Some history.
John and I met in November 1997 while we were both stationed in NC. Both privates in the Army, we were young and crazy kids.I like to say that he was the one doing the chasing and I loved it!
After a few months I realized he really was the one. So we dated for 3 months and then decided to tie the knot. Everyone around us thought we were moving to fast, but I knew we'd make our lives together work. On October 23rd, 1998 we got married in front of the NC, JOP followed by an IHOP celebration lunch. So romantic right :). We are still promising one day to give our parents that White Wedding they missed out on.
3 short months later we were pregnant with our baby boy, Aidan. Again, people said we were moving too fast. But we were soo very happy.
Then, something unspeakable happened. John came up on orders for Korea. Newly married and pregnant. I was terrified! He left in June but with some Red Cross phone calls, my mother and his were able to get him home for the birth of our premature son in August. I had high blood pressure and little Aidan stopped growing. At birth, he weighed a whole 4lbs,spent a week in the nicu and had a hole in his tiny heart.
I spent the rest of that year raising our baby boy alone and continuing my duties as an Army soldier. It was extremely challenging for me. But it made me a stronger person.
I know it had to have been hard for John too. Not knowing his new son until he was nearly a year old. When John tells me the story of the first time he met Aidan upon returning I laugh. You see...Aidan had a really huge head! Bless his heart. He was such a cute kid though! And always smiling...when he wasn't keeping me up all hours of the night with his colic.
I did get a chance to visit John in Korea for a week. I cherished every second of it.
When John returned from Korea, I decided it was time for me to get out of the Army. I didn't want to risk being the one ever leaving Aidan. John re-enlisted and I asked him to move us to TX. I wanted him to be close to his family there.
In 2004, John went on his very first deployment. Iraq. Back then the word Iraq was another mind blowing experience. It felt like one of those old movies where the women send their husbands off to war. It was scary. After he left, I spent several weeks crying and sleeping. They were sent to a place that didn't have sleeping quarters. Only tents. What he sacrifices for us is truly amazing. And I am soo proud of him.
The phone lines weren't set up yet either. So I didn't hear from him for about a month and a half. When I finally did, the connection was always bad and we would get cut off after about 5 minutes. So our communication was mostly through letters which were like Christmas morning to me. He would also send me these beautiful poems.
To keep myself busy, I decided to focus on what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. It was then that I discovered my love of photography. Before I knew it, he was home.
When John returned from Iraq, he got picked up for Flight School! Woohoo! We skipped on the orders we had to Hawaii and went for the career advancement opportunity. Who wouldn't? Alabama was a wonderful place. I came out of my shell there and met many great friends.
After Flight School, we were sent here. Fort Campbell. Wow. This place is deployment crazy. I mean seriously. We were here for a few months and they were already talking about leaving for Afghanistan. He left in 2007. Our third year long separation. For this deployment, I decided to really dive into my photography, and opened my business. It was my solace. Again...before I knew it...he was home.
We are coming up on our 4th year long separation very soon. It feels like he just returned. We didn't get very long this time. It seems that if he is not deployed, he is at some month long training. When we do actually get a chance to just be together, I don't take it for granted. Yes, we have our differences and sometimes we tire of being around each other. But it is NEVER easy to say goodbye. It is the hardest thing I ever have to do. And when he comes home...we are newlyweds again.
If you've read this far, thanks. My future posts will definitely not be this long. I just wanted a clear understanding of what we've been through and now of whats to come.
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