A Moment in my Sneakers...

I never, in my wildest dreams, would have thought I'd date and then marry a man in the military. We have already been through GQ's first deployment, and it really was one of the hardest things I've EVER been through and the harsh reality is, I probably will have to go through it again.

Last night, I got a unique opportunity to go with 1st Lieutenant GQ to the airport to see two of his soldiers return from Iraq. As we made the long drive to the airport I couldn't help but think back to GQ's deployment, so many ups and downs and really hard days!

When we arrived at the airport GQ welcomed the returning soldiers home  while I had the joy of standing in the background watching it all unfold. One soldier has two little kids around 4 and 7 if I had to guess, they were just so ecstatic to see their daddy come home! It was such a sweet moment for these two soldiers and their families; I really felt blessed to be standing there taking it all in.

As I stood there and watched I couldn't help but think that this could be me someday, with our kids, waiting for daddy to get back from war. It was the most overwhelming sensation and I fought super hard to control the emotions that were swelled up inside me. My heart was racing, my eyes welling up, it was a moment I won't ever forget. Possibly a little glimpse into our future...

I waited until I was in the car to have a good cry. I have developed a whole new love and respect for military members and their families, active duty, reserve, national guard, all of them! It is by no stretch of the imagination an easy life to live. You never know from one second to the next if your life is about to be turned upside down. You dread when your significant other gets a phone call from the military. You hold you breath when they return from a weekend of battle assembly just praying the "D" word (deployment) was never mentioned. Life as you know it can be flipped upside down at any moment.

The hardest part is just forcing yourself to live everyday without trying to think about the D word possibility. You try to live life like anyone else would, but it's always in the back of your mind.

I pray for the two soldiers who returned, I've seen first hand the effects of Iraq, the stains it leaves the pain-staking recovery that has to take place. I pray for the their families that they will know how to love and support them and that they themselves will take time to heal and re-assemble their lives.

Please, pray for them too.

I came across these two videos sometime back. Please Watch, be prepared they're quite emotional...


Are you crying yet?

No greater love...