Ranger Ball 2013

 Last night we went to Ranger Ball. This was only the second one I have ever attended but I already feel like a pro. One of the many reasons Lance is awesome is that he enjoys (or at least pretends to) listening to me give my opinion on all of the dresses. I love when he pipes in with his comments too, so good. While we were waiting in line for our official formal photo he would ask, "What do you think of that one? ... Good, cause I think it's awful." I decided we'd be a great talk show team to judge the Oscars, Golden Globes, etc.

Military balls are interesting because from what I've heard and read, you are supposed to dress to represent your man well. With dignity, ya know? But so many of the ladies seem to completely fore-go that tradition in exchange for slutty outfits that are just, well, slutty. Plenty of gorgeous gowns to ooh and ahh over too, but last night it seemed like there were more women who I wanted to cover up with enormous blankets or snuggies, sheesh.

Besides people watching and chatting with the fun people at our table, my favorite part of the night was when all of the Rangers recited the Rangers Creed together at the close of the event. Powerful. And of course I had tears in my eyes for the slide show (set to a sweet country song) of all the fallen Rangers - but that certainly wasn't my favorite part. Too sad.

Truly the most fun part of the evening was being introduced over and over as Lance's wife. Happy, happy, happy.

I told Lance that because everything is different for me right now (new state, new town, new apartment, left my job, etc.) that it almost doesn't feel like we're married. Like when people ask how it feels to be married or how married life is, I'm not sure how to answer. Um, new? It has not completely sunk in yet that we are married. But I like this adventure we're on, cause that's more what it feels like.

I always feel sort of Amish when I get updos. But I haven't had one in awhile and my dress wasn't super fancy so I felt an updo was in order for this occasion. (I posted this goofy, shadowy self-taken shot for you Mom, so you could see my makeup. Didn't really get any good shots of my hair though.)

Ranger School Graduation: Part Two

here are some pics from ranger school graduation. they might make more sense (then again they might not) if you read what i wrote here first.

and now for some where's waldo lance ...

he is standing up in the back row in the top right corner. he even had a great spot that should have made it easy for me to spot him haha, whoops ...

just carrying another man is impressive to me, let alone rapelling down a wall with one ...



yes, that is four men hanging gracefully from a rope out of a helicopter ... crazy crazy but so cool!

fyi this is not lance in the action pics, they give the graduates a break and have other guys do the demos.





okay, now can you find lance in the picture below? me neither. he is not even in the picture because once they regrouped and went to different spots i lost sight of him again, ha. good thing i'm not the one in this relationship who is in the military.



loved the prayer. love prayer in public places and moments like this when we as Americans give God the reverence and respect He deserves.



here is a pic of lance before he went to school to give you an idea of the before/after ... and now the coveted ranger tab is finally where it belongs, excellent work & perseverance lance!



Ranger School Graduation: Part One

thankfully, i was able to get off work at the last minute and go to ranger school graduation. getting there meant riding 15 hours from pennsylvania to columbus, georgia with lance's parents. ha. no one can say i am not adventurous, that's for sure.

we left right after work on thursday at 5pm and drove through the night, arriving at the gates just in time to wait in line to enter. some people were decked to the hilt and others wore jeans or sweats. the whole gamut, with me in the middle of that spectrum looking disheveled and like i rolled out of bed because i'd literally just finished a road trip, but still wearing a dress i changed into at a gas station.

as soon as we got our seats i was squinting to figure out which one of the bald-headed camo-wearing soldiers was mine. they looked like clones and the camo caps that hide half of their face weren't helping. lance's parents didn't seem nearly as desperate to find him in the sea of faces and were busy chatting with some family friends anyway, who happened to be there for their son/grandson's graduation too. one of those crazy the-world-is-so-small things.

a few people were walking down closer to where the graduates were sitting to take pictures, so i followed suit and went over with my camera. i tried to methodically scan every face in each row to find lance and finally there he was! standing up, waving and laughing at me.

i started laughing realizing he had been able to see me that whole time and i must have looked ridiculous and hilarious as i searched for him and waved at the wrong guys several times before finally figuring out which one was him.

later when i asked him how long it took him to find me in the crowded bleachers he laughed and said, "i saw you as soon as you walked in."

i found it hilarious that he kept telling me i smelled so good, because i felt like a sweaty mess, but i guess after that many months in the wilderness with a bunch of dudes and wild animals i would smell pretty good.

ranger school graduation is said to be one of the coolest military graduations and while i have nothing to compare it to, i thought it was awesome. the first 45 minutes are demonstrations - guys rappelling off walls, crazy explosions, jujitsu, jumping out of helicopters, walking across really high beams across the lake, shimmying across really high ropes across the lake or doing pullups up there, etc.

i know, i know, my use of technical terms and explanations is astounding. ask lance for the real details. he would probably also explain that those demos are pretty much child's play and not the real deal with what they actually do in combat. quite comforting (sarcasm font) considering i thought the entire presentation was pretty intense and wild. (aside from the narration, because that reminded me of the diving show at dutch wonderland.)

next was the formal ceremony, and all i remember is the keynote speaker saying to the graduates, "i remember being in your shoes at graduation and thinking, 'when is this guy going to shut up so i can go get a steak and a beer?' so i'll keep it brief ..." lance was vigorously shaking his head.

several adorable world war two vets attended and were recognized for their service. i would have liked to chat with all of them.

everything about the graduation filled me with respect for lance, respect for everyone who serves their country, and respect for all of our elders and forefathers who did so much to make the united states the great country that it is.

in the middle of election season when i see and hear so much fear and division and hatred, it felt good to be somewhere that everyone at least seemed united and filled with pride. and with good reason. our guys had just finished one of the most intensive military training schools. about 130 guys were graduating from a class that started out with more than 400. (way to go babe! i am so proud of you.)

finally it was time for pinning on the ranger tabs, and i practically ran out of the bleachers and on to the field to lance. if there are words that can actually describe how good it feels to see the person you love more than anything else and be wrapped in his arms after five months of being apart, i don't have them. but it is somewhere between the happiest day of your life and heaven.

not surprisingly, i could not get the tab pinned and it was taking me so long that he finally just pinned it onto his uniform himself. a few quick pictures and hugs and he had to hurry off to get orders before we all left together.

the rest of the weekend was wonderful. we had clear sunny skies with a light breeze, no humidity and temps in the 70s and 80s (i've been writing a lot of weather stories at work, can ya tell?) which is my ideal weather. i appreciated it even more than usual considering i was in georgia, where i'm used to crazy hot and humid weather.

his parents took us out for a celebration dinner that night at one of our favorite restaurants in columbus. lance lost about 20 pounds during school, which is a lot for someone who was all muscle with no fat on his body, so he had a lot of recovery to do as he came out of starvation mode. he let himself eat whatever he wanted to all weekend, even though he is really antsy to get back in shape.

like on saturday morning for breakfast, he had three large red velvet pancakes, an omelet, hashbrowns, english muffin and coffee. and after i ate one of my pancakes and couldn't finish the other two, he finished those for me. maybe that's not a ton of food to some people, but it is to me, especially because he is so healthy and rarely, if ever, eats junk like red velvet pancakes.

we went to artwalk downtown, picked out wedding rings, checked out places to live, shopped, got sushi (he had about 50 pieces...!), looked at puppies at the pet store, and went back to the spot by the river where we got engaged and talked for hours. perfection.

woohoo!

i got a two minute phone call from lance last night to say that he passed florida, the very last phase of ranger school! he is finally finished!

he sounded so good on the phone - finally like himself again. i can only imagine how relieved he is to be finished and i can't wait to hear all about it. or whatever he's allowed to tell me. or really whatever he deems to be enough to satisfy my curiosity without making me sick to my stomach with worry. he knows me so well.

ahhhhhh! i was so excited i couldn't fall asleep after he called. i just laid in bed squealing and kicking and singing and in the morning when i was talking to my mom she said, "i know, i couldn't sleep either and i could hear you singing." hahaha ... i felt like a kid again, excited for a field trip the next day.

except no field trip today. but there might be one this weekend if i can get off work and work out travel plans. he is still out in the field all week (cut off from communication) until his graduation on friday morning. so if it crosses your mind, you can pray for all of those travel details to come together. thank you much!

the Liebster Award

Molly at Carry Your Heart With Me gave me the Liebster Award!

The rules of the award:
- Post 11 random facts about yourself
- Choose 11 deserving bloggers and tag them
- Answer 11 questions the tagger has asked you and give 11 questions to the people you've tagged.

11 random facts about myself

1. i have never had my ears (or anything else) pierced.

2. taking the year "off" after high school to do Youth With A Mission Maui was one of the best years of my life! same with the semester off college to do SBFM in maui.

3. i love the beach and would love to live in maui again.

4. i don't like coffee but i love chai tea lattes.

5. i have one older brother, colby.

6. bhutan is one of the coolest countries i have traveled to.

7. my mom is one of my very best friends.

8. yard sales are my favorite place to shop.

9. i love sushi. i've been hooked ever since i had it on a date with lance for the first time a few years ago.

10. being outside soothes my spirit. i love hiking or just being outside with people.

11. lance is my favorite person ever. i love him so so much.

11 questions from Molly:

1. How did you meet your husband/fiance?

we met when we were both working in food service at the hospital during college. his version of the story is much funnier because he says it took forever to get me to talk to him. which is true.

one of the earliest conversations that i remember laughing at lance for was when he started talking about how he makes the best renal shakes. (renal shakes were disgusting protein shakes we had to make for dialysis patients and they usually hated drinking them. i never actually tried one.) i was filling out paperwork and just laughed at him, but he continued, "what if girls liked guys and married them based on how well they made renal shakes?" i thought it was completely random but really funny and even told my mom about it - and how funny this guy was. little did i know how un-random it was and that he already knew he wanted to marry me.

2. What is the best way you have found to pass the time while they are gone?

exercising, reading books, and planning random things to look forward to. i also try to limit my time on facebook because it can be a downer.

3. What is a base/post you've loved/hated?

fort benning is the only one i have been to (besides one i forget the name of in florida for a wedding) but since i haven't lived there i can't say that i have any strong feelings about it either way.

4. What is your favorite military tradition? (i.e balls, promotion ceremonies, etc)

i loved ranger ball and i can't wait for the next one! i like how the military is steeped in so much tradition.

5. What is your favorite book you've recently read?

"east of eden" by john steinbeck, "the meaning of marriage" by tim keller, and "twist of faith" by anne beiler were all really amazing!

6. Did (Will) you have a military wedding?

we do not plan to have a military wedding. lance says that the military already takes up so much of his life and he does not want that to carry over to his wedding. i respect that.

7. What do you think about ACU purses? (Look here for examples if you don't know what I am talking about.)

i have never heard of them before today and i don't want one.

8. Do you have pets?

no pets right now, but lance and i both love dogs and talk about getting one. at the same time we are really hesistant because of the time commitment and dog hair everywhere. i want an english bulldog named hank. he wants a border collie, but i better not share what he wants to name it without his permission.

9. What area would you like to be stationed?

washington state or hawaii! i love both of those areas so much. germany, italy or anywhere in europe since i have not been there yet. alaska would be fun too.

10. What posts are you trying to avoid like the plague?

i'm a newby to all of this so i have no clue. but i've heard fort polk in louisiana is miles and miles from civilization, and that civilization there is really only walmart - so maybe that one.

11. How desperate do you have to be to brave the commissary on pay day?

 it sounds like i can be thankful i have not experienced this yet.

I am going to  skip tagging 11 people and giving them 11 questions to answer ... BUT, if anyone reading this would like the Liebster Award just say so in your comment and I promise I will come up with 11 really fun questions for you.

funeral for a soldier

when i heard that someone would need to cover the funeral of a special forces soldier last friday at work, i felt sick to my stomach. i was really missing lance a lot, and the last thing i wanted to do was go to a funeral and talk to family members living my worst nightmare.

somehow i knew i would be the one assigned to go, and sure enough my editor came to my desk and told me to go to baltimore to cover it. the only thing that consoled me was i had worn a beautiful new black dress that day that frankly was perfect funeral attire. the right clothes really do make life so much better.

it was my first military funeral so i had no idea what to expect. the local fire, police and emergency service departments lined up the road leading to the church and directed parking. the family stood outside and i nervously checked with a funeral director about where to go in, and was relieved that they were not standing there for a greeting line where word vomit was sure to come forth.

the green berets lined up outside and eventually filed into the church carrying the casket, and the entire family filed in afterward. surprisingly, the tears i had been anticipating did not come. this was the first catholic funeral i had attended, and perhaps because the traditions do not hold any deep personal meaning to me, i found the service to be very impersonal.

i only started to get a feeling for what he was like when i began talking to his family members afterward. once you work through your feelings of 'i feel like the most insensitive jerk in the world approaching these strangers for a news story right now' and talk to the first relative, it gets easier to talk to a few more.

the published story is not what i would have written if i knew him. and even without knowing him, there are a few things i would have liked to throw in if i had free reign over what i could publish. things like a rant about the rampant infidelity in military marriages and women who dress like skankasauruses at funerals. judgments better left unsaid. so really it is probably for the best that i do not have free reign over what gets printed. ;-)

"Journalism without a moral position is impossible. Every journalist is a moralist. It's absolutely unavoidable. A journalist is someone who looks at the world and the way it works, someone who takes a close look at things every day and reports what she sees, someone who represents the world, the event, for others. She cannot do her work without judging what she sees."
[Marguerite Duras]

so ready for this

{source: pinterest}

i'm ready for georgia and all of the adventures to be had there.

but more than anything i am so ready to marry this man ...

{photo credit: carrie logan photography}

or ya know, just to see or even talk to him would be really, really nice. we can't talk at all while lance is in ranger school. and it is hard. so hard that i have resorted to emailing random bloggers for advice on how they got through ranger school when their boyfriends/fiances/spouses were going through it. 

molly from carry your heart with me sent me some great advice, including this gem ...

"It is really hard for normal civilians to understand why our lives are so unpredictable. I try to explain that we are just a tiny moving part of a greater organization. Being part of the military, even as a spouse, means that the mission will always come first. I know it can be so hard to feel like what you want is constantly being ignored. However, all of these tiny sacrifices allow the Army to fight America's wars and keep us safe."

how true! i tend to forget that when i feel like i am surrounded by people who look down upon the military and everything that it does. {another reason to be excited to move to georgia!} she also said that she pretends making the time pass quickly is a second full-time job. i like the sounds of that mind game and think i will follow suit. i've been meeting my summer goals, but maybe it's time to take that to the next level ...

counting down

i get to see this handsome (and hilarious) man in less than two weeks and i am so pumped!!

what i'd say

"Contrary to what the cynics say, distance is not for the fearful, it is for the bold. It's for those who are willing to spend a lot of time alone in exchange for a little time with the one they love. It's for those knowing a good thing when they see it, even if they don't see it nearly enough."

long distance isn't easy. i am independent, adventurous, love my alone time, and have a full life with things i look forward to each and every day - but being in a long distance relationship is still not easy. maybe this is a "duh" statement, but aren't there a lot of those in life?

when someone asks, "how's lance?" it makes my day. just hearing that someone else remembers that my boyfriend is deployed and cares enough to ask me about it makes me feel loved. for that quick conversation i feel less alone.

i am so impressed by all of the people who live with deployments for a lifetime - the soldiers who serve them, and their spouses, parents, and children. what a community. and so full of stories to be told. i am all about stories - another "duh" statement, huh?

if i could tell them all something ... i'd tell them they're not alone. that we've got their back. i'd remind them of the community of people around them and the country around all of that.

i'd especially remind the soldiers of that, and i pray that the voice of love and support from our nation would drown out anything else. but that is my prayer for all people - that you would know you are loved for who you are, and you belong.

i'd say that this country is still worth fighting for, even when it seems like the people on TV and all around don't seem to think so. i'd remind them that the united states of america is still the best country in the world to live in (in my opinion) and that i'm so thankful they/their family member thinks so too.

i am thankful that my studly boyfriend thinks so too. i'm proud of him.

this is a sweet song - i like to pretend he's singing it to me. don't act like you don't do that with your favorite songs too. ;-)