pitter-patter of little feet coming up the stairs and quiet giggling as my bedroom door slowly opened! I was so happy to see the bright, smiling faces of Alisia, Lillia and Gavin! They jumped up in bed with me- and Lillia grabbed the Camouflaged Camel that sings Ice, Ice Baby and started playing it and I was just so happy to be with them! I went downstairs and we all had a PJ day which was exactly what I needed.

I was watching the Nutcracker with the girls around 2 when I heard Shannon call my name and say "KRISTINA! Mom just got a text from AJ!" I ran upstairs to see, and it was really true! Then ran back down to get my phone and saw that I, too, had gotten a text!

"Totally in Manas. It's 1 am Tuesday. What time is it there?"

I couldn't have been happier! Andrew bought an iPod Touch a week or two ago and was really close to returning when he couldn't get his music onto it (because he has an outdated operating system) but decided to keep it because of all the cool apps. One of those apps is called TextNow (thanks, Karly!) and as long as he has wifi he can text my cell phone (or any phone) for free! We came to the conclusion yesterday that our iPods are officially the best investment we've ever made!

Not only did we get to text, we also used FaceTime, another program on the iPod (I'm really plugging for you here, Steve Jobs) which is basically the same thing as Skype. It was so great to see his smiling face! We had some connection problems because the signal in Manas isn't so good, but we talked for maybe ten minutes this afternoon and about twenty tonight! He even gave me and his mom a virtual tour around the FOB (Forward Operating Base) in Manas.

He should be in Manas until Tuesday or Wednesday, but these types of things often get pushed back. For not he is in high spirits and just hanging out. They have a gym, DFac (Dining Facility), game room... all the comforts of home! I am back to work in the morning and actually looking forward to getting into a new routine. If tomorrow goes anything like today did, I should be a very happy camper!

The Day I have been Dreading for Years . . .

Well today was the day. I can't believe I am writing this post. Today was nothing short of miserable. I'll try to keep it quick, mainly because I'm emotionally and physically exhausted, but here goes nothing:

I changed my flight (for the 3rd or 4th time in 24 hours... honestly I lost count) again this morning til later in the day because I couldn't imagine dropping him off and then going to the airport knowing that he was just sitting alone at the COF when I could have been with him.

When I woke up this morning, I just felt happy to still be with Andrew. There was very little sadness in my morning at all actually. And absolutely not a single tear until about a half an hour before he boarded the bus. We just soaked up every last minute we had with each other and I will always be grateful for that time. We played lots of Monopoly on our iPods and just had great conversations. Since we got there a little late, we didn't have time to stop for breakfast so I ran out after bag drop and got some Tim Horton's (less fabulous version of Dunkins) for us to chow on while we waited. My coffee was definitely needed, as sleep was not very easy to come-by the night before. I only ate about half of my breakfast sandwich because I honestly had no appetite. Here we are in the COF about an hour before he left.

Bag Drop at 0900... we were running a little late, but oh well! We knew we would have 4+ hours to sit around and wait so we weren't too worried. 

1230- a sloppy formation after a long (and very cry-y) "see ya later" and a very smiley soldier! I miss this face already. All of the families were behind a barrier about 20 feet away from the soldiers.

Boarding the busses. This was without a doubt the single hardest moment of my life. I couldn't (and still can't) believe this would be my last glance at the love of my life for the next 6-8 months. 

After watching the busses drive away, I sat in my car and just let myself cry for a long time. I hate to say it, but I couldn't shake the thought of "a full year" from my brain. I hated it. He would miss so much. I would miss him so much. I started driving back to the apartment, and got so lost on post. It was miserable. Finally I found my way out but then went the wrong way on the highway back to the apartment. All together to get back to the highway should have taken no more than 10 minutes. Probably took me at least 30. Yikes! 

But plus-side: I found this awesome street sign!! (it says Olsen Crossway if you can't see it) Eventually I got back to the apartment (because of course in all the commotion this morning, I had forgotten if I locked the door or not on our way out, and I wanted to grab some last minute things) before heading to the airport. When I got there (obviously the door was locked) I turned off the circuit breakers for the laundry room and the range in the kitchen, grabbed my stuff and then got a call from my favorite ever college roommate! Amy called right when I needed her to, I love her so much! We had a long chat and she knew I just needed to talk it out and know that I had people supporting me and praying for us. She said all the right things, and really got me past a lot of my tears. (Love you, Ames!) I headed to the airport just after 2 for my 4:25 flight, but I was nervous because I had to return the rental car and I didn't know how long that would take. 

It didn't take too long, but I was still beyond depressed. As soon as I got through security, I still had just under 2 hours before we left so I sat down in one of those massager chairs, put 5 bucks in, and just sat and cried. I didn't care who saw me. I wrote a long email to Andrew saying all the things I forgot to say before he left. As we were boarding, I saw this little guy in my purse (no idea how it got there) that made me so happy but also so sad. Andrew had gotten these from Fort Benning a year or so ago and has one in his truck! I love it! The flight was uneventful, and I fought back tears the whole time. I just put my ipod on and wanted to fall asleep but being in a middle seat, I had no such luck. 

When I got back to BWI, I saw some devastating news- the Pats were down 7-3 at halftime. Don't want to talk about it. I got my bags from baggage claim and Andrew's mom picked me up. We both had a good cry- and a long hug as soon as we saw each other. We had a long drive ahead of us but it was good to just talk with her. We talked about everything under the sun and I could feel myself getting stronger and stronger as we talked. Mom has an amazing way of always making me feel better. We were both sad, but it's always better when we're together. We stopped for dinner (and I hate even mentioning this, we watched the Patriots end their own season- the cherry on top of a horrendous day) and then continued our drive home.

We got back around ten and I had mail waiting for me! I was so excited because I knew something very special just might be there; and I was right! Back story: Three years ago, on the night before I left to study in Italy (our first experience with the long-distance thing, and a trial run to see if military life could ever possibly work for us) Andrew gave me the most beautiful Claddagh Ring with my birthstone (sapphire) inside the heart. I wore it every day of my life (didn't even take it off in the shower) until about a month ago when the back snapped in two. I knew it was coming, but it was still a let down. We tired to have it fixed, but decided to have his cousin, Kelly, get me a new one in Ireland since she is studying there this semester! I so happy to see that it had gotten here a few days ago and I could not wait to see it! I ripped open the box and put it on and cried happy tears when it fit perfectly and it is an EXACT replica of my original ring! What a happy ending to such a hard day. 

I talked a little more with Andrew's parents and caught up on all the E-town happenings before calling it a night. I definitely am ready for some sleep and a shower at this point. But my cell phone ringer is on extra loud (even though I know I probably won't hear from Andrew for a couple of days) so I can hear it and it will wake me up no matter what. Let the days of bringing the phone to the bathroom with me begin again.....

Hurry Up and Wait

Well the big Deployment Day finally came.. and what an emotional roller coaster it was. Andrew was told to be on post for bag drop at 11:45 this morning. Our original plan was that he would drop me off at the airport at 10:30 for my flight at noon, but when he found out he didn't have a ride to post we decided it would be best to rent a car and for me to switch my flight until later in the day.

The drive into post was nothing short of miserable. As I drove Andrew made some calls to say his "see ya laters" (because this is NOT goodbye) to family and friends. I was sad for us to part ways, but hearing him saying bye to everyone over and over again was way harder than I thought I would be. I won't lie, I cried the whole 40 minute drive into Fort Knox. I couldn't even sit in the car when he called his nieces and nephews, it absolutely broke my heart, so I stopped for gas and to get lottery tickets inside the station. I was a wreck... as you can see in this God-Awful picture. Recorded for posterity's sake.

We got to Fort Knox and stopped for some to-go breakfast to eat before he boarded the bus. Little did we know that the Army had a lot of waiting in store for us. We both thought I would drop him off, he would board a bus and that would be that. NOPE. We had to wait in a line for him to sign out his gun (for about an hour) and while we were in line his First Sergeant came up to us and informed us that he was on Standby.

UGH.

Are you kidding me? To me that was actually more devastating than having to let Andrew go today. All the back and forth of "is he going? is he not going" was sure to send me into a tailspin for sure. Plus with my flight I didn't know what I was going to do. I was basically just 150% stressed about the whole idea of "standby". But as it turned out, it actually calmed me to know that he was about 90% sure he wouldn't be leaving until tomorrow. They told him not to even drop his bags until everyone else boarded the busses because they would have to see if there was room on the jets.

Once Andrew got his weapon we sat around in a cold warehouse for about two and a half hours before we all had to move about 50 yards to a new warehouse so they could stand in formation and do a roll call. (I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I don't know what this is called in the military, but I'm sure it's not roll call or attendance. All the emotions of the day are taking their toll on my mind) After that Tricia (his buddy, Bright's girlfriend- who we had been hanging out with all week) and I thought the guys would know if they were going or not, but when they came back we still didn't know. So we went back to the original warehouse (called a COF- Company Operations Facility) for more waiting in the freezing cold.

At some point we decided that we would never know if he was leaving or not in time for me to make my flight. I called Southwest and changed my flight to noon tomorrow. Such a good feeling to know Southwest has NO CHANGE FEES!

The hardest part of the day was seeing all the dads in uniform with their children. Most of the kids were too young to understand that this was their last day with Daddy for a long time, but it was still so heartbreaking. There were so many babies that were only a few months old. I know how hard a time Andrew is having leaving his family and me and especially his nieces and nephews for a year, I can't imagine how those dads must feel. It was horrible to watch.

We sat in the COF for another hour and a half and then we were told it was time for formation outside by the busses. They called the guys' names who were definitely leaving today and they boarded the busses. Then they told us that Andrew (and Bright and whoever else was on Standby) had to wait at the COF for another 2 hours until they found out if there was room on the jet or not. So the four of us and Bright's family waited for about another hour and then we went to the PX (because they said we just had to wait in a common area) to get something to eat and to wait around some more. Around 6 we decided to call it quits. The guys finally realized that there was no way for anyone to get a hold of them-- no matter where they were-- so we called it quits and all went home for the night.

We had big plans of going out to a club or something, but on the drive home Andrew and I realized how exhausted we were (he even fell asleep twice on the way home) from all the emotions of the day. When we got home we watched the second half of the Steelers Game (for the first time since I've known Andrew I actually rooted for the Steelers- because he was so sad when they were losing- as my deployment gift to him). He and I went out for sushi (the BEST sushi we've probably ever had) and now we are planning on just spending the rest of our bonus 24 hours together watching reruns of Entourage and Archer and just being happy to be together for another day! 

So I'm gonna get myself off of this blog and back into the arms of my soldier! I already called Southwest and changed my flight AGAIN for later in the day tomorrow. I'm dreading tomorrow, but today was such a blessing so I have to keep that in the back of my mind. 

Our Last Date Night (for a while)

Quick post to tell you about our night tonight! My parents were nice enough to give us gift certificate for a date night in Louisville and we decided to wait until tonight to use it! Definite good decision. We went somewhere way out of our normal price range and even ordered a whole bottle of wine. Here are some highlights!

 Our dinner at Proof on Main- No, we didn't sit on the same side of the booth, not to worry... he came over to my side just for the picture!

The back of the dessert menu. So cool and they let me bring it home for our scrapbook!

 The restaurant was attached to a contemporary art museum. Andrew posing with one of the exhibits. He really loved all the different art on display.

These red penguins were everywhere! I loved them!

Andrew loving the exhibits!

Our favorite painting. Andrew calls it "The Ninja Last Supper" 

Loved this place! I had mussels and risotto and Andrew had a pork chop wrapped in bacon (he was so excited to have double pork on his last night before heading to Afghanistan and not being allowed to have it for a full year!) 

When we got home we had to put the motorcycle into the apartment! That was a fun and interesting 20 minutes! Getting it out will be a whole nother story. 

The apartment filled to the brim with all the guys' stuff!

Okay that's all for tonight.... we've both got lots more packing to do, and I have a lot of Monopoly to kick Andrew's butt at!

Happy Thursday

Well this week is finally here... And I am lucky enough to have gotten the week off from work so I can spend this whole week with Andrew! It's been great to just relax and do nothing and just enjoy our last few days together for the next year.

Anyhow I vowed to myself and to my blog that I would post a weekly positive. This week it's obvious that my positive is that I get to spend this week with Andrew. Today when he was napping I stole a pair of his dogtags and took some pics. Unfortunately I took them with my iPod so they didn't turn out great but it'll be nice to have them to look at during deployment. Here are some of my favs:

Weekly Deployment Positives

I've decided that the only way I'm going to get through this deployment is to stay as positive as possible. My new deployment goal is to have a weekly Deployment Positive to keep myself focused on the goal at hand and happy about the little things. Looking at this deployment as a whole year can be overwhelming at times so I'll use this as a measure to take things a day (or a week) at a time. It always helps to have little milestones to look forward to!

So this week: I have a few positives (and deployment hasn't even started yet!)

1. When my car needed to go into the shop on Monday, I had a car to drive since Andrew left his truck here for the deployment.
2. I leave on Saturday for my last visit with Andrew before he leaves. I'm lucky enough to get the whole week off and we'll be able to spend all that time together.
3. The best news: I used my Rapid Rewards from Southwest to book my flight, so my grand total for the one way ticket: $2.50!!! Just had to pay the 9/11 Security Fee!

My Long Lost Soul Sister

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....