july 30, 2014

25 days ago was a day I counted down to for 192 days...my wedding day. I am sure one day soon I will post 500 pictures and write all about how perfect July 5th was, but not today. Today I want to talk about July 29th.

           July 29th I moved to Alaska. Never in my wildest dreams would I ever think that sentence would come out of my mouth. For those that know me, know that I am always up for a fun road trip or a spontaneous adventure. For those that REALLY know me, know that I am also just as content in my Grinch pajamas playing dominoes with my family or binge-watching episode after episode of some TV show on the couch. I love being home. I love being with my family at home.  So, needless to say, the thought of being 4400 miles away gave me an expected sense of nervousness. Don’t get me wrong, I was PUMPED to be able to finally go and be in the same zip code as my husband, after spending our entire engagement apart. But, even with the biggest excitements of a move, there was one thing I was absolutely dreading…all the goodbyes.

Emotions are not something I shy away from, and I could already see all the ugly crying that was going to happen. While there was plenty of that (trust me), I ended up experiencing a different emotion than expected. Gratefulness. I am extremely grateful for every single one of my tearful goodbyes. I am grateful to have the relationships I do where there is so much support for the new chapter in my life, but also the sadness of me leaving. Yes, I said it, I’m glad that people are sad I left. Sounds strange and selfish, I know, but its true. Their sadness just says to me that I am as much of a blessing in their life as they are in mine. What a humbling thought!

With this new military life that I have married into, there will be inevitable goodbyes that are to come with every move.  I can only pray that we are able to build a home and build friendships wherever we are that will make me sad to leave. That will be a true blessing.

For those still reading (mom), these goodbyes are the reason for my blog. I want to share my new adventures in marriage, army life, and especially Alaska. I always have a lot say and I feel as though I have a way to find humor in everyday life. Although I am still trying to find the humor in having to sleep on an air mattress for the next month and the fact that a  giant cannon went of outside my window EARLY this morning , I hope somebody can. While I am trying to bring a little bit of the South to Alaska, I hope I can maybe give you a piece of Alaska all the way down South.

Always,

Anna