4 years ago I married my best friend. I love you Joe!
Showing posts with label You and Me. Show all posts
Showing posts with label You and Me. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Friday, September 17, 2010
R&R: Rest & Recharge
Awesome 2 weeks!! Awesome!! I needed to see my Joe. He needed a break. He REALLY needed a break. We managed to have a real vacation. And it was AWESOME! I tried to post pics daily on Facebook for our families.
I asked Joe what R&R stood for. He gave me some random answer and then told me it was really called "Mid-tour leave" so I decided our R&R would be called Rest and Recharge. And it was definitely a recharge for us both, and our relationship. It's kinda weird having a long distance marriage over Skype. Okay, who am I fooling, it's really weird to have a marriage over Skype. And our marriage needed this break.
Joe has the worst luck when traveling. I joke that if we ever go anywhere together I will leave first and then Joe can come rolling in later, after his flights are bumped or canceled, and his laptop is dropped by the drunk taxi driver. So once again, in true Joe fashion, he had a great flight schedule. PLUS he couldn't drink because he was in uniform. I picked him up in 2007 when he was PCSing from Germany to Kansas and I PRAYED that he was drunk most of the time so he wouldn't be pissed at the end of the day. And luckily, he was. But alas, Soldiers cant drink while they are on duty. And it was made perfectly clear that they were still on duty until they made it to Colorado Springs. So after being not so happy about the whole "last combat troops in Iraq" nonsense, turns out, they had priority on ALL on Joe's flights and he was bumped for basically a day while he was on his way here. His initial itinerary was just about too good to be true anyway. I should have known better. But I didn't anticipate the exodus of Iraq troops getting in the way.
I asked Joe what R&R stood for. He gave me some random answer and then told me it was really called "Mid-tour leave" so I decided our R&R would be called Rest and Recharge. And it was definitely a recharge for us both, and our relationship. It's kinda weird having a long distance marriage over Skype. Okay, who am I fooling, it's really weird to have a marriage over Skype. And our marriage needed this break.
Joe has the worst luck when traveling. I joke that if we ever go anywhere together I will leave first and then Joe can come rolling in later, after his flights are bumped or canceled, and his laptop is dropped by the drunk taxi driver. So once again, in true Joe fashion, he had a great flight schedule. PLUS he couldn't drink because he was in uniform. I picked him up in 2007 when he was PCSing from Germany to Kansas and I PRAYED that he was drunk most of the time so he wouldn't be pissed at the end of the day. And luckily, he was. But alas, Soldiers cant drink while they are on duty. And it was made perfectly clear that they were still on duty until they made it to Colorado Springs. So after being not so happy about the whole "last combat troops in Iraq" nonsense, turns out, they had priority on ALL on Joe's flights and he was bumped for basically a day while he was on his way here. His initial itinerary was just about too good to be true anyway. I should have known better. But I didn't anticipate the exodus of Iraq troops getting in the way.
Joe petting Lily the skunk at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
But as soon as he got here, the party started!! We went to the Colorado State Fair, the local zoo (Joe's fave), a Colorado Rockies baseball game with 2 of his good friends from Germany, the Royal Gorge lunch train (awesome!), and the Royal Gorge Bridge & Park. And we ATE! Joe has lost probably 20lbs in the last 6 months. He doesn't have it to loose! So I fed him well! We ate out a lot, hitting up all of the places Joe has been dreaming about. We have found some new favorites. And we even cooked at home some, and made some amazing dinners together. It was so much fun cooking with Joe again.
Joe and his beer on the Royal Gorge lunch train
It seems like I just picked him up at the airport. I will remember that moment until the day I die. I got up that morning and was excited, but not crazy or anything. I took a shower and actually pondered why I wasn't more excited about Joe's arrival. I put Rigel in his room and got in my car like normal. I pulled on to the main road and completely lost it. Out of nowhere! I didn't see those tears coming at all. My hands started shaking and I admit it, I started speeding a little bit. Parking at the airport was agony! But once I got into the airport I calmed down. I watched these two little boys ask where daddy was. We were in what we thought was the waiting area, chatting away. Her husband was from the same unit as Joe and also coming home on R&R. She suddenly got a phone call from her husband from the phone bank on the first floor. She grabbed her babies and ran to the escalators. So I stood up and started to walk behind her. But then I got this urge to turn around. And there he was. Walking all alone down the hallway. The girliest squeal escaped me as I ran past the 'Do Not Enter' sign and grabbed him. I will never forget how tight he hugged me.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
My dream wedding... and how the Army changed it.
For a few days now, I've been thinking about the things about my life that will change because of the military. Not in a bad way, just changed. Sometimes even for the better! And a girl friend of mine is experiencing this first hand while trying to plan a wedding with her deployed soldier. So here's my wedding, first the wedding I wanted as a young girl, and then the wedding I got when I decided to marry a soldier.
I wanted a winter wedding at Wiederkehr Wine Cellars, a wine village my grandfather helped design. In their big dark red ballroom. With white lights everywhere. And my brother officiating at the top of the staircase. Me in a long white dress. Hubs in a nice dark gray suit. Sit down dinner for everyone. And then dancing! Very low-key and casual but super fun!
So Joe flew in from Germany in January 2007. He proposed on my birthday, January 20th. We had an amazing night. But he had to fly back to Germany two days later. And I had to concentrate on college. So we were planning a December wedding; a whole year for my mom and me to plan this thing. Very do-able. I was just about to put down a $500 non-refundable deposit on my dream ballroom when Joe calls me. He can get leave in June. Whoa. Okay, so now no winter wedding. Okay, that's fine. But the ballroom might still be do-able! Okay, lets plan this sucker! And then another call. How about August? Okay, no big deal. But the $500 deposit cant be wasted on a date that might not happen at all. So the ballroom isn't possible at all. Okay, that's fine. But 
where do we have a wedding that doesn't require a set date? Yep, my parents' backyard! It's big enough for my whole crazy family. And FREE!! Everything changed, down to the wedding colors! Now they are celadon and tangerine. (Although, I was told by a wedding planner that celadon was the "it" color that year. Who would have guessed I was in fashion!!) So another phone call. Now his leave is in July. Can we have it July 7, 2007? That would be freaking awesome!! Nope, sorry, Joe cant fly in until July 10th. So in February, my mother and I have basically 4 months to plan a wedding. My mother did an AWESOME job! The whole family pulled together to fix up the back yard. It was beautiful by the time we had the wedding. Lush green ferns, Gerber daises, and tiny orange flowers my grandma potted for us. We didn't have a set date until two weeks out. Which means that we couldn't special order any invitations. I did them all my hand. Which was okay by me, because I'm very picky about stuff like that. But we had two weeks to send them out to family. But my family being my family, they already knew the issues we were dealing with and didn't care about the short notice. Joe flew in on July 10th. We had three days to get the marriage license and Joe's wedding vest (didn't make him wear a jacket in the July heat).
where do we have a wedding that doesn't require a set date? Yep, my parents' backyard! It's big enough for my whole crazy family. And FREE!! Everything changed, down to the wedding colors! Now they are celadon and tangerine. (Although, I was told by a wedding planner that celadon was the "it" color that year. Who would have guessed I was in fashion!!) So another phone call. Now his leave is in July. Can we have it July 7, 2007? That would be freaking awesome!! Nope, sorry, Joe cant fly in until July 10th. So in February, my mother and I have basically 4 months to plan a wedding. My mother did an AWESOME job! The whole family pulled together to fix up the back yard. It was beautiful by the time we had the wedding. Lush green ferns, Gerber daises, and tiny orange flowers my grandma potted for us. We didn't have a set date until two weeks out. Which means that we couldn't special order any invitations. I did them all my hand. Which was okay by me, because I'm very picky about stuff like that. But we had two weeks to send them out to family. But my family being my family, they already knew the issues we were dealing with and didn't care about the short notice. Joe flew in on July 10th. We had three days to get the marriage license and Joe's wedding vest (didn't make him wear a jacket in the July heat). We got married on Friday, July 13th, 2007 at 6pm. In my parents' back yard. Surrounded by 150 peopl
e I love. And in that moment, I realized that even though it wasn't the dream wedding I planned as a child, it was my dream wedding because I got to marry this boy. And I got to marry him on the porch I used to play on as a child. I got to marry him in front of everyone I care about. I got to marry Joe. And it didn't matter where we were. My mother still cried.
e I love. And in that moment, I realized that even though it wasn't the dream wedding I planned as a child, it was my dream wedding because I got to marry this boy. And I got to marry him on the porch I used to play on as a child. I got to marry him in front of everyone I care about. I got to marry Joe. And it didn't matter where we were. My mother still cried. Did we get a honeymoon. Sorta. We went to spa-tastic Eureka Springs, AR, and stayed there for a few nights. It was so nice. Just me and Joe. I hadn't been alone with him for that many days straight in literally YEARS. He got 21 days leave. But travel time was included in that. So only a week later, Joe had to fly back to Germany for 4 more months. I was a newlywed without my partner. And it sucked.
Looking back at the whole ordeal, this almost seems like an Army wife orientation. How can YOU handle planning the biggest day of YOUR life around the Army's schedule? You cant get mad at anyone about it. Your husband has no control over any of it. But if you can plan a wedding on the Army's time table, you can plan anything on the Army's schedule! Now, I know that someone out there is an Army wife that had her perfect wedding while also marrying a soldier. But I don't know any of them! Many of my Army wife friends had fly-by weddings as their husbands were breezing through. As far as I can tell, this is the norm in the Army. Couples have courthouse weddings in anticipation of a real church wedding later on. But I know that only a handful of those women actually get the church wedding they are waiting for. Life gets in the way (isn't that a song?). But at the end of the day, we are all married to the love of our lives. So what does it matter?
So did the Army change my plans? Most definitely. But I like to think it was for the better. I loved my wedding. I got the low-key casual event I wanted. I have a gorgeous scrapbook to show for it (thanks mom!!) and the love of my life upstairs snoring in our bed. So I'm going to take this lesson with me on my PCS move. No one can control the Army. You just have to go with the flow. Something I'm not good at, but I'm learning. And by the time this craziness is over in 16 years, I'll be a pro at it!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
You & Me
"It's you and me and all of the people...." I heard it on Pandora this morning. It always gets to me. This song was played during our wedding. Joe stepped outside on the back porch while it was playing. Very fitting if you ask me. Yeah, lol, we were married in my parents' backyard. It was gorgeous; luscious green ferns, bright orange and yellow Gerbera daisies, a clean white tent covering dozens of people. And my Joe.
"You And Me" by Lifehouse
What day is it?
And in what month?
This clock never seemed so alive
I can't keep up and I can't back down
I've been losing so much time
'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do
Nothing to lose
And it's you and me and all other people
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you
One of the things that I want to say just aren't coming out right
I'm tripping on words
You've got my head spinning
I don't know where to go from here
'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do
Nothing to prove
And it's you and me and all other people
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you
There's something about you now
I can't quite figure out
Everything she does is beautiful
Everything she does is right
'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do
Nothing to lose
And it's you and me and all other people
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you
and me and all other people with nothing to do
Nothing to prove
And it's you and me and all other people
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you
What day is it?
And in what month?
This clock never seemed so alive
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