Reflecting

This past weekend is a sad weekend to be a Penn State alumna; my heart aches for the Paterno family. May Joe be remembered for the many wonderful contributions he made, not just for the great football coach he was; exactly how he wanted it.

One of my fondest memories of JoePa is when he came to my high school to recruit Pat Devlin during my junior year. I was so upset with the thought I didn't have the chance to meet him then, as he has been my idol since I was old enough to understand who he was. Fortunately, my dreams came true that day, and I got to shake his hand. It was totally worth being late to class.

At that point, I'd mainly known him as the Penn State football coach and the man who gave much of his life to the university that I would later attend. Now, I see him as a figure engrained in not only football but academics, as well.. My favorite place to be on campus was the 5th floor in the Paterno Library, the education library After having attended that university for four years, I realize at times I was much too critical about certain aspects. Life there was not all that bad. In fact, it was great.

Life in State College, PA is similar to life here in Cherry Point, NC. Both rural areas built up by one main attraction. Here is Cherry Point, there, Penn State. It also features another aspect of my life that I hold very near and dear to my heart: lifetime friends and support of the community. In Cherry Point, I have my Marine wives who support me through deployments and understand exactly what I'm going through. In State College, I had friends in my classes helping to guide me through my college years.

I didn't realize until this very moment about how similar these two places could actually be. The underlying aspects of life as a military wife and life as a Penn Stater are mainly what ties it together. I am SO proud to be a wife of a Marine, while I'm also proud to be a graduate of Penn State and to have had these experiences. These two places, as much as I enjoyed them, also had downfalls. I'm far from family, a decent shopping experience (ha), and they throw at me some pretty hard times.

But, these two places have forever changed my life and I'm so grateful for that. I am able to be who I am because they shaped me and continue to. It was a true honor to be able to go to one of the greatest colleges in the US, and is a true honor to support my husband as a US Marine. Looking back, life has been extremely rewarding, but it's going to be so much more rewarding in the future.

2 years ago...

On this day my world came crashing down. My boyfriend of 11 months was leaving on his very first deployment. I thought it was possibly one of the worst things to happen to me. Looking back, it really was actually one of the best things to happen to us.

After that deployment, we got engaged and married, moved into our very first house, adopted a perfect puppy, and are surviving our second deployment. That deployment taught me to be a very strong, independent woman. I couldn't be surviving this deployment without the experience of the first. As bad as it sounds, I'm so glad we got to experience one before this one as a married couple.

It's been quite the ride with the Corps, and being separated for almost 3 years. Gosh, it felt like the 4 months we lived together we were apart, too! Let's just say, we've been long distance for 3 years. Well, that 3 years has taught me a lot. It brought me to where I am today. I am SO beyond grateful for the place I'm at in my life: I'm married to the most wonderful man, I have a puppy who is the light of our lives, and we live comfortably.

Yes, this all takes place when my husband is deployed. He's not going to be deployed forever, either. So, why does everyone get their panties in a bunch about deployments?  I just don't feel it necessary to put my life on hold because he's gone. I've learned to live without my husband, and he's learned to live without me. It's just what we do. I know it's his job and I've accepted that. We are an extremely strong couple, and knowing that also helps me make it through hard times.

For now,we both live separate lives, but in the end we'll be together and we're always bound by the sacred vows we took that remind us of forever.