Joe's first time at the ocean!!!!

So Joe has never been to an ocean before. I hadn't met anyone who has never been to an ocean! I told him that it was my duty as his girlfriend to take him there. There was a lighthouse near the beach, but we didn't feel like going on any more tours. The water was also a little too cold to actually go swimming in it. At least he got to put his feet in and collect seashells. It was probably the cutest thing I have ever seen! It was like he was 4, and experiencing it all for the first time....but he was 24. It just made me so happy that he could finally experience the ocean! We sipped margaritas and strolled down the beach. It was perfect! I can't wait to take him to Florida this summer so he can actually swim in it! Of course there were a million seagulls, but I had to take a picture of the one on the post. It reminded me of Finding Nemo, and I kept saying "mine, mine!" :-)

My visit to Fort Stewart & Savannah!!

It's March!! Joe has a 4 day pass, and I took a mini-vacation to go visit him. I've never really stayed in Savannah, so I was excited about that too. I did all the work on the planning since he really didn't have time to. I got our hotel, which was right behind River St where everything happened, I got a rental car, and drove down there by myself. It was my first big trip by myself. It wasn't too bad driving down there. I had a thermos of coffee, a few cd mixes, and he called me a few times to check on me. It was nice to enjoy the scenery and figure out my destination without anyone bothering me. Atlanta to Savannah was the most boring part....it's like the drive from Evansville to Terre Haute: nothing to see & it's the longest 2 hours of your life! Joe was trying to get a nap in before I got there so I couldn't talk to him either.

It was almost weird to see him after being away for 3 months. It was like meeting someone for the first time. It was silent at first, but then everything was back to normal. It's hard to know what to say when you don't see anyone for so long. There was a St. Patrick's day fest going on while we were down there, so we decided to check it out and have a few drinks. I was pretty tired from the 10 hour drive I made that day, but I wanted to spend time with him. Needless to say, it took 2 seconds for both of us to fall asleep that night. The next day we walked around the town and did some shopping. I found a Marc Jacobs store, so I was in heaven. Later on that night, we went on a ghost tour of the town. I took pictures of haunted areas that had a bunch of orbs around it. I thought it was fun, but Joe thought it was a little lame at first. I love spooky stuff, so I was hooked. After the tour around the town, we had dinner at the Pirate House. It was actually the hangout of pirates when they would sail by. There was a "drunk" pirate walking around the restaurant who sounded exactly like Captain Jack Sparrow, so I had to get my picture with him! After dinner, we went to the wine cellar in the basement. It just had an eerie feeling. You could see where they boarded up the tunnel that led to the ocean. This was apparently how they would drag out victims to sail their ships. I took more pictures of orbs surrounding the people in our tour group. If you can blow up the picture, it's very creepy!!!

Joe's ceremony in Indy

In order to keep everything somewhat recent and accurate, I'm starting this whole blogging thing with Joe's leave for Iraq in January. This was definitely a big step and challenge in our relationship. It's kind of one of those tests to see how strong of a couple we are. It's one thing to have a long distance relationship, but it's another thing to have the person you love in a war situation. You don't know what could happen in any minute. This was very hard for me to deal with at first. I didn't have a job, because I just finished my student teaching. I wasn't starting a new job for about another 2 weeks after he left. I don't think I've ever actually felt depressed til this point. I didn't do anything but sleep. It felt if I just slept away the days, he would be here sooner. I didn't eat much either. It was such a horrible situation. I didn't get back to normal until I started working again, and that got my mind off the situation a little more. It's hard going from talking to a person every day, and then speaking to them a few times a week.

We had to be up in Indy on January 1st since the going away ceremony was on the 2nd. It was at the RCA Dome. I held my composure the entire time until we actually got there, and he started taking his stuff into the assigned area. He came back and asked me a question.....then I just starting crying. I was so mad at myself for losing it. I didn't want it to be such a sad time, because I wanted to enjoy our last minutes together and be happy. When you see everyone else crying, it also doesn't help! He just held me until he had to go and kept telling me everything will be ok. I knew it would probably would be, but at that moment I was just thinking of everything bad that could happen. I took pictures of all the soldiers walking in and sitting with their unit. I could actually see Joe, which made me so excited. At least, I could still have him in my sight until it was time for them to leave.

After the ceremony, he called me. I didn't think he would be able to, but he talked to me until he absolutely had to go. He called me a couple more times on my ride back home and then I didn't hear from him until a couple days. He was stationed at Fort Stewart in GA. He was still in the states training, so I could talk to him still...just not as much. He would call me occasionally while I was at work and I would be able to talk to him. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but then again he wasn't overseas yet.

A little About Myself

My name is Brittany, and this is the start of my soon to be blogging addiction! So many of my co-workers have done it, and I thought it could be fun. I am an English teaching major, and I hope to get a full-time teaching job soon. Right now, I love the school that I work at and hopefully I can stay there and obtain a full-time position. Working takes up the majority of my time while I wait for my boyfriend to return home from Iraq. It's his second tour, and he's miserable. We're hoping he doesn't have to go back for a long time. My friends have been great to make sure I don't sit around & be depressed. I love them for everything they've done! So I guess this is my little introduction for now while I go crazy with pictures and blogging in the future!