Wednesday, February 10, 2010

A Free Man

February 9, 2010, was a day that I'd been looking forward to since Steve and I started dating.

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As of yesterday, Steve's 8-year contract with the National Guard is over. He's no longer property of the US Government. We had an "Emancipation Dinner" last night in honor of his freedom from the military.

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Instead of a slim chance for another deployment, there's a zero chance. That's a big difference.

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I'm sure Steve's grateful for the training and the things he learned from his military service, but he has no intention of reenlisting. (Whew.)

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Steve will never get pulled out of school and sent overseas, and he'll never have to leave his family or miss out on his children growing up.

Or leave his wife again. Another 18-month deployment might send her to the nut house.

I feel like I've been holding my breath for the past several years and can finally exhale.

14 comments:

Shea said...

Congrats to you guys! How exciting that you don't have to worry about him being deployed again! I am sure your dinner was fabulous. Hope you are all doing well!

James and Monica said...

That is so awesome!! Congrats to Steve, and you, for making it! :D

Marsh Mayhem said...

Congratulations to both of you!! That certainly IS something to celebrate!!

Unknown said...

YAY!! And wow, that first picture is so fantastic!

Alyssa S. said...

WOO HOO! Our day was 10 years ago. WOW...it's hard to believe it's been that long. My hubby did 7 years of active duty, so his active reserve commitment was only 1 year after that. Once we got past it, we were golden.

Being Ausmus said...

Oh Nat so so SOOO happy for you. Now when we chat we may not cry as often:)!!! What a HUGE relief, I can only imagine! Congrats, whoop whoop!!!

Jodi said...

Hooray for you! You are a strong woman. I don't know if my marriage would survive a deployment (that sounds really bad, I know). That was a rule when we first started dating. No military. I just couldn't handle it. I'm very excited for you, though! :)

Jessica said...

I can only imagine your relief. My dad was deployed twice while I was growing up and I know it was a hard thing on my mom. What a huge, huge relief!

Sarah said...

YESSSSSS! I'm so glad too. PS, these pictures look so good, so bright and clear. They make me wish I lived in sunny Calif unstead of foggy ID.

Becka Beacham said...

That is so great! I remember when my brother was done with his contract, my sister-in-law said she finally slept soundly. LOVE the pictures.

Cassia said...

Oh, I am so happy for you! Congratulations! :)

Ellen said...

Dear Nat, I don't get you pictures. Do you have any Ideas how I can access them?

Ellen

Ellen said...

Dear Nat, I don't get your pictures. Do you have any ideas how I can access them?

Ellen

Andrea said...

I'm sooo happy for you. What a relief. Love your posts. Did you get a new camera? The pictures look really good.