Embrace the Suck!

I was selected to go to a Battle Command Conference (BCC) at West Point Army Academy in New York. I was ecstatic to have been selected and was thrilled to be traveling to New York where the scenery is gorgeous. I traveled with Robert Kilgore, another Cadet selected to attend the conference. He and I had a rocky start to our friendship, but he promised to be good throughout the trip and to not embarrass me or my Battalion. He brought me a fried chicken biscuit the morning we left, and I brought him a low fat granola bar full of vitamins and fiber. It was going to be a good trip!

After hours of travel we landed in Newark, New Jersey, and headed to baggage claim. Once we had collected our bags my phone rang. It was my mother, and I was informed that my Grandmother had passed away. I was sad for my father’s lost, and went into immediate action to get home in time for the funeral. After calling all the appropriate people for the flight change, Kilgore and I continued our mission to find the shuttle bus that would take us to West Point. We waited for two hours looking for a man in ACU (the official Army uniform) because we were told we couldn’t miss him. I’m not sure if you’ve ever been to an airport, but in airports I’ve been too there’s more than one guy in ACUs.

After two hours we eventually found this guy in a completely different terminal. We then had to wait another four hours for the other flights to get in so they only had to run one shuttle. Needless to say, we missed the entire first half of the evening’s events.

Kilgore and I went through the conference learning as much as we possibly could about leadership on the battlefield, family problems and solutions with troops, life as a married couple in the military, and the everyday struggles of young officers. There was a lot of information to soak up and absorb.

I left Wednesday the conference only to return home to a mourning father, a crazed sister, a delighted boyfriend, and a frantic mother because not only had my grandmother passed away but my older sister was getting married that Saturday. Yep, she was getting married Saturday in North Carolina.

My family lives in Virginia, so the funeral was in Virginia. So Monday I was in Tennessee, New Jersey and New York. By Wednesday I was in Virginia, and by Thursday I was in North Carolina. My family had planned the visitation so that I could get home for the funeral. We had a Wednesday night visitation and a Thursday morning funeral and by Thursday night I was at my apartment in Mars Hill, getting clothes so I could drive to Banner Elk for the rehearsal dinner on Friday.

I’m not sure how many funerals you have attended or been a part of but picture this. Five children, three step children, and at least 13 grandchildren all trying to have a say in a women last moments. Not exactly pleasant! Then add a “Bride-zilla” on top of that.

In defense of my sister, because I love her dearly, she was not bad at all; considering everything that happened. Let’s just say there are some in my family that would have been much worse had it been their own wedding.

In what only seemed like a few hours, really about 12, my boyfriend and I were off to a rehearsal and dinner in Banner Elk, North Carolina. There, the wedding director, bride, groom, and bride’s family were all yelled at by the groom’s father because of issues with the mother and stepmother. Oh by the way the groom’s step sister, a bridesmaid, dropped out of the wedding on WEDNESDAY! So not only was the bride dealing with the in-laws but also the poor groom’s sister. How wonderful is that?

In less than a few hours we were headed to the hair dresser to start getting ready for the ceremony. I paid $25 for a curling iron to be put to my hair and the top pinned back in a bobby pin. One pin. Not even the trendy puff was added. Can anyone say, “a waste of money!”

By the end of the day, I was ready for bed. God knew I was at the end of my tightly wound rope. This is when his love shines the brightest, and he gives me not only his support but the support of others around me. I must admit my boyfriend also supported me throughout the entire week, and I love him dearly for it.

My boyfriend, Kenny, and I returned to Asheville early on Sunday, April 18. We got breakfast at Well-Bread Bakery and went to my favorite little park in Weaverville, to eat our picnic.

Now when it rains it pours, but when the sun is shining it’s brighter than imaginable. After everything that happened during the week my boyfriend got on one knee and purposed. He asked, and I said YES!