My Kool Aid Cup Runneth Over

1994 was a year that changed my life.  It was the culmination of my first year in the Army, I was finally at my first duty station (17 years and three jobs later I am still here at Fort Bragg) and I was actually going to start earning a paycheck with benefits.  I had been getting paid by good old Uncle Sugar for the last year, but way back in the good old days you really did not make squat as a private in the military.  We did not have any wars to get tax-free and the other benefits that come along with putting yourself in harms way. Way back then if you needed something the Army issued it to you, but since we were in the lean years half the time you had to go and buy it yourself.  That was something you just accepted as part of the job then.

So life was pretty good by the holiday season of 1994.  The one thing I did not have was anyone to share my life with and to be honest right up until the moment that changed, I was good with it.  I didn’t even bother to try and find anyone around here at good old Fayetteville (Fayettehole as my wife likes to call it).  There are some pretty funny local quotes about the dating scene here I would be glad to talk about one-on-one, but will probably seem pretty derogatory in print.  Suffice it to say ladies you have a deeper pool to wade in here than do us men.  It is pretty much a buyers market for the female population.

So considering the market in my area and that I was still trying to avoid turning back into the man-whore I had become in the few years between high school and the Army, once a month or so I would take the long trip back home for a long weekend and hit my old stomping grounds.  I already knew (or thought I did anyway) what was there for me and was comfortable just seeing some friendly faces, no competition, not even caring if anything beyond a good time transpired over my weekend.

December 23rd of 1994 began like any other day, that is until I saw her walk into the bar.  I am not going to describe that minute or the several of them later where I followed progress through the bar and to her friends and acquaintances.  Nope, those memories are all mine and I am going to keep them.  In a nutshell at around 10 PM that night I found what I had no idea I was looking for.  We had our first date on Christmas Day (we saw Disclosure), and spent just about every free minute together until I had to get back to work since my leave was over.  Before I made that 500+ mile trek south I had fallen madly in love and managed to get her to say it too!

Somewhere between the second of January and July 1st of 95 we managed to fly her down to Bragg a couple time, break up (my fault) over some stuff that really had nothing to do with us as a couple, get back together, and get married.

Seventeen years later, through the ups and downs, the birth of our beautiful children, almost five years of deployments for me (and by all rights for my family too), we are still drinking our particular flavor of kool-aid.  We are looking now at the transition from a military family in just a couple years to good old civilians and starting the next adventure.

I am very fortunate that I was able to have these memories start around the beginning of a new year, it makes them a little more special for me, especially when I am not home to enjoy them with my family.  Whenever you found your significant other, I hope you are able to embrace it and things have the staying power that my marriage has had.  Seventeen years with no end in sight is a pretty good start considering I was not even looking in the first place.

Love you darlin, Happy New Year!!