and Jason and I both went to basic training in Ft. Jackson, SC. We were in separate platoons, so we never interacted with each other and to be quite honest, I don't really remember him. He says that he knew who I was because I sang in church on Sundays when we were allowed to go. After basic training, we happened to go to the same AIT (our job training) in Ft. Lee, VA. We were put in the same platoon there and when we found out we had also went to basic together, we had that connection.
I found a GREAT best bud, Adam Lasure, who was also in the same platoon and we were hilarious together! He was friends with Jason, too. So I told Adam to introduce me officially to Jason so that I'd have an excuse to talk to him. Jason and I talked as much as we could when we were going to school or training. He was VERY closed off and I'm a VERY open-personality type of person. Still, we connected because we had the same love for Jesus. When I found out he was a practicing Christian man- I just thought how lucky I was to have found someone like this in the middle of the Army. Where have you been all my life?!? (As if I've been alive for that long)
When we finally were able to go off-post for the weekend, we "dated".. if you would even call it that. We'd go out to eat together, hang out at the mall, see a movie, shop, rent cars(lol), I mean, there wasn't a lot we could do because we'd get released at noon and have to be back by 9pm.
Jason and I felt something for each other that we both knew was special, but didn't really talk about it because he was going back to Kansas after we graduated from AIT and I was heading to Korea. After we did graduate, we just left it how it was...
We graduated on October 3, 2006,
and headed back to our states. We talked over the phone, and decided I'll take a trip out there to see him before I leave for Korea. Meeting his family and friends made me fall for him on a whole new level. I got to know who the real Jason was around his peeps. I wanted to marry him. And I told him that. I REALLY wanted to marry him and keep him and he thought that was a CRAZY idea. We hardly knew each other, I was leaving for Korea.. there were a million reasons why we shouldn't. So he told me no. I left a few days later. It was almost time for me to report to Korea on October 31! Jason came to visit me in California. He met my family and we just spent the last of our time together.
On one Friday afternoon...
Jason told me that God had led him to the decision to marry me. We decided to start driving, do a couple of errands, and then maybe go by city hall.
List of Things to do today...
1. get gas
2. go to Kinkos
3. get married
4. buy bread
That was pretty much the list for the day!!! hahaha. As we were sitting in city hall, filling out the electronic marriage certificate, we were just laughing in shock that we ARE-ACTUALLY-DOING-THIS!! What will our parents say??!?!?!?! The lady filing our paperwork walks us into this tiny enclosed room in the middle of their office and puts on a cheesy black judge robe and we hold hands facing each other wearing our t-shirt and jeans! The whole time I was just thinking "God bless this marriage!!" (please) We said our "I-do's" and left. October 20, 2006. The first song to play when I turned on the car was "Let it be Me" by the Everly Brothers. So that is our song to this day.
Sa La Vi!
Off to Korea I go.. not knowing what I'd do for the next year by myself.. what would happen to our marriage. I arrived in Korea on November 1, 2006. One month later, I overheard one of my friends saying he was trying to get his wife over to Korea to live. WHAT?!?! YOU ARE ALLOWED TO BRING YOU SPOUSE OVER HERE?!?! The problem was that Jason was in the National Guard. A million phone calls later to people of importance, I found out there was an Army Reserve Unit right here! And Jason would be allowed to transfer from the National Guard to the Reserve. This was going to be a tricky process because I was the middle man between Jason and this new Reserve unit. After getting the paperwork into the right hands, it was a big waiting game. I would call Mr. Moynihan EVERY DAY asking if there was any news, or anything I could do.. I was very insistant and he learned my name VERY WELL.
Jason flew into Korea on December 22, 2006. That quick! I still thank Mr. Moynihan to this day for helping our marriage by letting my husband join that unit. Without that happening, imagine where we would be today..?
(I might as well finish the story on how Jason is active duty now)
A year goes by of us living in our crappy cock-roach/mosquito-infested apartment which was just fine for us, and Jason decides he wants to go Active Duty. But what will this mean?? There is no guarentee when he goes Active, he'll get stationed back in South Korea in my exact same unit. He worked it out with a recruiter that he will definitely get Korea, but no promises to come back to my unit. He might get put into a unit 5 hours north from me, where we wouldn't be able to live together and only see each other on weekends. So I tried to talk to "my people" down here that deal with incoming soldiers and no one would really promise me anything.
UNTIL....... THIS MAN COMES TO MY RESCUE--
Master Sergeant Haywood. He is this awesome human being who has always been nice to me and we've always said hello. One day I happen to be on staff duty and he asks me how I'm doing. I tell him the situation with me trying to get Jason in this exact unit when he goes active. He said he'll talk to the right people and they'll take care of it. A day later..... those people who would barely LISTEN to me.. all of a sudden are willing to HELP ME!!!! They said right when Jason enters the country again, they have to immediately pull his name and request him before another unit grabs him.
[[so Jason is gone for 2 weeks to Missouri getting transferred to Active Duty]]
..the time comes for him to fly back to Korea and get pulled by my unit before someone else snatches him...
YES!!!!! It happens!!! Jason is coming to my exact unit! And he'll come straight back home as if he never left.
We have MSG Haywood to thank for that little tiny action he did that made a WORLD of difference in our lives.
Yes, my friends, that is the long version of how we met! :)
1 comment:
I'm crying...so sweet! So happy that you guys found each other!
Post a Comment