Our Busiest Veterans Day Yet

After only about three hours of sleep, Kevin and I woke up to finish loading the moving truck and cleaning all that we could before our walk through. Since our walk through was a lot earlier than that of what we had hoped for we decided to leave El Paso that morning in place of late afternoon/evening like originally planned. That morning we were able to see one of the most beautiful sunrises. The one thing we already miss very much is the open and clear skies of El Paso.

Kevin and Nic decided to have the truck weighed around 9am and were on the road shortly after that. At 10am I headed to the school to check the girls out, which took about an hour. We had to say our goodbyes and thank you's before we could get on the road. It was definitely an emotional time that led to many tears amongst all of us...the girls and adults. In conversation, we discovered that Mrs. Maxim, their principal at Garcia Elementary, actually has family in Mena. Talk about a small world. Garcia Elementary was a wonderful school for the girls and it has been a school that has helped Caitlin more than anywhere else so far. It was heartbreaking to say our goodbyes to everyone, and even harder to watch Caitlin tell Mrs. Zelenak goodbye. We were all very lucky with this school., the administrators, and many teachers. Thank you for the memories and for taking such wonderful care of our children! We miss you all at Garcia Elementary!

When we finally got on the road around 1130, Kevin and Nic were about 100 miles ahead of us, so it took some time to catch up to them. We finally caught up with the guys around Midland, Texas and stayed with them the rest of the drive. Around 11pm we hit Ft. Worth and met up with our friends, Craig, Mel, and their monsters for a quick dinner at Waffle House. It had been years since I last had hash browns from there! Yum!!! Around midnight, we were back on the road. The drive went smooth and without any issues until we hit the last hour and a half. Once we were off of the interstate I started to struggle with staying awake. I would say that every 10-20 miles we had to stop so that I could get out and walk around in order to avoid falling asleep. It was terrible!!! After being awake for 24 hours, I was at the end of being able to keep up. At 6am we finally pulled into the driveway of our new house! We were all past the point of exhaustion and each grabbed a pillow, blanket and found a spot on the floor that we slept for around four hours. I don't think the floor has ever felt that comfortable before!

As you can all see, this Veterans Day was spent quite differently than most. It was also spent with a lot of thinking time. I can honestly say that my husband was able to spend Veteran's Day with somewhat of a smile upon his face. He was able to leave El Paso and Fort Bliss behind and head to our new house, in the middle of nowhere. For the first time in years, he was able to do something that he wanted to do and something that he deserved. This year for many reasons touched me more than I expected. At one point I was driving, the girls were asleep, and all I could think about was the past almost ten years. We have gone through more than many with the living the military life and health issues, as we have also experienced more than most. For over eight years my husband has served in the army, while going through two tours in Iraq. We have seen many of the ups and downs that this life can bring. We now live with and through what war leaves behind, and even though some days can be quite a struggle I am forever thankful that my husband did come home. While many marriages do not survive this life, I can honestly say that the army has made us stronger than we have ever been. We have seen our weak points and we have come close to hitting bottom, but with the love we share, we have managed to survive it all and come out on top.

It seems unreal to me still that as of January 13, 2012 Kevin will in fact be retired from the army. I could not be more proud of the man I married and love!

I hope that on this past Veterans Day that each of you took the time to think about our veterans and what they endure, as well as their families. This life is far from easy and it takes a special person to be able to withstand it all. I would like to hope and think that if you saw someone in uniform or know someone that is in the military, you thanked them for their services. They say that less than 1% of our population is military. Think about that for a moment... Never forget the ones that are making sure that we are all able to live as free as we do. Thank yous, handshakes, smiles, and kind words go a long ways with our vets and their families...

The Time Has Come

I know this and MANY other updates are far overdue, so enjoy catching up as I update our blog!

On November 10, 2011 we started our day off at Fort Bliss making sure we had everything completed and signed off on so that Kevin could final out at 1330 that afternoon. Needless to say, we ended up spending a couple of hours just walking around and killing time because we were able to get everything signed off on before his last day in the army! Well, last day that he had to show up before leave began! Hey, it's better to have it all done early and wait than to get to Transition and not have nearly enough of the signatures and be pushed off for days!

While we waited for time to pass, we walked all around Freedom Crossing with Nicholas, just looking all through the stores... "window shopping" mainly. We walked into Under Armor to meet and see one of my friends that I met via Family of a Vet, LeAnn. I was sad that I couldn't see more of her before leaving the following day! Nic had a fit over the fountain at Freedom Crossing and of course he managed to keep us entertained with it for quite a bit. He ran all around it and when the water would stop, he would get the guts to run right through the middle of the fountain. During one of his fits of laughter and runs, the water sprayed up right as Nic was over the top of it. He ended up soaked, but full of even more giggles!

After allowing Nic some time to dry and grabbing a bite to eat, we headed over to Transition. This step took a bit longer than we anticipated, but it was an amazing step to everything in this process. It is so incredibly hard to believe that Kevin will no longer have to report to the Army and that the life that we have grown to know so well is now a life of the past... During the finaling out process, Kevin and I were each given an award for the army life and he was awarded a flag and retirement pin. On November 11, 2011 Kev fell into his time of leave that will continue through January 12, 2012. As of January 13, 2012 Kevin will be officially Medically Retired from the Army.

Closing One Chapter as Another One Opens

We started this morning off like every other morning... Wake up, get the girls up and ready, then off to the bus. Following this, at 645 in the morning, I headed upstairs to finish getting ready and Kevin off to Nic's room to wake him and get him dressed. Once we were all ready around 715, we loaded up in the XTerra and headed to Fort Bliss to meet with Kevin's PEBLO (Physical Evaluation Board Liaison Officer). The PEBLO is the one responsible for processing the documents and Service Members case, making sure all appointments are scheduled and kept, counseling the soldiers, and providing answers or resources to the soldier and soldiers family when going through the Medical Evaluation Board for a Medical Discharge. The meeting this morning consisted of us going over all that has been done over this past year, the reasons Kev is unfit for duty, and for him to sign everything for it to finally be sent to Fort Lewis. Yes... you read right! We are finally at the step that we have been waiting on for months now. The NARSUM (Narrative Summary) is now complete and is being sent to Fort Lewis, along with medical records for the Board to review everything and give him his retirement rating. With the condition Kev is in from deployments, he will be retired, we are just not sure on the percentage yet. 

Once his packet is back with his rating, he has the choice to either accept the percentage or appeal the decision from the Board. Neither of us see appealing becoming a part in this. Following this step, the VA Claims Process is started along with other things, as the transition is heavily started. After next week, Kevin should go on Terminal Leave within eight weeks (give or take some days, after all, we know how the Army works). After his Terminal Leave ends, he will be retired from the Army. Retired....

Retired.... That doesn't even look right at this point in our lives and there really aren't words to express the thoughts rapidly running through my mind right now. I am honestly not sure if there ever will be either. It all just seems so surreal. I have taken many steps back and tried to look at everything from outside of the box, yet I can't quite place anything. I am 28 and my husband is one week shy of turning 31 and he will be medically retired from the Army due to injuries sustained while in combat. My husband, who has fought in the middle of war more than once, who has permanent damages from these deployments, will be retired by the end of this year. 

While he is still young, combat has taken so much away from him...and us. All five of us. During the 2006-2007 rotation in Mosul, Iraq; Kevin was lead or tail gunner. He was a NCO (non-commissioned officer). He was a true leader and hero. He left here the man I had fallen in love with and returned a complete stranger. He came home with not only physical injuries from multiple IED attacks, mortars, rockets, fire fights; but full of mental injuries as well. He came home a man that I had to learn and discover things that I never imagined I would. His eyes have never sparkled like they did before he left. His smile is not the same, bright and innocent smile. His laugh isn't full and from the heart as it use to be. His face has aged, his hands have aged.  His thoughts are not that of the majority of people his age. He has seen more, witnessed  more, acted on more, smelled more, and heard more than more than 99% of the United States has. Yet, even through all these changes, he is still my husband and the man I madly love.

So, here we are, after eight years of living this life and everything that we know is about to change. While we were once young adults, barely out of our teens, learning and adjusting to the military life; so innocent in many ways. We walked into this lifestyle not knowing what to expect and we are leaving it with more experience than most our age, wiser beyond our age, with open eyes knowing the realities of war and of life. We are closing a chapter in our lives in order to begin a new one, unaware of what the future holds or how we will transition into a life without all the rules and restrictions of the army life. We are facing a world we know very little of, yet, we are fully welcoming it all. 

Over the next few weeks and couple of months we are going to try to make this transition as smooth as we possibly can, while we discover a whole new world. One that people don't live walking on eggshells or knowing how harsh reality really is because they have never seen really anything outside of their normal day to day life. I have no idea how we will fall back into the lives of others because we have done far more than others our age, especially Kevin going overseas and fighting in a war. We know and we have seen how quickly life can be ripped right from under our feet. We know firsthand how short life truly is. 

There are days that we cannot wait to get past the army life and start anew. There are days that we are both terrified to leave the life we have come to know, understand, and in many ways love. There have been days that Kevin has questioned the reasons behind choosing this life. Yet, there are not days of regret. Without the Army, we would have missed out on so many things. We never would have traveled the world. We never would have learned how strong our love and marriage truly is. The Army, this life, the people, the missions, PCS's, deployments, FTX's, NTC's, TDY's, and everything else have shown us how strong we are not only as individuals, but also as a couple and family.

To all of you that have remained by our sides through this crazy roller coaster of a life, thank you! As hard as it is going to be to bid this chapter goodbye, we know that there is something bigger and better on the other side and we also know that many of you will remain in our lives and always in our hearts!