May the Seventeenth

I have never been one to believe in signs or messages from beyond, but ever since meeting Andrew there have been a few things that have stood out to us that make us sure that if there are such a thing as signs, they're pointing to us being us forever. One of these impossible to ignore signs is this very date: May 17th. This day has been one of the most important days of each year since we have known each other.

Let's take a stroll down memory lane, shall we?

2008:
After studying abroad in Italy for four months, I returned home to the arms of Andrew, who surprised me by picking me up with a beautiful bouquet of flowers at Logan Airport in Boston. My time in Italy was a big test for our relationship, we had only met three months before I left so I was gone for longer than I had known him. I remember my first days in Florence, I couldn't stop talking to people about him (it just kept coming up, like word vomit- name that movie!) everyone was shocked when they found out our relationship was so new. We knew if this was ever going to work for us, long-distance would be something we would have to get used to and Italy was a great test run for that. Plus, looking back, it was a good experience for me to be the one away from home and him to be the one waiting for me. Every single separation we've had since then has been the other way around, so I think it is good we each know what it is like to be in the others' shoes. (er, well, if you take away the war aspect of the equation, I  suppose)

Coming back home and running into Andrew's arms and the fact that the second we got into his truck it was like we had never been apart told me that this was for keeps. I already knew that, but it just validated everything I had been thinking for the past few months.

2009:
Goodbye, College! We graduated from Stonehill in 2009. Emotionally, I had a harder time with no longer living with seven of my best friends than anything else, but it was an adjustment time for both of us. I was such a wreck on graduation day, I didn't even want to take pictures with my family or Andrew for some reason. My parents will get a kick out of this, but: YES I REGRET IT! It was just such an emotionally draining day, but spending time with our families together after the hooplah was all done was a great way to relax.

The night before graduations was hands-down one of the best nights of college. All of the graduation seniors went up to Donahue Hill, which is basically the only hill with a mansion on it on campus, and hung out up there all night. Somebody brought a keg, somebody else brought DJ equipment, it was such a fun time. It started raining at one point and nobody cared, we were all soaked and stayed out til 4 or 5 in the morning when we had to be up at 7:30 for graduation.

wee morning hours- 17 May 2009

2010:
Ranger School Day 1. Something Andrew has been looking forward to for years on end. When I found out last January that Andrew had orders to start "the bad place" on that day, I couldn't believe it. Three years in a row, three huge life events! And arguably the three biggest events in our relationship up to that point (save when we actually met, the first time I kicked his butt at Mario Kart, etc...) it's pretty incredible if you really think about it. Ranger School was another test for us. It gave me a chance to prove that I wasn't going anywhere, even when facing weeks with no communication other than letters, and I think it had a lot to do with us getting engaged when we did.

17 May 2010

A few months ago we also found one more goose-bump inspiring connection to May 17th. Andrew was going to get my engagement ring appraised and insured and took out the certificate of authenticity and my diamond was certified on May 17, 2010. Andrew had no idea when he bought it.

I don't know, maybe we are just looking for reasons to love May 17th and it's all some weird, funky coincidence, but I find that hard to believe. Last year at this time, Mom, Shannon and I were thinking maybe May 17, 2014 (a Saturday) would be our wedding date (that's when I was still convinced Andrew would make me wait til after his first deployment to get engaged).

Today as I drove to work, I was expecting to feel uplifted and happy that we reached another May 17th and that we are 4 months and 1 day into this deployment. Instead I was a little bit let down to not have something really exciting to look forward to today. I think Andrew's unit is on a communication blackout because I haven't heard from him since Sunday night, so when all is said and done, I will count it as a huge victory to get one little email tonight with three little words from a solider who I love very much in a far away place.

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....