Lover's Leap

Happy Leap Year!
I hope you enjoyed your extra day.

In a previous post (2008), I liked the perspective that Leap day is an extra day for growing, loving, and story telling. A simple thought, one that is hopeful and helpful.

I decided I would share the short story of my "lover's leap."
The story of how my Soldier and I met, married, and are doing military life.

My earliest examples of “men in uniform” were my dad and uncles. I remember travelling cross-country to at least one military graduation when I was young. It was the first connection I made between “home” and “away.” Military service expanded one’s world beyond the horizon.

Later in life, another man-in-training came to the forefront. I will never forget the day I heard a HS classmate, David, had joined the military. That boy!? The one I had my eye on for so long? He cemented his place in my heart overnight by becoming a man: selfless, decisive, and far and beyond the other boys I might otherwise have been paired with.

Technically my military journey began writing daily letters to David, "as a friend," at Basic Training in 1990. I joined the Army Reserves in 1993, and later married my "friend" in 1995.

This life has been one of ups and downs. I count them all as "stories" now, touchstones to remind us how far we've come. I can always look back and remember that I learned what to do next time, or even what NOT to do next time. All of it has been easier--all the leaps have been more exciting--with my Soldier by my side.

He pushes me; I grow. I push him; he grows.

The same goes for our children. Even now we're experiencing a rough patch, which I believe is the aftermath of two moves inside of 1.5 years. Others have done it successfully and say how their children are so enriched for it. I believe that. I know that "day of looking back" will come and this weathered storm will be another lesson, another experience that made us grow closer and stronger. Which is funny, because I am always telling people this is where the military will take you. Look ahead to X, Y, Z. I forget to tell them to look back. Whether it's a few months, a few years, or a lifetime that accumulated so suddenly, you should always take a look back.

It's a forced exercise, and I forget to heed my own advice. Star, "Remember that we've been through X, Y, and Z. And that today, this past month, this past 1.5 years will be but a "good" memory if you push through and remember to look back and count it as such."

Incidentally, looking back is how I found this "lovely" picture my daughter drew of me during our last deployment. That's my husband and I "kissing long distance." What a wonderful memory.  How I remember dreading that deployment, and now it's over. I don't think I've looked back to say, "whew; that was an accomplishment!"

I hope you took your extra day to count the memories and make new ones worth looking back too. 
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Assorted posts from our Loving A Soldier archives:

Happy Leap Day
A Good Day
Behind Every Good Soldier