As our first Post-Deployment Block Leave comes to an end, I wanted to take a look at a list I made early in the deployment regarding all the things we were missing and wanted to do when Andrew returned home. My original list is below in black, and my 2012 updates are in red next to them. Without trying to (infact, I had almost forgotten that I made this list), we nearly accomplished everything on this list.
Get every single hug and kiss in that we can- currently enjoying this
Go to Dinner and a movie- done and done
Text and call whenever we want to without being charged an arm and a leg- loving this
Have SUSHI and experiment with all new kinds of fish- Three sushi dates under our belts in the first month- great success
Catch up on How I Met Your Mother and Entourage
Fall in love with new shows together- ummmm... every heard of The League? and Jimmy Fallon. Actually this is fun because we are introducing each other to new shows!
Go to McDonalds and get 50% off when he wears his uniform- In all honestly, I just can't see us doing this
Have a lazy day watching movies in our PJs- if lazy = slightly hungover :)
Wake up to the smell of his home-made Chocolate Chip Pancakes-I'll never get enough of this
Have a wedding food-tasting day to decide what will be served at the wedding! - TOMORROW!
LOTS of Country Concerts!
Take a picture of Andrew with his cardboard cut out clone- We actually did this over leave, and it was creepy, but awesome
Trips to Boston
... and eating at Fire & Ice- (still planning these two)
Watching Andrew catch up on all that missed time with his nieces and nephews- one of my favorite things to do! "Uncle AJ! Watch this!" "No, Uncle AJ, look at me!" Ah they can't get enough of him!
Pick out wedding bands (jewelry, not musicians)- soon
Long rides in the truck with nowhere in particular to go, just talking and singing along to country music- still remains one of my favorite passtimes
Motorcycle rides on winding back country roads in the springtime- springtime, dead of winter... same thing, right?
Getting the motorcycle out of the apartment.... - GIANT check mark in that box!
Celebrate every 2012 holiday together- not sure I remembered that Andrew is in the ARMY when I wrote this...
Finally become a family on August 4, 2012- love
Road trips to explore new cities
Maybe go to Indianapolis for the Super Bowl- I thank the Good Lord that we did not do this. I don't think my heart could have survived such dispair.
Dinners at Chili's started off with Kickin' Jack Nachos- "Chachi's"
Okay, okay... I think I've taken a long enough hiatus from blogging. Believe me though, you would have done the exact. same. thing. if you were in my shoes.
So far, 2012 has been nothing short of magical. Part of me still doesn't believe that this is all real; that everything I have been hoping and praying for for so long is finally here. But guess what? IT IS! And I couldn't be happier!
As our first deployment began to wind down, I noticed myself getting more and more impatient with everything that had just become "normal life" for the past year. I was over it, 8 Main Body flights with thousands of soldiers had already come home to Fort Knox, and I was ready for it to be our turn.
On Tuesday, January 3, 2012 I started the 599.6 mile journey to Louisville. It was a long drive, but totally worth it when I got to our apartment and had days to get everything cleaned and ready for my soldier's return.
On Wednesday Morning, I got my 72 hour notice call, letting me know that Andrew's flight was scheduled and that the homecoming ceremony for Main Body 9 would be on Friday Evening! I wanted so badly to shout it from the rooftops, announce it on every social media outlet on earth, and text everyone I knew. It was so hard to follow OPSEC and keep this information mainly to myself, but I did it, not only to keep the soldiers safe, but also to ensure that and OPSEC violation wouldn't further delay the flight.
The next few days were long, as I watched more friends return home to their loved ones, and finally Andrew's family arrived in Louisville on Friday afternoon. We had pizza at the apartment, and waited for what seemed like an eternity for my 4 hour notice call. When I got it at 6:58 pm I finally let myself get excited. This call meant that Andrew's flight had landed safely at the Louisville Airport. He was within 15 miles of me, and we just had to get through the next couple of hours (and outprocessing paperwork on his end) and a drive down to Fort Knox (about 40 minutes) before we were done with our first deployment.
I finished getting ready, got in the car with the rest of the family and we were on our way! I wish I could put every thought and feeling I had into words, but the truth of the matter is that the next couple of hours are nothing but a haze to me. I expected myself to be a complete emotional wreck (similar to the way I was when he returned home in October for R&R) but in all honesty, I was numb. Like I wouldn't let myself believe that the moment I had been waiting for so long for was finally here. And when I did see Andrew, I felt nothing but shear relief. No more waking in the middle of the night to a weird cell phone noise and not being able to get back to sleep, no more heart stopping every time the door bell rings (although, I think a part of my mind will always go 'there' when we have an unexpected visitor). My prayers had been answered and my soldier was home.
I know from experience, that the best part about other couples' homecomings are the pictures.... so here are some of our favorites
All of us waiting for HOURS!
Finally, they started lifting the curtain, and we could see boots.
My best guess is that it took about 7-10 minutes to fully raise the curtain. This was one of the longest waits of my life.
On 6 January at 2300 hours, 271 soldiers returned home to family and friends.
Searching the see of identical-looking men for mine!
FINALLY!
So what is next for us? Just enjoying life for once. Andrew is participating in his "reintegration training" daily at Fort Knox and I am returning to life as normal back in Pennsylvania. I have some responsibilities to finish at work before joining him in Kentucky this Spring.
As for the blog... don't worry, it's not going away! DPT's, however, are a thing of the past I'm afraid. I'll be around every now and then but probably not every single week. Just when exciting things are happening!
I'll admit, when this came across the tv screen during Brothers & Sisters tonight, my heart stopped. My mind immediately went to Andrew in Afghanistan, knowing only HUGE news could interrupt primetime television. I was scared to death, but stopped breathing for several seconds when I saw the following:
Nine years, seven months and twenty days in the making and so many prayers have been answered this evening. Rest easy tonight, America, we got 'em.
While I don't think this means the end of combat operations in Afghanistan, (ie, did we leave Iraq after Hussein was captured and killed?) I do believe it is a huge morale boost for our troops and for our country as a whole. The American People are back in this thing, and that is a force that should not be taken lightly.
I think Former President G. W. Bush said it best: "This momentous achievement marks a victory for America, for the people who seek peace around the world, and for all those who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001. The fight against terror goes on, but tonight America has sent an unmistakable message: no matter how long it takes, justice will be done."
If you know a little something about Mom Dolan or me, you know that when Andrew is gone (mainly Ranger School) or deployed we wear our prayer box necklaces. I have not taken mine off since the day he left, and I don't plan on it until he is finally in my arms again. It is basically a small box (about the size of a centimeter cube) that has a top that can actually open and close and you can put a prayer inside. Shannon's kids love to sit on my lap and say prayers for Uncle AJ, and they always touch my heart. Just today, Gavin said this prayer: "Dear Father, thank you for us going to church and having pizza for dinner. God love my family and Uncle AJ when he is in Afghanistan. Amen." Pretty amazing for a not-yet-three-year-old!
My prayer box (sorry for the blurry cell phone pic!) You can't really tell but mine has an american flag drawn on the front. I have noticed that whenever I am stressed or nervous or really contemplating a decision, I will fiddle with the latch and open and close the lid over and over, partly a nervous habit, but partially because I find it helps bring me peace of mind to be prayerful about whatever is happening.
On Thursday night (well, actually the wee hours in the morning on Friday) I finished Redeeming Love, a book Mom had given me to read two months ago. It took me a little while to get into it, but once I got going, I could not put it down. She gave it to me because it was the book that introduced her to the prayer box. It is a beautiful story, set in California in the 1850s, about a man, Michael Hosea, who sees a harlot on the street, Angel, and is spoken to by God that he is destined to love and marry this "soiled dove" and help her to find truth in Faith. It is clear that the author is re-telling the story of the Book of Hosea from the Old Testament. I highly recommend this book (mainly to women), it is unlike anything I have ever read before, but I honestly couldn't get enough of it. Even though I finished it several days ago, I still can't get Angel and Michael's story of faith, hope, and love out of my mind.
This was a perfect time for me to be reading (and finishing) this book, as I continue on in my own faith journey. I am currently in the RCIA (Rite of Catholic Initiation for Adults) process, though our parish church at St. Peter. Each Thursday Mom and I go to a two hour class with other candidates and their sponsors to learn, discuss and reflect on the teachings and beliefs of the Catholic faith. Today was my biggest step in the process so far, as my whole class was recognized by our parish and Father Dave and sent to be approved by Bishop McFadden to go forth with the final stage before our confirmation into Catholicism. It was a very moving day, with Mass this morning to celebrate the Rite of Sending at St. Peter and then the Rite of Election at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Harrisburg. It truly stuck me when we were at the Cathedral today, just how many people are on this journey with me, and all for various reasons. In the Diocese of Harrisburg, between 550 and 600 individuals go through the RCIA process and convert to Catholicism each year.
At this morning's mass, we sang a song called Come Back to Me from the Book of Hosea. As soon as I saw the title of the song (listed in the songbook as "Hosea (Come Back to Me)") I got chills. Before reading Redeeming Love, I don't think that I had ever heard of Hosea, and I definitely didn't know that Hosea was a Book in the Bible, and now here he was in my songbook this special day in my journey! The words of this song spoke to me on a multitude of different levels. The refrain is as follows:
Long have I waited for
Your coming home to me
And living deeply our new life
Although definitely not the intent of this song, my first thought was of Andrew, and how I long for the day he comes home to me and we can begin to build our new life together. However, upon further reflection, and after singing some of the verses, I also began to understand why we were singing such a song in church, especially on this day. Hosea (both in the Bible, and Redeeming Love) loved his wife without fail, no matter what she did to betray him, just as God loves His children unconditionally, even when they do not obey or follow Him.
My experience with Redeeming Love really came full circle today. There could not have been a better time for me to read that book, and having everything click, just made it that much better and more enjoyable. Although I was baptized and brought up Christian, I was not raised going to church every week and I was never strong in my beliefs or my faith. I am slowly beginning to fill the void that I didn't know existed in my life and in my heart. It will be a long time before I forget the power of this day and the blessings it brought me.
Of all the days I have lived, I think yesterday might have been my absolute favorite day EVER! Jen and I woke up at the crack of dawn (okay, that's a lie, but it felt early since I couldn't sleep the night before due to shear excitement!) We left the apartment by 8 to drive over to Camp Rogers one last time and guarantee that we had a good parking spot. There was lots of traffic, but by the time we were parked and in line it was probably 8:45. We waited for a little while and then I got a call from Andrew's mom.
Standing in line and waiting
to take our seats at Graduation.
Victory Pond in the background
They were lost and couldn't find Victory Pond! I was freaking out and so nervous that they wouldn't be able to get there in time. And if they were late how in the world was I supposed to save seats for SIXTEEN PEOPLE?! I had no idea where they were or how to tell them to get to where we were, and Shannon's GPS wasn't working (which I should have told them would happen before we left). I was getting so nervous. Twenty minutes later, they still weren't there yet and the line we were in was slowly making its way down the hill and into the bleachers for the graduation. Jen and I got great seats and tried to save as many as possible, but only managed saving 2 for Andrew's parents which was really the only thing that mattered to me at that point.
About ten minutes before the ceremony started, the whole family arrived! It ended up working out perfectly because Mr. & Mrs. Dolan sat with us, Sean and his family sat together, Shannon, Victor, Lillia and Gavin sat together and my parents offered to sit with Jared and Alisia. Andrew's mom kept saying "Oh I hope they behave for your parents, I feel so bad" but honestly, they LOVED spending the time with the kids! Actually Jared reminds me a lot of my dad, so intellectual and bright. I would have loved to have heard what they were talking about! And to experience the graduation with Jared (especially) must have really been a treat for my parents. He is the oldest of the nieces and nephews and at 8 1/2 he can really grasp everything his uncle went through this summer. He must have loved every second of it.
The ceremony was without a doubt the COOLEST Military Graduation I have ever or will ever see. The first 45 minutes was called Rangers in Action -- a demonstration of everything the guys had done while at Ranger School. Totally blew my mind. Here is a sample of some of the cool things my boyfriend did:
Then we had a small break and they told family and friends to make their way down to the Rangers (now lined up in formation) to pin their tabs on. This was the moment I WE had been waiting for. The past 103 (and a half- if you ask Andrew) days flashed before my eyes and disappeared at the same time. It was one of those moments in life that just don't seem real, no matter how much you pinch yourself. Jen and I stayed together (and Andrew and Zack agreed to stay together in the front of formation) so that we could find the guys easily. Andrew's parents came down with our cameras and took pictures of the pinning process.
As Andrew handed me the tab and safety pin, he said "okay, so I'd rather have you stab me than stab your toe-thumb" (a long running joke with us- my left thumb is heinously ugly, fat, short and wide. I don't get it cause the other one is normal, but according to Andrew, it's a toe thumb) "so be careful babe".
I didn't care about stabbing or being stabbed. It didn't matter (even though, I will admit that I was pretty nervous at that point- for whatever reason). The only thing that mattered was that this moment was real and it was happening now!
As I concentrated on getting that safety pin through all those layers of fabric and velcro (harder than you may think) the only thing I could think to say to him was:
"No matter what babe, nobody can ever take this away from you. You've earned it! Congratulations Ranger"
27 Aug 2010
2LT Andrew Dolan becomes Ranger Qualified
