Thursday, June 30, 2011

5 Years (and counting)

Today is my 5th wedding anniversary.  Some days it's hard to believe that it's been 5 years, it seems like it's just been a few months.  Other times, it seems like we've been married forever and I can't really remember what my life was like without Brian.  This will be only the second time that Brian and I have been together on our anniversary and hopefully we won't have to spend any future anniversaries apart from each other.

These past 5 years have been crazy and amazing all at once.  Our wedding was fantastic, a small affair with just family and a few close friends.  We got married at the Tacoma Nature Center in Tacoma, WA which happens to be right across the street from my high school.  A good friend of ours performed the ceremony.  My sister was the matron of honor and my 11 year old stepson was the best man.  During our reception, we had a great time just hanging out with everyone.  Brian and I left to spend our wedding night in a lovely hotel on the waterfront then the next morning we picked up my stepsons (aged 8 and 11) from my parents' house and set off down the Oregon coast.  We played on the beach, dressed in jeans and hoodies since it was cold.  We flew balsa wood airplanes from the Astoria Column.  We checked out all the exhibits at OMSI.  It definitely wasn't your typical honeymoon but we had fun. 

A day later, Brian flew with the boys back to Virginia.  We met in El Paso the day after that to find that our recently rented apartment had been burglarized and the management had changed the locks.  It was after business hours so we couldn't get into our apartment.  We ended up sleeping in Brian's barracks room on a twin bed.  It was not my idea of fun or comfort.  Needless to say, I shed some tears that night. 

Fast forward to October.  I had a teaching job at at local high school and Brian was leaving on his first deployment to Iraq less than 4 months after we got married.  Communication was difficult because I would go weeks without getting any phone calls or emails, then we'd get to talk for a few minutes and only get to discuss something about our finances or family, etc.  It was very hard on our relationship.  Brian came home in April 2007 for his R and R leave.  While he was home, we found out from the news that his tour would be extended for 3 months.  Fortunately part of his leave coincided with my spring break and we got to spend a little time together.  He went back to Iraq. 

Since he was deployed, I decided to spend my summer vacation traveling in the UK and Ireland for a month.  It was a fantastic trip and I was joined by a couple of friends at different points.  On my first wedding anniversary, I happened to be in Ireland in a hostel with no electricity and my rental car got stuck in the mud on the way there.  I had a pay-as-you-go cell phone for the trip but for some reason, the calling cards that Brian was able to get wouldn't let him call my international number.  So we emailed each other but ended up not talking on the phone for 6 weeks.

Brian came home that December, shortly before Christmas.  That was our first Christmas we spent together and I spent away from my family.  It did not turn out well.  2008 was a better year for us since we were together for most of the year (except for our anniversary, I was in WA taking care of my grandmother while my parents were out of town) and in September found out that I was pregnant with our son, Julian. 

In 2009, we found out that Brian was going to deploy to Iraq for a second time.  He left less than 3 weeks before Julian was born.  The day after he left, I flew to WA to be near my family when I had the baby.  Brian was able to take his R and R leave when Julian was 6 weeks old and we were able to spend a great two weeks together. 

Julian and I returned to El Paso in March 2010 to prepare for Brian's return in May.  That next month, we were able celebrate our 4th anniversary together.  It ended up being a quick dinner at Olive Garden because we were worried about leaving Julian with a babysitter for the first time. 




Now on our 5th anniversary, we are preparing for our second child and Brian's third deployment to Iraq followed by his retirement from the Army.  We're also packing up everything to move to WA.  Ideally this will be our last move since we'll be buying a house later this year. 

No matter what, it has all been worth it.  I have a wonderful husband that I love dearly and I wouldn't trade him for anything.  I hope to have at least 50 years with him.

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