Happy New Year! I hope everyone is safe and ready to start 2007. I know I am. A few of my New Year's Resolutions include: losing weight, exercising, stop using bad words, and learn patience. MissDub has agreed to help me with my "expressive" language, but I'm on my own for the rest. My motivation to lose weight is to look good when SgtDub returns. During the last deployment, I worked out with personal trainer and thought I looked pretty good -- that is until someone snapped a picture of me hugging him (SgtDub - not the trainer) and my rear-end looked like the hood of a Ford Truck after a hail storm (yikes!) So, my goal is to "wow" him when he walks in the room.
My blog today is "Til Death (or Deployment) Do Us Part". As a kid growing up, my dad served in the Army National Guard and was a "weekend warrior". Back then, it was only 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks in the summer. I don't have many memories of our family vacations due in part to the fact that my dad' vacation was always spent at "summer camp". I remember going to Fort Chaffee, Arkansas to visit him for the weekend and we stayed at some shanky little motel and we got to visit DogPatch USA. WooHoo, big family vacation. From the moment I met SgtDub, he had a desire to serve in the military, and we discussed the pros and cons, and I always prevailed with the cons. I was determined that I didn't want my kids growing up not being able to take vacations because he would be having drill or summer camp. SgtDub never gave up, and he finally wore me down (actually MissDub arrived and I was just too tired to argue), and he enlisted in the National Guard, and thus began our family's military journey. SgtDub attended boot camp at Fort McClelland and was gone for what seems like years, even though it was only a few months. MissDub and I basically moved in with my parents while he was gone. We didn't get to talk much by phone, but he did write a lot of letters. Looking back now, our country was about to change, and that change occurred on April 19, 1995 at 9:02 am when the Oklahoma City Federal Building was bombed and 168 people were killed. SgtDub was at boot camp and didn't get the news about the bombing until sometime later, and then he was allowed to call home. I remember just feeling numb, crying and not being able take my eyes off of the TV. MissDub was about 18 months old at the time, so she didn't have any idea what was going on, other than everyone was crying. The image that is burned in my memory is the fireman carrying Baylee Almon out of the daycare center and her lifeless body was covered in dust and all you could see were those tiny little socks. SgtDub completed boot camp and returned home in June 1995. We went to the airport to pick him up and I guess I had this preconceived notion about how things would be. He would think I looked great and would make over me and MissDub and everything would be perfect, right? Not so, SgtDub stepped off the airplane wearing his military uniform and standing very tall and serious. The military had changed him -- he wasn't the same man that left us several months earlier. He dotted on MissDub and then gave me a peck on the cheek and a hug (a hug? what the heck was that?) Needless to say, the mood had been set for his homecoming and it wasn't what I had envisioned, so I wasn't happy. It took us a very long time to reconnect as a couple and as a family. I thought he was arrogant, but now I realize he had gained self confidence and respect for his country. SgtDub never missed a drill weekend and sometimes he would volunteer to do extra tasks. He was always signing up for some class and would take every opportunity he could to better himself and gain another promotion. Before long, 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks in the summer turned into month long classes out-of-state and more and moret ime away from home. Just as I suspected the family vacations got put on the back burner. Once again, our Country experienced a change - this one on September 11th. What started out as a crisp fall day, quickly turned to panic and fear. SgtDub and I were both a home and MissDub had just stepped on to the school bus and drove away. My heart sank in fear of not knowing what was going on, and when it became clear it was a terrorist act, that's when it all hit home. Our safe USA would never be the same again. We would become a country at war and all of our soldiers would be called to duty. SgtDub was assigned security duty at the Armory and we stayed at home waiting for direction. Life eventually returned to normal, but we were at war and troops were being deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Lives were being interrupted and families were being separated, and ours became one of the statistics. Before SgtDub's first deployment, I resisted the military and refused to participate in any aspect of it. I couldn't even sit through the annual family picnic without complaining. I didn't like someone telling me what time I had to show up to play horseshoes and when I could leave. Once the orders arrived and it was clear to me that I didn't have an option, I decided to embrace the military and use it to my benefit. I purchased books for military spouses and learned about those stupid acronyms. The military can't use simple words. My first hurdle was the pay issue, but I figured that one out quickly and to my amazement, the military pays on time and so far, we have never had a problem. I joined the Family Readiness Group (FRG) and volunteered to serve on the committee. I jumped in with both feet and kept myself busy with support group meetings, family activities, newsletters and socializing. I made some really good friends through the FRG, and I recommend anyone facing a deployment find their FRG and get connected. Our first reunion was terrific! The soldiers marched into a packed auditorium and we waited for what seemed like an eternity to get our hands on him. Once I had him in my arms, there was no letting go. He was back and we could resume our lives! The excitement lasted about a year before word came again that he was going back to Afghanistan. We packed his bags, sat through a deployment ceremony, cried alot, said goodbye and now we communicate by phone and email. SgtDub just re-inlisted, so we're in this for the long haul. We're hopeful that this will be his last deployment, but we all know that anything can happen and we just never know what's ahead. Our family has sacrificed a lot for SgtDub to be able to serve, and we will gladly pay the price for freedom. So Dub, Happy Anniversary and next time we renew or vows, let's add "Til Death (or Deployment) Do us Part". All my love XoX0X0
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7 comments:
Wow mom, that was different. Very nice.
very nice indeed. you "get it" honey. so few do i must say. and thank you..... bee
you made me cry.
Wow. That is a very nice blog. It brought back a lot of memories. I worked quite a few overnight shifts at the bombing site, providing vaccinations and first aid to the rescue workers. I had been down there just a month or so before to get a copy of my birth certificate, so what it should look like was fresh in my mind. The first time I walked down the street to the site and saw the destruction....well I can't even describe the feelings that I had. Everyone else had the same look of disbelief on their faces, and we all knew that our lives would never be the same.
As horrible as the act was, the reaction was incredible. The outpouring of support from everyone in the community was like nothing I had ever seen before. Donations came from everywhere, and the volunteers were there night after night, some working 24 hours without stopping. Everyone was driven by a single purpose, to keep the hope that someone could be saved, even when that hope seemed very dim.
The outpouring of support shown during that time revived my faith that while humanity is capable of evil, at times of tragedy, we are also capable of immense love and brotherhood. Thank you for reminding me of that.
Made you cry Sarge, hell she made me cry. Mrs Dub, you are a great American, we love and thank you for what you do every day, Happy, as best you can Anniversary, and thank you again. I have not been on your side of the experience but I know his feelings very well.
Best wishes for a safe and happy return of your soldier,
The old sarge
Mrs. Dub,
You brought tears to my eyes. What a wonderful post.
I found Sgt. Dub through Mimi's blog and added him as a great read to my blog. I am also adding you and Miss Dubb...
When I found Sgt. Dubb, I responded and let him know that my son, who is 17 and will graduate in May, enlisted in the Marine Corp a few weeks before Christmas. I am supporting HIS decision 150%... when I read the part about how boot camp changed Sgt. Dubb, a picture flashed in my head of how my son will be forever changed. Everytime I really think about him leaving, I get this lump in my throat.. my only son, my first born... well you get it. But like I said...this was HIS decision and not only me, but the entire family is supporting him 150%...
I'll be back... wonderful read.
Dixie
dixiechik, be strong and you will get through this. You are not alone in this and you will be amazed at the support and encouragement you will receive from family, friends and total strangers. Be willing to accept their help and don't be afraid to ask for it. You can be very proud of your son and the decision he has made to serve his country. Bootcamp will be difficult and he will need your support. He probably will come home a changed man, but it will be a positive change. Thanks for reading my blog and thanks for encouraging me today.
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