Hurry Up and Wait.....

My introduction to "Hurry Up and Wait" came BEFORE my engineer OFFICIALLY enlisted. When he went in to fill out initial paperwork two days after our wedding, there was a "time sensitive" list that he had to "Hurry Up" and have taken care of YESTERDAY.  Hurry Up we did. 

Then the "Wait" began.  My goodness, did it!  My engineer and I were barely making ends meet working at a bookstore.  After my eight hour shift at the bookstore, I then went to a learning center and taught for four hours.  It is a good thing we loved eachother.  Stress levels were high with the added strain of not knowing when the USAF would FINALLY call.  Despite the upheaval and uncertainty, we made the most of "Wait."

At this time, we lived in St. Louis, MO.  For those of you who are not familiar with this wonderful city, St. Louis is a fairly inexpensive place to live with a lot of FREE STUFF to do and see.  It is a perfect place for a young couple to wait for the military to FINALLY decide what she is going to do with a Design Mechanical Engineer.  We spent countless hours of our free time going to the BEAUTIFUL St. Louis Zoo...free; walking hand in hand down Euclid...free; people watching on Delmare...free; wandering asian grocery stores...mostly free; and enjoying good friends...free.  It was during this waiting period that we truly discovered what we enjoyed most in life:  each other's company.

It is easy for me to forget just how wonderful that waiting period was.  The strain of making ends meet and the uncertainty we both felt often overshadows the simple beauty of that time in our lives as a young couple.  That waiting period is overflowing with stories of a growing love and friendship that has helped us through our darkest storms in the military.  Often, it is reminding each other of a misadventure during that simple time that will bring forth the only smile of the day.  A simple phrase, a little gesture, or a joking comment will transport us both back to "Wait" with the speed of a shooting star.

Our mis-adventures during "Wait" are countless and precious.  They bring on gentle smiles, tears of laughter, and thoughtful conversations.  When the military starts to take too much of a foothold in our marriage, we talk about the time before she became a third member of our union.  I guess it is our way of reminding each other that we came first and when the military is done with my engineer, we will still be.

"Hurry Up and Wait."  Yes, we did wait.  We waited for 4 months before the military FINALLY decided where she wanted to put my engineer.  It was a gentle introduction to the constant "Hurry Up and Wait" that we would do as being a part of the military.  Though we have had countless periods of "Hurry Up and Wait" through the years, not one has been as sweet as that very first.