A rainy day in July pt 2

Exactly one year ago, to the hour, I sat in a big auditorium, watching it rain buckets and I wrote a blog post as I waited to catch my flight. I told everyone about the unexpected storm that marked my last day in America.

One year later and there's another surprise storm dropping inches of water on our parched land. I hadn't even realized the occasion until the rain reminded me. One year ago I was leaving for deployment, fresh out of school and new to my unit. I hardly knew anyone and I knew nothing about how the army worked. I was excited to visit new countries and cultures; I brushed up on my history and geography. I had a new iPad and about 35 electronics too many. I had asked around and thought I had everything I needed (ha). I was stuffing my face with Jimmy Johns and trying to act like this wasn't my first rodeo. Everyone knows that new LT that is completely lost. I mean, deep down they're all a little lost, but I was determined to not be the doe-eyed one that you can spot in a crowd. 

So much changes in a year. 

I met people, made friends, lost one and learned exactly how tight a bond you form with the men and women you deploy with. 

I changed units, changed jobs, grew as a Soldier and grew as a person. I discovered exactly which people, values and accommodations I truly missed, and which I could do without.

I'm home now. My husband is out of the army and in a wonderful job where he's home every night for dinner. I'm home every night for dinner. We get to enjoy our weekends and we're expecting a baby! 

Looking back on the last year, there are things that make me laugh for how I handled them, things I wouldn't want to do again and people that I am immensely proud of. I'm proud of my family for how tight our relationship has been through it all. I always had a stable support group and that made things 1,000 times easier. I'm proud of the men and women in my unit because we were able to accomplish the mission without unnecessary risk, drama or friction. I'm proud of all of my friends and the American people because of the outpouring of support and care packages we received. All politics aside, there was never a doubt that the vast majority of the American people support the troops. Unless you've been in a war zone, you don't know how much that really means.

I could write a lengthy advice column from what I learned overseas but instead I'm going to laugh at all of the dumb things we endured, pray for the families of the friends we lost, give a sincere, heartfelt thank you to all of my family, friends and supporters and be available in case anyone has questions, wants advice or cares to share their stories.