All You Need is Love

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! Being 16 hours ahead of time means that we get to celebrate little holidays like this twice- the first in our time zone, and then the 2nd as we patiently wait for our loved ones to wake up on their February 14th so we can call them and send/receive emails. For me, Valentine’s Day started off great- a midnight bed time, sleeping in until 9am, enjoying a heart-attack-inducing brunch (biscuits, hash browns, bacon, waffles w/ strawberries, AND donuts J), going to church services here with some people I have grown to be very good friends with and then mosey-ing down to the office to check my email.

This morning, we also conducted a RAS (replenishment at sea), for food, parts, stores, fuel and MAIL! For the first time since January 15th, we received mail, GLORIOUS mail. I am so incredibly grateful to receive an amazing valentine’s day care package from dan (how perfect too- the only mail we’ve gotten in a month, and we happen to get it ON valentine’s day, and it’s full of valentine’s goodies!). I eagerly torn into a huge box full of candy hearts (my FAVORITE J), 2 books, 5 gossip/girly magazines, 2 issues of TIME and more Valentine’s Day candy than I could ever possibly eat. In order to ensure I did not have a cavity-inducing experience this afternoon, I carefully sorted the candy, leaving well over ½ on the “community table” in the office for my fellow Desronians to enjoy. I also received a new Patricia Cornwell book from mom, which I cannot wait to read (I am reading one book right now and have FIVE books waiting in the wings- I actually think I have enough to take me through til home!) I also received a pink card with red and glittery hearts on it from Cathedral City High School, Room 311. So thank you, Cathedral City H.S, wherever you are! I was the only person on staff to receive a Valentine’s Day themed package, which made me feel very, very special. I even talked to one guy who has been in the Navy for 15 years and has only ever received one care package from his wife, EVER! Now, I’m not encouraging Dan to only send one care package in 20 years, but it made me incredibly grateful for all of my family and friends who have continued to brighten my days (and weeks and months and years) that I have spent at sea with emails, letters, books, magazines, funny stories, great blogs, packages and gifts.

Reflecting back on the 6 years of Valentine’s Days I’ve had with Dan, 2 of them were together at UVA and then the last 3 I have spent at sea. 2008 was spent underway while ’09 & ’10 have been spent on deployment. That being said, each year I am continuously filled with more love and happiness than the year before. Being apart for every single one of the “our first married insert holiday here”s certainly hasn’t been easy (especially since this follows 3 years of a long distance relationship!), but it is made a little better by all of the love that I know I have back at home waiting for me. (Which, by the way, only has to wait for 40 more days!!!)

The other day marked our 5 month anniversary, which I called dan to wish him a happy one. (I guess you can’t call 5 months an “anniversary”, so maybe more like our “5 months since we’ve been married”) and as the months crawl by, the ratio of time we spent together and time we’ve spent apart gets bigger and bigger. But that ALSO means that the amount of time we have left to go is getting less and less, which is a good thing.

It was during this conversation that we also realized that on our “real anniversary” we will have only spent 4 months together. But don’t feel bad for us, this means we get TWO “first anniversaries”- one on September 12th and a 2nd one whenever we have actually spent 12 months in the same country. That’s the best part about being a military couple and the deployments and hardships and the time at sea- you ALWAYS have something to celebrate (whether it’s the million holidays that you missed, the birthdays, the accomplishments and the major life events- or even if there aren’t any of those, just celebrating getting to be TOGETHER). We, and many other couples in similar shoes that I know, never ever take one minute together for granted. It’s an experience and a feeling that unfortunately comes at a very high price, but the feeling of being incredibly grateful for every opportunity we have together is something we will cherish and carry with us forever.

So, to my husband, my parents, my family, my extended family and all of my amazing girl friends- THANK YOU for the love that you have given me throughout my life.

As for me, I’m going to start unpacking all of my loot and sticking my nose into some of these magazines (what I really need to be doing is plopping myself on a treadmill instead to counter the brunch/candy) but i think I will wait until tonight after watch. I’m sorry I haven’t written much recently, since leaving Malaysia I have been VERY busy with work for my new boss and midnight VTCs (we had to attend a conference by video-ing in that started at 8am- SAN DIEGO TIME!; which means it started at midnight for us!) and working out and various other events.

To keep you on your toes, stay tuned for my next 2 big stories: our port visit to Malaysia and my epic nautical milestone of Crossing the Line (don’t know what that is? Can’t wait a few more days? Google “Crossing the Line”, “Pollywog”, and “Shellback” to get some ideas!