Life can change in an instant. At least that's what everyone says. One minute we're humming along and the next we're completely blindsided and pushed in the opposite direction. That's what happened to us. The phone call came on a lazy Saturday afternoon while the sun was brightly shining on a mild January Dallas day. I walked out of the bedroom to find Brian sitting on the couch with his head in his hands. It took me a brief moment to realize that he was crying.
"I'm getting deployed", he said without looking up.
I felt my whole body freeze there in the doorway, unable to move or think.
"When", I replied as if it was the only word in my vocabulary.
"In a month...to the Middle East"
I felt the emotions rush to my head as I processed what he had just said. My entire body went numb and my knees buckled a bit before I was able to move. I walked over to the couch and sat down. Tears began to flow and I thought to myself, what are we supposed to do now? Shock is the only word I can use to describe that moment. Sure there is fear and worry as well, but shock overcame us as we sat there on the couch and hugged. Was this really happening to us? Why us, why now? The tears and hugging lasted for hours, days, weeks...so did the shock. Brian found out later that evening that he would it would be beginning mid March and lasting for over a year. More than a year of our lives would be spent apart, and not only apart, but an entire world away. I'm sure thousands of men and women experience this on a monthly basis as they learn their loved ones will be deployed to serve their country. Brian had joined the military as an Army Reservist in college to help pay for school, but he had never been called into active duty before. What makes our situation unique is that we had just gotten engaged on Dec 1, 2010...and we are expecting our first baby.
No comments:
Post a Comment