One day in May, Alan called from Tikrit, Iraq, where he was serving with the 1/22 Infantry. When you only hear from your spouse every two weeks or so, and then only for short conversations, maybe 20 minutes at the longest, you cherish it. You cherish it so much you hang on their every word. Everything meant more. Everything. Alan called and gave me a general idea of who he was working with and not much about what they were […]
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******This is the 12th chapter in the series The Real Army Wives, stories from a young military bride at the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom, 2003.****** Previous chapter: When Alan First Deployed: My New Friends at 9-1-1. Getting Help I followed through with my vow from the previous night to hop off this crazy train and get myself some help. What kind of help, I had no idea, but I figured I’d try the doctor’s office first. Military clinics are a […]
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******This is the 11th chapter in the series The Real Army Wives, stories from a young military bride from the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom, 2003.****** I tell you this particular chapter with hesitation and humility. It’s an embarrassing story, but at the time, this was my reality. I hope you can laugh with me now, and rest assured that I am not normally this paranoid. I promise. When Alan first deployed, it was suddenly like….cue the sound of crickets.
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there were a few things that happened that I have not been able to live down.
Three incidents to be exact, okay maybe 4 or 5…geesh I was full of mishaps that first
*****This post is part of The Real Army Wives series. For last week’s chapter, click here.***** People say that the Lord isn’t worried about the small details of our lives. I could never believe that. Maybe he’s only involved in the small details if you ask him to be; although, sometimes He seems to show up even when you don’t ask. They call it Karma these days, but I don’t see it that way. I just call it walking with […]
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While Alan was at OBC (military training) in Oklahoma, and I was finishing my degree at Alabama, Alan had this spontaneous idea to meet for the weekend in New York City!! New York City!! Y’all. To fully understand why this was such a big deal, I should explain that I was not accustomed to this sort of thing. We did not take annual vacations or move from state to state. I lived in Alabama my entire life. But for […]
» Read moreThe news was suddenly intruding into my life. It was more than a channel to flip past. It was affecting me directly. It had always affected me, whether I realized it or not, but now I was in the front of the line of dominoes!!
» Read moreThis week is Veteran’s Day, and as the wife of a veteran it’s a holiday full of meaning for me. In honor of Veteran’s Day, I thought I’d share this letter that I wrote to Alan on New Year’s Eve, 2003. Alan was in Iraq, and I was living in Texas. What started out as this nightmarish, depressing event (sending my husband to war–I was all of 22 years old) had gradually turned into a year of growth and new […]
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