AOL's Military Job Week

Take a look at this video from Michelle Obama and Jill Biden:






I was recently contacted by AOL's social media team and asked if I would help spread the word about their current promotion for Military Job Week.

This week AOL is teaming up with the White House to show love and support of our troops and their families and encouraging those who have loved ones in the military to show their love through their Badges page.

For every support badge that is shared through Facebook or Twitter, AOL will donate to Hire Heroes USA.  This is an organization that offers assistance to veterans and their families in order to seek jobs upon their return home.

Please show your love today!  Get your badge at: http://aol.it/e51ogo

Strong Because Of You.

I'm strong because of you, my friends.

I'm strong because of your calls and messages.

I'm strong because you bring me cupcakes just to cheer me up.

I'm strong because you visit.

You ask me to get pancakes.

You invite me to brunch.

You sit with me, drink wine, and watch movies.

It makes me stronger when I feel so weak.

I'm strong because of you, my friends.

I'm strong because you ask me if I want to take a walk. 

You pretend you really need one

But I know it's for me.
We get outside in the fresh air.
We walk through the fields and through the trees.

I'm stronger because of it.

I'm strong because of you, my friends.

I'm strong because you distract me from my thoughts.
You allow me to forget the loneliness.
You know I don't want to talk about it.
So we don't.

That makes me stronger.

In the quiet of solitude

I don't feel strong at all.

But because of you, my friends

I'm strong.

The Story of Us

It was the winter of 2004.

At the time, I was going to school and working as an EMT at a private ambulance company.  I arrived for my shift and looked at the crew assignments for the day.  There was a name I didn't recognize.

I turned to my friend and questioned, "Who is [this]?"
Having worked there longer, she responded, "Oh, he just got back from Iraq. He is [the boss'] son."

And that was the first time I heard about my future husband.

We met that day and the flirting began almost instantly.   I thought he was sexy, funny, and mysterious.  It didn't really matter to me that his father was technically one of my bosses.  Perhaps it should have but I barely thought twice about it.  We purposely sat next to each other while hanging out in the base.  He let me start an IV on his arm.  I stole his hat like a giddy school girl and I may have even threatened to use the pacemaker pads on his chest (I was smoooooth, I know).

This continued for a few weeks and everyone noticed our disgustingly nauseating displays of admiration.  I told my friends that I liked him but I needed "a forum" in which to make my move.  It was never going to happen in the workplace.

Then came the company holiday party.

My friends and I beautified ourselves in the hotel room and made our way down to the reception. As I got to the top of the steps, I looked down, and saw him standing there at the bottom.  He looked at me, I looked at him, and well...the rest is history.

A Parting Gift

Do you want to take my Froggy with you?

The Hardest Day

I sit here in front of my computer trying to write about something that there are no words to describe.

I can tell you about the weekend.  I can tell you that we laughed together, cried together, and hugged more tightly than we have ever hugged before.  I can tell you that I shed more tears than I ever have and that we said "I love you" enough times to fill a novel. 

But I just can't describe it.

The emotional response to saying goodbye to your husband as he leaves to go to war is truly unimaginable. 

I have never felt such panic, such fear, and such loneliness in my life.  As I watched the hotel lobby doors close behind him, I wanted to jump out of my car and run back inside.  I wanted to scream to him not to go.  I wanted to drag him out, drive off into the horizon together, and never look back. 

But I didn't.  I turned the car keys, took a deep breath, and I drove away.  Alone.

I had been thinking about this day for months - imagining what it would be like and how I would react.  I had wondered whether I would be okay and whether I would be as strong as I hoped.  Well, the months turned into weeks and the weeks turned into days and then all of a sudden the moment was upon us. 

We said our goodbye and it broke my heart.  But as I drove away, I felt relief.  The day had finally passed and the journey had begun.

I went home and I re-read the wedding vows that he said to me on a wonderful October day:

In Yiddish it translates to "geyn mit mir."

In Gaelic it's "shool lih-um."

In the very beginning I asked you to walk with me.

I had no idea where that walk would take us.

Our walk isn't always easy. Sometimes we trip, and sometimes we stumble.

There are times when there is great distance between us, but that only brings us closer together.

Many days it might seem like an uphill climb, and I might need a little extra help.

I want you to be the One to give me that push.

Some days you might need a little extra support. 

I want to be your crutch. 

Failing that, I will carry you.

I still don't know where this walk will take us.

All I ask is that you walk with me.

This deployment will just be one small stretch of our walk together. 

A wise man (my husband) once said, "This is tough, but we are tougher."

We will be stronger for this.

We will make it.

We will be okay.

Snores

3:46 AM

Darkness.

I watch the clock as it changes.

3:47 AM

I lay between them.

My husband to my left and my dog to my right.

The silence is broken by simultaneous snores.

It's like a band - an orchestra.

3:48 AM

I look over at my husband.

He sleeps peacefully.

I run my hands over his back.

"Remember this," I think.

Soon the band will be a solo.

Just me and the dog.

One snore.

At least while I'm awake.

3:49 AM

I close my eyes.

I listen to the music of my family.

I try to imprint it deep into my brain.

This moment.
This sound.
This warmth.
This love.

I smile and I drift off to sleep.

3:50 AM

Three snores.

Inspiring

I may not be blogging very much over the next week or two - please bear with me.  I'm trying to cherish those last moments before my husband leaves. 

I did want to share this incredibly inspiring blog post.  Click here, sit back, and prepare to be moved to tears.

Thanks to Consider the Lilies for sharing this.