"Why don't you start at the beginning?"

"Yes, and when you reach the end...Stop."

It's hard to say where exactly the "beginning" and "end" of this story are. I suppose it would suffice to arbitrarily pick any point in time and stick with it, so here goes...

The Beginning: Sunday, August 22, 2010.

That morning, I overslept. I hurriedly showered, put on a new dress and some cute shoes, and rushed out the door. I went over my unfinished to-do list in my mind: the house hadn't been completely cleaned, I hadn't gotten the car detailed, laundry was piling up.... Did any of that really matter? I frantically made my way out of our neighborhood and sped off around the beltway. Just before my exit, I got pulled over for speeding...and rightfully so -- I was driving like a crazy person! (Not to mention, I was also trying to apply makeup to my flushed face as I was barreling down the freeway. Pulling into the shoulder for a breather was probably for my own good.) When I reached for my driver's license, the cop must have seen my military ID, and he asked if I was active duty. That did it -- the tears burst out of me, as I couldn't contain my excitement/anxiety/nervousness/frustration any longer. (You have to read this as if you're blubbering through sobs and the words are barely comprehensible.) "No, my husband's in the military, and he's been deployed, and he's getting home today, and I'm on my way to the airport to pick him up!" And as he took my license back to his car, I sat there weeping like a child. (Thankfully, I hadn't yet put on my mascara...) And all I could think was: "Damn. I was running late already, and now I'm getting a ticket on top of everything. And Jason's been flying for hours, and now he's going to be pacing around the airport waiting for me. How could I screw this up?!" Thankfully, that nice police officer had mercy on me and let me go with a warning. And of course I obeyed posted speed limit signs after that......until I exited. The Dulles access road has never felt so long, but I made quick work of it. I zipped into a parking spot, practically ran inside, and began pacing. I had no idea where to find Jason, so I walked back and forth near the baggage claim -- Domestic? International? I didn't know where his flight was connecting from and didn't have a clue what airline he was on. But finally, after about 15 - 20 minutes, there he was. He just appeared. And I honestly don't remember when I last felt so elated! I ran toward him and leaped forward -- yes, I probably made a little bit of a scene, but since it was about 7:45 in the morning and the airport wasn't crowded, I didn't much care -- and we hugged! Home at last.

And so ended both of our first experience with military deployment. Whew. It felt like a long six months, and I was glad to have it behind us.

After some good ol' American breakfast (which, oddly enough, ended up being Greek food at a diner in Baltimore), a nice relaxing pedicure for each of us, and a few meaningless errands, we settled in for a couple days of unpacking, doing laundry, and hiding out from the rest of the world. This was our time. And oh, how time started to fly...!

A week after Jason got home, we set off for Spain. Call it "a second honeymoon", or "a well-deserved break", or even "a frivolous holiday". We just called it "Heaven". We spent almost two weeks relishing the cultural hustle-bustle of Madrid and the relaxing Mediterranean beach of Valencia. We went to museums, spent countless hours lounging in the sun, stayed up late, drank more cafe con leche and cava than should be allowed, and ate, and ate, and ate.... It was divine!

Once we returned home to Maryland, and just started getting back into a normal routine, the preparations began. See, Jason had been given orders for a new duty assignment -- a year-long intermediate language training course......to begin November 1st......in Monterey, California. That gave us just about six weeks to make necessary arrangements, pack up everything we own, and make our way across the country. It was tough. I had to quit my job, we had to rent our house, we bought a new car, said as many good-byes as we could manage, and we began our 3,000-mile trek along Interstate 80. We stopped along the way in Toledo, OH, Chicago, IL, Cheyenne, WY, Park City, UT, Lake Tahoe, NV, and finally our new West Coast home of Monterey, CA. Sure, we could've made the trip in less time, but we wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to see and do things that we ordinarily would'nt have the chance to see and do. Besides, there are only so many consecutive hours you can sit in a vehicle (albeit a very comfortable leather-upholstered one) before your butt goes completely numb and you get really, really stir-crazy. And once we were in Monterey, our first order of business was to find a place to live!

So, fast-forward through securing a residence, one of the Aggies' best seasons in a long time, spending Thanksgiving with new friends, a hurried trip back to Texas at Christmastime, ringing in 2011 as West Coasters, Jason and I celebrating the 10-year anniversary of when we first started dating back in college, a quick trip to DC during President's Day weekend, and a brief stint visiting family in Texas, and that pretty much leads me to the point where I am today -- seven months pregnant in our military-housing-duplex in Seaside, California. Oh, did I forget to mention that...? Somewhere between Spain and heading West (as if we needed one more thing thrown into the mix), Jason and I were surprised to discover that we're expecting!!! But perhaps that's another story for another time...