I should tell you about My Love. He's Amazing... He's wonderful... and He's 500 miles away at all times. Welcome to a "Military marriage"... where you're together, but not really.Mike and I first met on a very hot and smelly day back in September 2005. Hurricane Katrina had just devastated the gulf coast and I was one of a thousand people stationed about 10 miles south-west of New Orleans, providing direct support to the people in the area. I was stationed at Belle Chasse and Mike (who was getting ready to go overseas for about the 100Th time for the war effort) stopped at my base in Louisiana to deliver supplies. It just so happened that we met each other as we were loadiing his plane (The Hanoi Taxi) which carried POWS out of Vietnam. Apparently, he had inquired with a fellow co-worker about asking me out on a date at the time, but was told "Oh you DON'T want anything to do with her - She's a man-hater!" *It should be noted that my divorce had been final for about a week at that time. Mike did NOT ask me out. No phone numbers were exchanged... He left New Orleans, went off to fight the war (again) and the story ended there... for a while.
The following year, my "Load master friend" decided to transfer from the Air Force Reserves at Wright Patterson AFB to the 164Th Airlift Squadron, at Mansfield. I was in and out of Mansfield at the time, going overseas on a couple of my own "Operation Enduring Freedom" tours when I started noticing Mike around the base. He looked familiar but honestly, I had seen so many "Fly Boys" when I was loading planes, I didn't make the New Orleans connection at the time. I just knew I liked him. For the next few years we were friendly to each other, loading many planes together and each moving forward with our own seperate lives. I left the Aerial Port and transferred to Finance for job security and stability for my children... Mike continued on Active Duty orders and went to a base near St Louis. We didn't see each other at all for a loooong while.
THEN it happened:
Mike called his friend (my co-worker) to ask a question about his travel voucher, and I happened to answer the phone. I hadn't talked to Mike in ages and so I had to ask about his "herd of Mustangs" (the Ford kind) and his "Flock of Foci" (The plural of the Ford Focus) since Mike is a collector of SVT Ford Vehicles. Our conversations were so comfortable it was almost surreal... it was like "coming home."
So where does the "Ham Sandwich" come in?
Several months after the emails and phone calls began, Mike let me know he was coming back to Mansfield for a week or so, to fly with our unit. He asked if I wanted to get together for lunch and of course, I did. Rather than waste time going off base, we decided to bring a lunch on Thursday and quietly sneak out of the office for an hour so we could visit in person. Instead of eating my ALL TIME FAVORITE: free Donatos pizza with my office that day, I got together with "Hartberger" and had a Ham Sandwich. My secret was out... everyone knew I *MUST* be into this guy to pass on pizza for a ham sandwich. The next evening we met at Texas Road House for dinner. Somewhere in between the passing of the rolls and the serving of the meal, I knew this was the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I called my friend Jeni after the date and left the voice mail "I just had dinner with the man I'm going to marry, so give me a call and I'll tell you about him!" The next day Mike and I took the girls to COSI, our local hands-on Science Center. It felt like family. Two weeks later we were engaged and two months later, we got married on his 38Th birthday.
I love this man with a depth of emotion I didn't know I could feel. I love his sincerity. He is profoundly authentic and whatever he says, he means. After 20 years in the Air Force and more missions in combat zones than I can count, Mike has seen things in this world that I can't even imagine; and yet maintains a quiet strength I find myself in awe of. (He's my hero.) Mike proposed on his knees with a cherry ring pop in hand... (I love that he uses his available resources to achieve his goals.) Following the wonderfully sweet and romantic proposal, he confessed that he also had a grape ring pop - in case I didn't like cherry. (I love that he always has a contingency plan.)
My love is still on duty in St Louis and will be for several more months... we hope to actually live together next summer for a few months, but as with any military marriage - we are accustomed to spending time apart. We make the drive between cities as often as possible, but this will probably be our lives for the next few years. We knew this going into the relationship - and it's ok. It gives us time to adjust to married life, which is especially good for him since was not "previously married" like I had been.
I could write about my love for hours, and the ways he fits so perfectly into our family...but in the interest of time, I will end for this evening. I look forward to sharing our "family adventures" with each of you, as the four of us grow together...
