On September 26, 2013 I prepared to drive into to Nashville to meet a fellow Army Wife from El Paso. She was flying in so she could help me drive back to El Paso. I took my sister, my daughter, and my oldest son.
It was one of those days where it feels like this is forever but you could feel change creeping up all around you. It was a happy day for the reunion of friends, but a sad day because it meant saying see ya later to my sister and son was on the rise. My sister, son and I laughed a lot on this day. At one point my son and I left my sister in charge of my very fast crawling daughter and we hid behind a pole. We would peek at my sister and see that she was very focused on her phone. So after several minutes of doing this we returned to the waiting area. My sister then tells us that the Security Guard had to peck on the window to let her know that my daughter was escaping. My friend landed and all was well. On the way back to our hometown we swung through a fast food drive thru and my friend, who is from up North, asked for a pop. Everyone in the car started laughing because in the south a soft drink is either a coke or a soda.
Once back in my hometown we gave my friend a quick tour of some of the highlights, like the Mexican Restaurant where my husband and I met. We also went to the local Amish Store and to my middle son's school. The teacher was throwing him a going away party. It was all very touching but it had the air of finality to it. By moving away from my hometown once more, another chance for my children to go to school in my home town was gone. This particular fact made me sad.
In my hometown my kids were being seen at the same doctors office that my now fourteen-year-old had been going to since age six. They went to a pediatric dentist who was very kid and community focused. Many of the teachers, police officers, and other employees around town, I grew up with. I loved the downtown coffee shop and novelty stores. My church was like a family to me, but I knew it was time to move on. I also knew that when I left on September 27, it would be a very long time before I ever called my hometown home again. For now it is just my husband's home of record.
So that evening we get pizza, one of my dearest friends comes over and we decide now is time to load the car bag that will go on top of our tiny four door car. This proved to be quite a challenge as there were two Military duffel bags stuffed to the brim and a pack and play. The trunk was crammed full of other bags that contained toys and household items and personal papers. Behind one seat was a microwave, and behind the other was a footstool that you could put things in and it too was full. The ratchet straps were proving to be quite a challenge, and in the end my Dad and my friend's boyfriend and two friends came to help us get the car bag secured to the roof of the car. The next morning by the time we got the last of the stuff in the car, there was a very narrow way to see out the back window and the kids could not see each other.
That night my oldest son begged that we do a small birthday cake for my daughter because most of the people that wanted to be a part of her birthday were being left behind. So we did a very small cake and sang happy birthday to her. Things were starting to get exciting as much as sad. The time line for my husband's homecoming was confirmed. My middle son was now being told that we were driving far far away so he could see his Poppy again. Once things settled down my oldest son settled in on a pallet in my bedroom floor, my middle son and daughter were both sleeping with me. It was the last time I had all three of my kids under the same roof until May 2014.
The next morning was very hard. My Dad had come over to see us off. I got all of the kids up and got them ready for the day. We put the last of the stuff in the car. I gave hugs to my Dad and my oldest son and then I climbed behind the drivers wheel. There in the reflection of my tail lights I watched my oldest son wave and walk a little ways down the road.
The first day was full of uneventful driving, leaving my hometown and going through Memphis and onto Arkansas and all the way through that state and into Texas. We stopped in East Texas to stay the night with a friend whose husband was now stationed at another base. It was a short night filled with a little talking and then everyone went to sleep.
The next day we rolled out very early and did a lot of rural driving before getting onto I-10 and from there it was a straight shot back to El Paso. But my little car with its heavy load was taking its sweet time coming through the mountains. It was late afternoon before we made it to our destination. By this point I also knew exactly what time I would see my husband the next day.
This year on September 26, it will be a Friday. It will be the day that we leave our apartment with the spacious floor plan and great mountain view and move into a four bedroom town house on Post. It will be the day that we become a resident in a neighborhood where each building looks identical to the one next to it. We will no longer be living out in the community with the locals. I am both excited and sad about the change.
I enjoy being away from the main post. I enjoy shopping at the tiny grocery store down the road from my house. At this store it is quiet and has great produce prices. But I do a lot of things on main post. It will be closer to where my husband works and my son's school. It will have more room but less windows. It will be newer and it will have a yard.
I'm excited to begin a new journey one year after beginning this one. God is great and with us in all things.
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