Have you ever laid awake all night in anticipation of an event?  When I was a kid it was Christmas morning.  When I was a teenager it was a first date.  Since marrying my husband it has often been the night before a homecoming that I lay awake, tossing and turning, as I imagine that first time I set eyes upon my handsome Marine after months apart.  I spend weeks preparing for the moment, making sure the house looks great, I look cute, and that everything is shaved, exfoliated and primped.  Inevitably though, the time of arrival gets pushed back and I end up waiting an extra 8 hours for that first kiss.  By then my lipgloss has faded, the hair has started to grow back on my legs, and my Marine is exhausted, irritable and stinky.  Needless to say, homecomings are rarely the perfect storybook reunion we dream up in our minds.  Even after 11 years of this life, I still get my hopes up every time.  And every time I am a little bit let down.  Don’t get me wrong, homecomings are still wonderful and they are always special in their own way.  But the point is, many times in life the anticipation of something is often much more exciting than the actual event.  And for those of us who are eternal optimists, well it is something we experience a lot.

I had lots of illusions swimming around my brain in regards to the Military Spouse of the Year ceremony we just attended in DC.  I drove all of my friends and family nuts making sure that I had the appropriate clothing, hair etc.  To be fair, it had been a while since I was thrust into a professional atmosphere.  My regular look is jeans, tee-shirt and tennis shoes topped off with a comfortable scrunchie in my hair.  That was just not going to cut it for this trip.  I knew that we would be meeting the Joint Chief wives so I made my husband quiz me on the names of all the Joint Chiefs, which he thought was kinda cute in a nerdy, obsessive compulsive way.  I also knew we would be taking a tour of the Pentagon which was incredibly exciting to me, but also had me frantically searching my closet for something to wear.   The closer we got to this event, the more I realized what a big deal receiving this award really was, and while I was proud of my accomplishment, I also wanted to vomit on my shoes.  For the first time in a long time I was very nervous.  By the time we arrived in DC I was honestly a mess.

Turns out, I had packed everything I would need, all of the events went smoothly, and the people I met were amazing.   It will take me several blogs to share the high points with all of you, because what turned out to be our 6 days in DC would exceed my expectations far beyond anything I could have ever imagined!   From meeting the other MSOY branch winners, to feeling like a celebrity at the ceremony, being invited to attend a reception at the Commandant's home before viewing the summer Parade at the Marine barracks…every single thing that I experienced was great.  That night after the ceremony, my husband and I were wide awake and could not sleep.  Joey was still on Arizona time, and I was overwhelmed from everything that had happened during those first 2 days.  As we laid facing each other in opposite beds , (Morgan  claimed her spot next to Daddy in one hotel bed the minute we arrived) I told my husband that if I never had another big experience, it would be fine with me, this had been one of the greatest joys of my life.  If this was my 15 minutes of fame, it was more than I could have ever hoped for and I was so grateful.  He gave me a sweet smile and said he was very glad I was happy.  It was one of those little moments that stays with you for a long time. 

After returning home, my husband went to the PX and bought me the netbook I had been putting off purchasing for over a year.  It was one of the best gifts I have ever received because its purpose is to help me pursue one of my greatest passions, writing.   Netbook or not, I write all the time, but things end up written on a piece of paper here, or a notebook over there, and they rarely get compiled together so that I can share them.  My life as a wife, mom and volunteer tends to take precedence over my goal of writing a book, even though I do scribble thoughts during all those moments I find myself waiting for an appointment, karate or carpool.  So today I sit waiting on a strep test for my daughter (hopefully that won’t be something blog worthy), watching her do homework while I write.  I feel like an honest to goodness, bonifide author.  As my husband would say, “You think you are something else don’t you”?  Well, yeah I suppose I do.

Now I have no excuse but to make sure I am sharing all those scribbles with my readers on a more regular basis.  According to the hosting site, it has been 72 days since my last post…ouch!  It’s amazing how you can blink an eye and 72 days  just vanish. Poof, they are gone.  But’s its also a great feeling when those 72 days fly by because they are filled with incredible experiences, people and memories.  So come back in the next few days as I write about the other 4 branch award winners, (amazing women that you should really know), all of the things we experienced in DC (including this small town girls first ride on the Metro), how Morgan got to meet Chesty the MC Mascot, and even a funny little story from last month about the apparent menopausal state of my poor uterus (sorry guys).  Until then, thank you for reading, have a wonderful week!

Many Kind Regards,

Erin