It seems like just yesterday I was stepping off the plane in Texas, back in January, too excited to think, waiting to see Ethan (my BOYFRIEND) graduate boot camp and be able to see him again for the first time in 2 long months. It was an amazing 4 days, but it felt like it was over in a flash. Then he was off for another 5 LONG months in Mississippi. It made me so proud to see everything he had accomplished up until that point in his life, and I was so proud and honored to be able to see him graduate from Boot camp and receive his airman's coin.
While he was in Mississippi, I was still trying to figure out how to be a "military girlfriend" It was difficult for me to be away from him for so long. I missed him so much, and there were some nights where the only place in the world I wanted to be was in his arms. With limited communication it was hard to know what was happening in each other's lives. I turned 18, and got my first tattoo about a week before he got home, and he made it just in time to go to prom with me. I can honestly say that made my entire senior year. The only thing that would have made that night better, would have been if I wasn't recovering from my car accident still... Yep... ONE night... ONE NIGHT before Ethan got home I swerved trying to avoid a dear, and instead, hit the side of a mountain, then my car somehow landed on the other side of the road 6" from the cliff, at 11:30 at night, while my phone was dead. To make it better I was in both sides of the road, and in the middle of a bend, right in that sweet spot where no one would have seen my totaled car as they're driving around that corner. I was trapped in the car some people found me there after what felt like an eternity later. My car was totaled, which really made me panic because I had no clue how I would move to Oklahoma anymore without a car. The left side of my body, and my entire rib cage hurt very badly, and it made playing the saxophone for band a little harder ;-). But when I got to see Ethan the following day in the airport, all of that stress, and pain went away and nothing else mattered but being able to hug him tightly for the first time in 5 months. He got to spend almost a month home, and when he left I was about 2 weeks away from graduating and about a month and a half away from moving to Oklahoma to be with him again. Unbeknownst to me, within the first couple weeks of him being in Oklahoma he was buying an engagement ring!
Graduating was a big thing for me. I wasn't really the best student, and I had gone through a LOT during high school. Though that's no excuse; I slacked off for a long time and wound up having to work 3 times as hard as I would have to be able to make up missed credits from missed school, and it's something I'm not proud of, but I AM proud of the fact that I made it. I worked hard and I made it.
The couple of months between my graduation and my move across the country would be some of the hardest months I went through this year. Without airing my dirty laundry I'll just say I left home on not so good terms, and wound up staying with a few of my siblings for a while. The emotional stuff I was going through, and the scared feeling I had about leaving everything I'd ever known to go to a place I'd never stepped foot in, and the stress about finances put me in a bad mental place. I was hurting, and I didn't know what to do about it. I prayed and prayed and God eventually showed me in a very obvious way what to do (after I got to Oklahoma). The last few days I spent in California were saying goodbye to all of my friends, and camping with family. Then my soon to be father in law drove me to Reno where I stayed at my cousin's house, and they drove me to the airport. The entire day I was so concentrated on seeing Ethan and my flights seemed like an eternity. When I stepped off the plane in Oklahoma I was thinking about nothing else than being at home in Ethan's arms again, so when I stepped off the plane I forgot I should have been expecting the humidity... That was... shocking to say the least, stepping off the plane and immediately feeling moisture in the air... and it was so HOT! And if any of you know me, you'll have already known that I got lost in the airport looking for Ethan.
So I find him and he drives me to my new home, and tells me to dress more comfortably for an outdoor date (as I was in a dress and heels.) He wouldn't tell me anything about where we were going or what we were doing. So we drive to Oklahoma City and parked in a random parking lot, and get out and start walking. We wind up in the Myriad Botanical Gardens, and there's an event going on where there is a movie playing outside on a huge screen. We watched the movie (Big Hero 6) and by the time it was over it was around 10:00 at night. After the movie we walked around the gardens, and by the river where tons of coy fish swam around. There was a huge cylindrical building behind us that was changing colors from bright blue to bright pink. The gardens are such a beautiful place too; it was so amazing. Any way, we stopped at a bench and sat down and talked for a little while. Ethan was saying this long romantic beautiful speech that was melting me, and then we stood up, and he took my hand and said "Katie..." and got down on one knee and continued "Marie Irene Kincaid..." (inhale of breath from me as tears formed in my eyes) "Will you marry me?" Whereas I replied with something like "WHAT? OH MY GOSH YES!!! YES YES ABSOLUTELY, YES!!!" crying all the while.... I was... excited :D After what was the best night of my life at that point, we explored around Oklahoma, We got engaged just 3 days before his 19th birthday, which I was so happy we got to spend together.
The next 3 months was filled with wedding EVERYTHING. Wedding planning, pre-marriage counseling, and making sure everything was ready for that special day just around 90 days later. There were times where I felt overwhelmed with everything, especially when he was on TDY (a short deployment-like training) while I was trying to find the bridesmaids dresses at the same time being on a busy schedule with work and trying to figure other things out in my life, but everything worked out perfectly.
October 24th was the best day of my life up to date. I got to marry my close friend of 6 years, my boyfriend of 10 months, and my fiance of 3 months.
We went on a week-long honeymoon, where we traveled all down California (and some of Oregon.) We started in Shasta the night of the 24th, at this adorable place called the Strawberry Inn (all of this is already in one of my blog posts about the wedding.) and went up to Oregon the next day to see some of the Shakespeare festival. Then drove down to crescent city where we stayed for 2 nights at the best hotel I've ever stayed at (we had an ocean view room) and went to the redwoods too. We made a stop in Fort Bragg and made our way down to Universal Studios where we stayed 1 day, and then to Disneyland for the next 3 days before we went another 24 hours on the road back home, where Ethan would now be living, and we'd be husband and wife.
About 2 weeks after we got back from our honeymoon we adopted our cute little chief who is just the best dog... Who has a lot of learning to do but is the best dog nonetheless. And a month after we got him, he threw us into a panic where he sliced his side open on some glass and we had to take him into the animal hospital where he went into emergency surgery costing us $700 just a few weeks before Christmas... that was a bit stressful. But we can only be grateful that our pup is doing well now, and has made a quick recovery.
Then we got to spend our first Christmas together as a married couple, which was so very wonderful. I've been learning how to cook since we got married and I was very proud when I made a delicious ham cheese and potato casserole for Christmas dinner. It was a calm day that we got to spend in each other's company and it was all around amazing.
I have high hopes of 2016, for I feel stronger than I ever have, and I get to spend the next year, and the rest of my life with Ethan by my side. I'm excited to see what the new year has in store for us and our little family. I know I have some goals on trying to enhance my writing, and posting a lot more in the blog, everything from updates to just late night thoughts. I'll cut this post off before it gets too long by saying I hope you all have an amazing year in 2016!
