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| Kind of blurry...but Matt in Iraq! |
Before I met Matt I was not really familiar with military life. I supported our military and always thought how amazing they are that they put their lives on the line for us; though sometimes an outsider may not truly know what that means exactly. What they have to go through on a day to day basis. And I'll admit, I was one of them. An outsider looking in with respect, but a lot of confusion and a naivety of our military.
My paternal grandfather was in the Navy for a time and my maternal grandfather was in the Merchant Marines, but that's about it as far as my family goes and I never really heard them talk about their experiences--except for my Grandpa Lawrence (maternal) and how he lied about his age to get in and got a tattoo...which he hated until the day he passed away. So when I met Matt I was slightly oblivious to what he did and what it meant for him to be in the military. I knew he had gone to Iraq twice; once for the invasion for 6 months and then the second time for 15 months. I knew what he had done over there and knew what he had gone through each time and the danger he was in. It wasn't until I started getting to know him more that I began to develop a huge respect for the sacrifice he (and all military!) have made in their lives. I remember our first date when we sat and talked for close to five and a half hours and I remember asking him all these questions about the war and what he did and what it was like to hear and feel the bombs going off. It just amazed me at how much strength he had to go do that! Because personally I don't think I could. It takes a special person to go do that.
When we were in San Antonio he was in the Recruiting Battalion which wasn't exactly a cohesive environment. It was a different feeling, not being the "real Army" type Battalion. There wasn't a lot of events to go to that made you feel like you had support. Plus I was a girlfriend for most of that...wife for about 7 months...and I wasn't really included in anything (until he put a ring on it!) haha! Then when we moved to Kansas and he was in CGSC, again it was just kind of a laid back situation and not "real Army." It was fun! And I felt more of a solidarity there than San Antonio, but it was just different once again. It wasn't until we got here to Colorado that I started truly understanding and feeling more pride in my Soldier than I had before. It's not that I didn't in San Antonio or Kansas, but it just was different (I'm using that word a lot). He wasn't somewhere where he would be deployed or be gone for training, etc. I hadn't experienced that before. Until now. It just amazes me what the military goes through! Training, missing their family, missing mile stones in their relationships with their children and spouses and yet they still do their job selflessly and while they may complain in private how tired they are or how sore or upset or mad or whatever! They continue to go and do things for this country; even if people don't realize their sacrifice. They do it with pride. And that makes ME have an immense pride for my husband and for everyone who has served or is currently serving in the military. The time apart from Matt has made me realize that I am guilty of taking our time together for granted and it's definitely given me the drive to never take it for granted again. I'm sure we are all guilty of taking time with our friends and family for granted, but I guess I realized it more while we've been apart. In any case, he's coming home Monday and I couldn't be happier and having heard how well they did at NTC....I couldn't be a prouder wife of a (VERY HANDSOME!) Soldier.
So with that, I say Happy Veteran's Day, not only to everyone who I know who has served or is currently serving in our wonderful military, but especially to my favorite Veteran who has shown the true meaning of perseverance, strength, and a love for our great country by serving so we can have the amazing freedom we have today. Thank you Matthew. I love you so very much and can't wait to see you!!!!!
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I also am squeezing in this post, not to take away from Veteran's Day, but just to say a quick Happy Founder's Day to my wonderful sorority, Gamma Phi Beta! Joining the sorority was the best decision I made and I wish sometimes I could go back and re-live those wonderful moments of friendship--good and bad--such as the late night rush practices and voting! When you're dead tired and your feet hurt and your voice is gone and all you want to do is go to sleep and there's arguing! Because in the end it was worth it. Everything! I got to meet such lovely, strong, and CLASSY women and form life long bonds with them! :)
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| Our Four Founders |
In case you want to learn about my sorority:
Gamma Phi Beta International Sorority
Or my chapter:
Gamma Phi Beta--Zeta Rho, Texas A&M University
