There have been many times that I've said "I need a hobby". I don't have anything that I neccessarily look forward to doing nightly or weekly but I've always read other people's blogs that dealt with fashion, family, healthy living or just a plain ole journal. I love that people can express themselves to the people they know or others that find their page. I find it so soothing to be able to just go home and write your heart out when you've had a particularly bad day or have a day you don't want to forget. Two days ago I had one of those days. My best friend and love of my life left for Afghanistan...on Valentine's Day. Probably the worst sounding way to spend a romantic holiday but it was actually very loving and sort of romantic. Haven't you ever seen the old movies where the man goes to war and the last few moments between he and his love are the most emotional and loving...well, I had one of those moments. I have never felt so much love and pride for someone else in my life. This is a day that I have been dreading since he has come back into my life and it was also a day that reinforced all of my feelings for him.
 |
| Shot of the crowd waiting to see their soldiers off. |
 |
| Getting ready to go. |
It started on the 9th which was a Wednesday and I left the house at 5:30 AM to make it in time for my early flight. I was picked up early that morning and we headed for breakfast in Tennessee where he's stationed. As we are eating, it starts snowing and later turns into 3-4 inches of show on the ground. I, having grown up in south Texas am not used to it and loved every second of it. As the days go by, the snow is still on the ground and his mom and step dad show up. They are such wonderful people and we had the best time with them. We headed to Nashville, which is only about an hour away from the base and went to the main strip of touristy things on Broadway. We listened to live music for hours and I could have spent all day and night hanging out with them doing just that. We headed the back and the next day they left, while his dad and step mom came up. They had driven in from Houston to trailor his car back and a couple of the belongings that he didn't want the Army to store. This visit was a little more "taking care of business" than the first but we still had a great time showing them around the base and hanging out.
Monday came much too quick. We were cleaning out the apartment one minute, then the next we were at the hangar waiting to see him off. We had so much time to prepare for that moment and was surprised at how much my emotions started to take over. It was like it wasn't real. I didn't want to think my boyfriend was going to be going to war...I only heard about that on tv but this is real life. It's hard enough to miss him every second of the day in another state but in another country, continent even was unthinkable. We walk into the hangar and he's taken away within seconds to get his weapon and put his bags down. This was really happening. There were families and loved ones everywhere and I just kept praying that time would slow down and I wasn't ready for him to leave. An hour went and they were called into formation, a prayer was said, we had our last goodbye kiss and he was gone. Just like that. It was pure torture to see him walk away from me in uniform, knowing where he was going and not knowing what he was about to go through.
 |
| Some of the bags |
It's Wednesday now and things are sad but I'm waiting for that one moment to come where it finally hits me that I won't be able to hug him or dial his phone number whenever I want. That moment will come soon and I'm so thankful to have a wonderful support system of friends and family that will help me through it. I'm hoping this blog will help me reflect on the feelings I'm having and can one day look back on this time when it is all over with. I hope you'll join me :)
 |
| Love |
