A Letter to My Wife - Part 2

Hello again, my love.

So now I've been gone for a week. That means I've probably smacked it around 21 times already. Ha ha ha. Oh god, I hope not.

So at this point in my Army career, I'm sure there's not much to report. Here's a rough rundown of how my week probably went.

I stood in line. I got yelled at. I stood in line.

I stood in line. I got a haircut. I stood in line bald.

I stood in line, I got stabbed with every needle on the planet, I stood in line.

I stood in line in my skivies. I got a shot in the butt by a needle with the rough diameter of a telephone pole. I stood in line (with most of my weight on one leg).

I stood in line. I got yelled at. I answered tons of questions, filled out mountains of paperwork. I stood in line.

I stood in line. I got yelled at. I stood in line. I got my anal probe and visited the dentist. I got yelled at. I stood in line.

I stood in line. I got yelled at. I got yelled at again, I stood in line. Then I got yelled at.

I stood in line. I forgot what I'm standing in line for. I got yelled at for forgetting. I got yelled at for standing in line. I stood in line.

I stood in line. I got yelled at. I got my uniform. I feel like a fucking Soldier (although I'm not. Hell no. But I will earn the right to be called a Soldier. Hell yes and Hoo-ah!). I got yelled at in my uniform. I stood in line in my uniform. I got yelled at again.

I got yelled at. I got yelled at again. I stood in line. I got yelled at. Yes! I'm getting yelled at more than I'm standing in line. That means I'm almost done processing! I got yelled at again. That made me happy. I got yelled at for being happy. I stopped being happy. I got yelled at for being a sourpuss. Hoo-ah!

And yes, it went on and on like this for a week (and no more I hope). Each time I got yelled at, I had to do push-ups. And when I couldn't do anymore push-ups, I got yelled at. And my punishment for not being able to do enough push-ups was... oh come on, take a guess... you got it! More push-ups (while being yelled at).

But I'll tell you what. Every time I felt like, "this sucks," I stopped and thought of you. I thought of how hard this last week has been for you. I thought of how much I love you, and how much you love me. I thought of how proud you would be of me if you could see me, and how proud you are of me even though you can't see me. I thought of how this will be making a better life for us. That's all it took to find the strength to keep going.

Now if only I can make it through the next 3 weeks. But you know what? I will. I know I will.

I dedicate this last week and these next 3 weeks to you. Every moment of the hardest month of my life will be made easier by thoughts of you. You are the reason I have come this far and the reason why I will go all the way. You will be so proud of me when you see me. And I can't wait to see that look on your face when that time comes.

Basic Combat Training, here I come! (I hope... oh lordy let processing be done by now!)