Well, lets get down to the nitty-gritty. I am an Army wife. Or at least, that's what they say. I became an Army wife on March 23, 2010. That was the day my husband left for basic training and to be sworn in. I still do not feel like an Army wife. He passed through basic with no problems. Basic training is for soldiers, yes. It is also, for the wives and mothers. It's a right of passage Per Se. The only time you heard from them is through letters. Once every three weeks we were lucky enough to get a phone call. I am sure that my fellow Echo wives would agree we were scared to be left with the children alone. To be taught to do everything ourselves and to be, as they say, Army Strong. I had no faith in myself that I could do it. A few days after he left for boot, I went back to my hometown of Las Vegas to live with my in-laws. When I look back now, I should have never went back. I wish I would have had more confidence in myself. Las Vegas backfired in the worst way possible. And honestly, if my brother and father didn't live there, I probably would never go back.
I don't feel like an Army wife. After boot camp, my husband proceeded to his job training. We talked constantly on the phone. The sound of his voice is what really carried me on some days. The day I found out we were going to Germany was the greatest day of 2010. I thought to myself, 'finally, we can just be a family. Just us. No outside intruders telling us how to raise a kid, or what we are doing is wrong. Finally we can become the family we should be.' I did all my paperwork they told me to do. I had to go to an Air-Force base to complete the paperwork for the military. I had everything done and on-time. I was proud of myself. I jumped through all the hoops, I obeyed every command given to me. I am accomplished. I faxed everything back to my husband with a week to spare. They give us more paperwork, I get that done just in the nick of time. My husband makes an appointment to turn it in. The appointment date is our anniversary, September 9th. On that day, I am on the road, heading back to my starting point, Utica, NY. He calls me and says, "the woman in the office that made the appointment didn't show up. I have bad news, that means they are going to start my out-processing paperwork and you will not be on orders with me for Germany. But don't worry all that needs to happen is when I get out to Germany all they need to do is sign it off and you can come out there." By the way, this was the same phone call that announced the deployment. Happy anniversary to me. Leaving my hometown, no Germany orders, and a deployment. My husband came home after graduated his job-training. A few weeks later, I watched him get on a plane to Germany. Our son and I cried the whole way home.
I still don't feel like an Army wife. The paperwork is messed up. My husband got to Germany in October. We found out the paperwork I worked so hard for, is messed up. It has taken over three months. They lost the paperwork, and as of last week it was re-submitted. I won't feel like a bona-fide Army wife until I get to Germany and live on a base. Every night I pray to God, plead with God, cry myself to sleep wishing and begging to get out there. I just want to be with my husband before he deploys. Why, someone please tell me, why this is such a difficult request. My heart is absolutely broken every night I go to sleep alone. I have seen my husband for 27 days since March 23, 2010. Three of those months were unnecessary separation.
Now go have a Pepsi, it'll make you feel better.
Pepsimama
