Today, I was asked to describe one of my favorite dates. This is what I love about the military. You can sit on a duty with someone and get to know them and finish the duty feeling like you have known them your whole life. The conversations are usually random, but it makes the time go by quicker. Well, today we had barracks inspections. After getting my life together from binge watching Game of Thrones last night, I joined my fellow Soldiers in the hallway to await our fate. Would it be a long day or a short day? That depended on whether folks followed directions. So, while waiting, story time started.
One of my favorite dates took place 6 years ago here in Korea. We were actually out in the field. Our second wedding anniversary would happen during that field exercise. We agreed to celebrate when we arrived back at our unit and got settled. The day of our anniversary, I unfortunately made eye contact with the First Sergeant. Usually that is not a bad thing, but it can be when they are searching for Soldiers to perform kitchen personnel duty (KP Duty). My husband, a few other Soldiers, and I were sitting in a supply shed trying to cool off. I guess we missed a formation no one was tracking. First Sergeant walked by and heard us laughing. We were all the lucky winners for KP Duty. KP duty isn’t entirely bad, it’s actually fun when on it with the right people. This particular day went by quick. After serving, we washed dishes and took out the trash together. Once done, we grabbed a few snacks and headed to our separate barracks. Before leaving Deon said he had something for me, and we should meet up after we showered by the stairs next to the dining facility.
The shower and barracks were in two separate buildings. After dodging the shower curtain and managing to shower with one flip flop, I met Deon by the stairs. Deon was already there and sitting down. He was setting up his laptop so that we could watch a movie. He had a few of the snacks we grabbed from the dining facility. He selected Major Payne, his favorite movie. Before pushing play, he said he had something for me. He handed me a plastic bag. I looked in the bag and in it was a nice card with a box. I opened the card and it says happy anniversary and other sweet sentiments. Inside of the box is a brand-new camera. Not just any camera, but one of the best point and shoot Canon cameras I ever used.
In that moment, it was just me and him. I realized that the company you keep can make the experience. In this case, my husband made sure that the day of our anniversary was still celebrated, regardless of where we were at, because all that matter was that we were together. I will forever cherish that memory. We laughed, hugged, and held hands in the muggy mosquito filled air. The moon really set the mood. After the movie,he walked me back to the barracks and gave me a kiss. We made the most of the evening and I wouldn’t have changed a thing about it.
The Soldiers seemed in awe of my story, but all they took away was “why are you in Korea for a second time?” Well, kids that is another story for another barracks inspection. 😜
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