Today Is The Day...

Well, this is it... Today is THE day...

This evening, early, we will fly out of this country and, when we finally land, we'll be in the Iraqi theatre... (that's the best way I can put it, I can't tell exactly when or where)... My unit will be there for as close to 365 days as they can manage... hopefully, I'll get leave sometime in the middle...

This post won't be long, obviously, but I'm at least going to say thanks to all those who have let me know that they support us soldiers, even if they don't support the war...

I hope to get the chance to post some more over there, but of course it'll depend on security and how close we are to internet access...

If anyone reads this, and just decides to cry, get pissed off, or anything else, well, don't feel alone... my family will be doing all the same here for quite a while...

Peace...

It Finally Happened...

That's right, folks... anyone who may have been reading lately knows that we've been working on getting married... well, WE DID!!! As of yesterday, Oct. 21, 2005, this happy couple that's been together for over 11 yrs. 7 months are FINALLY HUSBAND AND WIFE!!!

And it's a happy time here... a small civil ceremony, just the right amount of family and friends, and on my mom's birthday too... it was a really good day... my mom took us out for a late lunch to celebrate...

We've wanted to get married for a while, but a couple of things were stalling us... now that it's all over and finally done, it's like... WHY DID WE WAIT?? I mean, we could have taken care of things a long time ago, but... to us, it wasn't important as long as we were together... and we've always known we'd be together regardless, so...

But now that we're happily married, we're going to enjoy the next 7-10 days or so before I leave for Iraq... and then, we'll enjoy any possible leave I get during the next year... and our REAL honeymoon will be when I get back... I'm voting for Las Vegas, but we might go on a cruise...

Thanks to all who have wished us well lately, and I hope everyone else out there is as happy as we are...

Peace...

Well, It's Almost Here...

Today is Wednesday, the 19th. Tomorrow is Thursday, the 20th. As of tomorrow, my fiance and I will have known each other right at 12 yrs., 23 days or so... and will have been together for right at 11 yrs., 7 months...

And we will be finalizing our "freedom" tomorrow afternoon... (no, I won't explain, you figure it out if you can...)

And the following day, we will be married in a civil ceremony in an adjoining state...

Legally, we will start our life together on that day... but to us, it will simply be another important milestone in a life of love and happiness that we're both lucky enough to be spending with the one we love more than any other in the world...

A lot of people don't understand why we've waited so long for this to happen... we have had our reasons, and at the time, they all seemed valid...

But, to us, honestly... it was just unnecessary paperwork until now... we've known in our hearts we're meant to be together forever, and it didn't take a piece of paper to prove it to us...

Peace...

(oh, p.s.... to my dearest of friends, Kitty... This Church will have our hearts and prayers directed towards you, darlin', until your current situation resolves itself... I hope that our happiness and blessings spread to your part of the world, and that you will soon feel again the warmth and joy of security that you deserve...)

Peace...

I Was Going To Post Yesterday, But...

I was going to drop a note on here yesterday, but my computer is too far from my bed... and I didn't get very far from my pillows all day long... my bachelor party was Friday night, and, well... it was a very good time... and I get these HORRIBLE hangovers, so...

My buddies (2 of the GREATEST guys in the world) rented the balcony of our favorite local exotic dance establishment... they also chained and locked a 14 lb. bowling ball (wrapped the ball in duct tape, taped and locked a 5/8" chain to it very well) to my leg... I went around all evening long (7pm to 2am) carrying that ball everywhere I went (to the bathroom like 5 times... up and down stairs, LONG walk across the main floor)... they locked it with a combination lock (3 numbers to unlock) and gave 6 numbers to 6 dancers... starting at 8, I got a private dance every hour until I had all 6 numbers, then I was supposed to figure out which 3 numbers were the combination, and in which order... needless to say, I had to cheat at the end of the night and get one of my buddies to tell me the combination so I could go to bed when I got home... but, it was DEFINITELY a helluva night...

One final, "last hurrah" as they say, and... well, it's weird that we're finally going to put the "icing on the cake" that has been our relationship and our love... we've been together so long, I can't even begin to imagine what my life would be like if we weren't...

It's weird, I've never really been "on my own" like a lot of people... I mean, I haven't ALWAYS been in a relationship, but I've never, like, had my own place, worried about my own bills all alone, had a job that just supported me (except for a couple of low-paying jobs traveling with carnivals... but, I had no bills and always shared a living space, so I wasn't really on my own...) and had any REAL amount of money to myself...

But, as they say, you can't really miss what you've never really had... also, I don't think I would have lasted long on my own without SOMEONE grabbing on to me and not letting go (it always seemed like there's been a girl/woman waiting), so I don't really think I'd do very well on my own...

The world (and I) will never know...

Peace...

Hey, Hey, What Can I Say...

All right, I'll start off by saying that the "blue funk" I've been in for the past few posts has blown away (for the most part, anyways), and my attitude and outlook on things is getting better...

Some of it's because my better half (who's my sweet, darlin' fiance) and I are GETTING MARRIED NEXT WEEK!!! After a long, LONG time (way TOO long) of being together, we're finally gonna get legal... It's just been a matter of money, and time, and a few "legalities" that we had to clarify before we could "tie the knot"... and finally, after ALL THIS TIME, we'll be HUSBAND AND WIFE...

WOO HOO!!!!

I'd appreciate it if all of you "well-meaning well-wishers" who would like to decry the act of "pre-marital cohabitation" kept your well-meant moralities to yourself... I promise you that I'm NOT trying to imply that your opinions are without merit, it's just that, I PROMISE YOU that I've heard it all before...

(One of the things that has made this past week or so more enjoyable is... my bachelor party is TOMORROW NIGHT!!! At our favorite local "exotic dancing establishment"... YEAH!!!)

Oh, and just so all of you out there (who care) know... I happen to LOVE my "wife-to-be" very, VERY much, and would like nothing better than to celebrate our marriage with a big, HUGE party, but... as you've probably noticed, the invitations didn't come back from the shop in time, and so we couldn't mail them out, and, well... (I probably would've gotten all your addresses confused, anyway...)

But, you're all still invited to come over to my place, as long as you can find it... We're right around the corner from that store, you know the one, it sells that stuff that you always like to buy (cheaper than the other place down the street)... I won't require any gifts, but it will be BYOB...

See ya'll when ya get here...

Peace...

And The Countdown Continues...

Anyone who's read this blog a few times knows that I'm in the Army, and my unit is headed over to Iraq soon... I can't say when, or where we're going (it's not anyone's business, unless you want to come too... no? O.k.)...

Anyway, it's supposed to be sometime either the last week of this month, or the first week or so of Nov. that we're leaving... won't be back for a year, except for MAYBE two weeks of leave sometime in the middle... which we all pray we get... not everybody does... so, it's getting pretty sad around here... I keep realizing that I'll be gone for a long time, and I'll see things (or people) that I know I'm going to miss... and it get's really hard sometimes to plan ahead for that long a period of time, and truly understand what it means...

And I know I'm not the only person this is happening to, and my family isn't the only family to deal with it all, but... it's still very personal, and it's still us that has to deal with it...

Well, I didn't actually come on here to type about sad stuff, there's been too much of that happening around here... everything's finally fine here for the moment... at least, it seems that way... I know I was kinda vague about the stuff that went on, that's because it was personal, and not public business...

Anyway, this post isn't what I thought it was going to be today, so I'll just leave it here, and maybe have more to say later today, or sometime this weekend...

Peace...

All's Not Always Well That Ends Well...

My last post was one of sadness (obviously)... it looks like someone made a comment, but I can't get it to pull up... oh, well...

Things are a little better... the situation that caused total despair is over for the moment, and everyone concerned has survived intact... well, physically, at least...

Emotions, on the other hand... well, sometimes those can take a beating, and the person can survive, but their feelings never truly heal...

And trust... wow, once that takes a good, solid hit, well... let's just say that it's easy to break (as we all know), and the bruises from that stand out for a long, long time... those scars never heal...

The thing is, life still has to go on... and no matter what happens, there's always another day to think about... and after something really bad goes on, when it's over, life still has to keep going, usually with the same people, and mostly the same situation... things can happen, but not much ever changes...

The weird thing is, how the rest of the world usually just keeps going around "you" when things happen... I mean, all kinds of things happen to you, your whole life falls apart, and... the rest of the world barely notices at all... people still go to the grocery store, the t.v. still shows stupid commercials... and people you walk by in public places don't ever know what's going on inside you... it all seems so surreal sometimes...

O.k., I'm done for the moment... just wanted everyone to know that everyone here survived... not sure what's going to happen now, but I'll try and keep you all informed...

Peace...