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Gotta Love A Man Who Can Drink A Juicebox With No Shame

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In Canada, when a soldier serves 12 years of Service (you know, without getting in too much trouble or breaking any laws….) they get a medal.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Forces_Decoration

It is called the CD.  Canadian Forces Decoration.  You don’t have to do anything beside  be a soldier for 12 years to get it (which, don’t get me wrong, is a pretty important!).  Once you recieve it, you even get to put a C.D. after your name on important documents.  Pretty fancy shmancy.

Needless to say (or this post would have no point but to bore you with military medal trivia), DH reached his 12 years last weekend.  That doesn’t mean he has the medal now, that will take however many months of paperwork and the like.  But, it means he is eligible.

12 years ago he walked into the Recruiting Center with his mom and dad, having completed his enlistment process while he was still in highschool and stood there just after his 18th birthday to make the final step… Swearing his Oath to the Queen and Country before shipping off to Basic Training.

October 8, 1999

And I remember it then, because I remember him then.

I didn’t get to go to the Swearing In.  It was for family only and I was just a girlfriend.  A highschool girlfriend, no less, I am sure that it was assumed the relationship would be short lived once he was actually out the door.

But I was there for everything else.  I was there the night before he got on the plane, sitting in a park by ourselves when he asked if I was going to wait for him and I cried.  Oh, how long 12 weeks sounded!

And so I waited.  It’s hard to remember the world before cellphones were big and texting was everywhere, but that world did involve him paying hundreds of dollars in bills from collect calls from him to my parents house.

Sure doesn’t seem like that was 12 years ago, but it was.  These years have had their share of foot-stomping fits of rage at the Army, at their plans and their change of plans and their lack of plans.
There’s been frustrations and stupid arguments and times when I was sure I.  Was.  Done.

While trying to clean out the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Crawlspace of Green Doom, I found myself reading letters from DH’s first tour.  (It wasen’t hard to find them, they were next to the paperwork for his baggage from 2002 and instructions for exercises that happened in 2000….sigh) I found one from another soldier who was back at home.  He wrote that he had talked to me and I had told him I was never doing this again and I was making DH get out and join the Police Force.  Beacuse we were having a baby and well, there can’t possibly be a way to raise a child like this….

Huh.

12 years later, when I debated writing this post because these 12 years aren’t really my accomplisment, they are his, I decided something.  My experiences have not been the same as his, I haven’t travelled the world or been to war.  But almost everything about the course of my life from then until now has had to do with his enlistment 12 years ago. So it’s his moment, but I’m going to celebrate it myself a little, too.  I don’t think he’ll mind.

And I wouldn’t have done them any other way.  It is what it is and we are who we are because of it.  So bring on the next 13 years.

I hope that even as I am more and more proud with every promotion and medal and honour, that I never forget that I started off in love with this kid in his brand-spanking new DUs.  

 

Decemeber, 1999 coming home from Basic Training.

 

12 years later.  With a juice box.  Because growing up is optional 🙂

We plan the way we want to live,
but only God makes us able to live it.

Proverbs 15:9 

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34 COMMENTS

  1. Alana Winder | 12th Oct 11

    haha That is just adorable. I'm all for never growing up!

    Congrats to you both for 12 years in!

  2. Elizabeth Beck | 12th Oct 11

    Awesome! You are so funny at times! Congratulations to Nathan and you on making it this far!! Now we know what C. D. means. Ken Carter, the realtor who sold us this house, used it after his name and we never knew what it meant.

  3. Chris Allen | 12th Oct 11

    Brilliant Kim, simply brilliant. I'd follow this with glowing praise on your writing skills but I've already commented on it many times before so I already know that you know that I know you know I know that you already know uhhh… where was I? Oh ya thats right! Caught the cheeky bugger sippin' on a juice box again 😀

  4. spinner137 | 12th Oct 11

    Priceless! Love the juice box!

  5. RecceWife | 12th Oct 11

    The truth is, he made fun of guys all the time for looking like kids driking juiceboxes at work. And then I busted him with this one :). He's not so tough!
    And thanks!

  6. RecceWife | 12th Oct 11

    He IS distracting! I figured you would appreciate his lapse in thinking, getting busted with a juice box in his DUs no less! Scandalous!

  7. RecceWife | 12th Oct 11

    Thanks!

  8. Erika Perez | 13th Oct 11

    That's so great!

  9. Toloveasoldier | 13th Oct 11

    How amazing that you have been there through it all!

  10. RecceWife | 13th Oct 11

    It does seem like it's been a long time, but I supposed in 20 years these 12 won't seem as long anymore 🙂

  11. RecceWife | 13th Oct 11

    Awe, thanks 🙂

  12. Stephanie | 13th Oct 11

    Congratulations to you and to your husband. And i absolutely think that you share in this honour…his success hinges greatly on your support. (Of course, I AM a military wife, so there may be a bit of bias there…)

  13. Megan (Best of Fates) | 14th Oct 11

    Yay! Congrats to both of you – it's definitely a whole family accomplishment.

  14. DH | 14th Oct 11

    I was thirsty and that's all that was provided

  15. DH | 14th Oct 11

    I Love you babe, thank you for all that you are and all that you do. You are an amazing woman that God has truly blessed me with. I could not have done 1 year never mind 12 without you by my side.

  16. RecceWife | 14th Oct 11

    Nope, no bias at all. I see nooooo bias whatsoever…. 🙂
    And thanks!

  17. RecceWife | 14th Oct 11

    Thanks! It is, isn't it 🙂

  18. Alana Winder | 14th Oct 11

    Love this post! Thanks for linking up!

  19. Yissele Shirley | 15th Oct 11

    Hi! I like your blog! Congrats! I'm following your blog & facebook! I hope your visit! Have a Great Weekend!

    Namaste!
    http://mamiholisticaygenial.blogspot.com/

  20. Lara | 15th Oct 11

    Even though it's his 12 years, I'm sure he couldn't have done it without you. I admire your strength. It is hard to be left behind, and my husband only leaves for weeks at a time. I can't even imagine longer.

  21. RecceWife | 15th Oct 11

    Even a day sucks, no matter how often or how long he goes away 🙂 Thanks for popping by!

  22. RecceWife | 15th Oct 11

    Thanks Yissele

  23. Sandra | 15th Oct 11

    You go girl! Military wives are just as important as the men they are married to…actually I'd go as far as saying they're more important…what is that saying, something along the lines of the wife being one rank above her husband…I like that. I love reading your posts. Even though I'm out of the military life now, coming here makes me nostalgic.

  24. RecceWife | 16th Oct 11

    Awe, well come by any time for your fix of nostalgia. I am always one rank up, 9er Domestic 🙂

  25. eablaylock2006 | 17th Oct 11

    Thanks for your nice comment on my blog! So glad that I found yours today! Everything you write is so interesting! 🙂 Love it.

  26. RecceWife | 17th Oct 11

    thanks!

  27. Renee Quihuis-Romero | 17th Oct 11

    wow 12 years! i hope to get there someday!! I can't imagine no txting/cell phones. Idk how I'd survive, I feel like I barely have my husband now even though we get to txt everyday.

  28. Kaisa | 18th Oct 11

    Congrats to you both!!

  29. RecceWife | 22nd Oct 11

    We just used Skype for the first time and then when it wasen't working a week later I was all upset like I all of a sudden needed something we didn't have 2 week before! Isn't technology great! 🙂

  30. RecceWife | 22nd Oct 11

    thank you!

  31. Drew | 28th Oct 11

    Congrats on the CD (soon to be) and thanks for writing this blog, I am a CF member and was looking for stuff to pass on to my future wife (aka current significant other) i've perused your blog a little and like it, Hope she does too. I hope you dont think i'm a dick for saying this, but its DEU's not DUs. Btw she's in the Social work field too I thought that was kind of quirky (the similarities)

  32. RecceWife | 28th Oct 11

    Ya…. I noticed that I mistyped it but figured no one would notice anyways….darn.
    Thanks for stopping by, glad you like it!

  33. Militarywifemayhem | 20th Nov 11

    LOVE THIS POST!!!
    Congrats on his 12 years of service! I was there for Cpl. Mayhem's Swearing In but there wasn't a photo of both of us!
    And your DH is right growing up is optional!
    http://www.militarywifemayhem.com

  34. RecceWife | 20th Nov 11

    Thanks 🙂 I'm pretty sure we're both fighting the growing up part with all we got, but it's getting hard to pretend to be the 'new kids' these days…:)

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