Guest Post: Stephen in his own Words

Last week, Janelle suggested that Stephen write a guest post. Much to my surprise, he was all over that idea. In fact, he wrote this post that very same day. (I woke up from a sugar coma nap to find what he wrote sitting on the computer.) Without further ado, here’s my husband in his own words:

As it so happens, there have been a few requests that I do a guest post on my wife’s blog. So here it is, the long awaited, much anticipated, highly commercialized and even less supervised version of me. As it is widely known throughout the internets I, Me, Stephen, am/is the quiet, reserved, army husband to your dear main blogger ArmyAmy. I thought I’d dedicate this post to letting you in on a little bit about my tour but mostly about my wife. I figure these will be decent subjects because A) I know that she posted a lot about my deployment from her view point 2) you all read those entries and 3-Z) She talks about her and her life a lot so it goes to reason that most of you find that interesting so this should set some of the same kind of appeal.

Lets dive right into my deployment. Now, due to OPSEC I cannot/will not/could not/would not disclose any real personal or secret information that could not be got publicly. Now, that said, my deployment started at the end of July nearing August. As I’m sure most first time deployers feel, it was a mix of emotions, filled with crappy feelings of anxiety, excitement, nervousness, adventure, and tons of others. Mainly though, for about the first half I was extremely homesick because I wasn’t working in the capacity of what I had trained up for. I am an infantry man. So naturally, I like doing all the dirty mischievous vicious deeds that most of you would never dream of. What I was doing was more comparable to an office job back home. Me no likey. However, my extreme success in this position and continuous nagging no doubt, afforded me the opportunity to join those of my own kind. I left the paper hanging job and started up my combat patrols around early December. Little did I know I was in for a rough winter. Through frozen feet and icicle nostrils we emerged upon the rainy season and then the dry season of our province. By tours end I had worked with the highs and lows, the good and the bad, the young and the old. I’ve come out of it older(the army tends to age you) and wiser(for the most part). The one thing that literally kept me focused, besides my battle buddies, was the picture at my desk, then my helmet, and finally my turret: the picture of my beloved wife Amy.

Now, Amy is a complicated subject for me. There is no way for me to deliver to you in one simple post how much she means to me. No way to describe how strong and brave and independent she was while I was away. She thrived well beyond what I had imagined and came through this deployment just as much a veteran as I did. Deployment can be a relationships worst nightmare. A phone call here or there, a late night 4 min skype session, a quick facebook message is not nearly what you would hope for in a years time in the spectrum of communication. Looking back I don’t know how she did it. I used to panic and pace around the house frantically when Amy would just go out with her mom to dinner and she wasn’t home on time. I always worried that the worst would happen and that’s just right here at home; not Afghanistan. Amy faced incredible challenges while I was gone, challenges that she had to face alone for the most part. I am glad that she is near-ish to family and friends who could try to help her cope, but anyone who’s been in the deployed bracket knows this really is no consolation at the end of the day.

For the 11 months that we were apart my little wifey not only sustained herself but my hopes and fears as well. She carried the burden of two people on her own shoulders every day with a smile on her face. I have never been so proud of anyone as her. She is my guiding light, my cuddle buddy, my professional ocular precipitation remover, best friend, and the most supportive and motivational person I have ever met.

I think this is a good ending point for my little insert. I hope someone enjoyed reading this even though it is no where near the quality of the writer next to me. Thank you all for reading my wife’s work, it means a lot to her and the comments are always welcomed.  Raider1Golf OUT.

PS: I have a personal relationship/personality associated with almost everyone who regularly comments on Amy’s blog….I know you’re out there J .

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