One Big Family

Being a part of the Air Force and living for the first time around it was something different for me. I lived in Italy at the air base there called Aviano for three months with my husband during this past winter. We grew with other couples and I bonded with other wives and made lots of new friends. These bonds are different than ones I made in high school or even college... and in just three months! I know that I could count on these ladies and their families if it came down to it! The bond between the military and their families are so strong. I am so grateful for that.

The real reason I am writing this post is that after I left Aviano to come back to the states, a tragedy occurred in Italy. A plane went down on a training mission and was off the grid. They couldn't find it and searched for a few days. This was just a few days from me coming home, so of course I was shaken by it. I was JUST there. I was JUST driving by the flight line. I was JUST on that base. Reality hits.

With my position, that I will be starting soon (fingers crossed), I am going to be in those planes. I could have been in THAT plane. It's something that you have to understand but you cannot be afraid of.

So, the plane that went down was found, at least some of it. The pilot had passed, from what they know, and now a family mourns. Being overseas is so hard because you are away from your support system. That is why these relationships you make are so important! They are what you have now. The wife was pregnant with their first child. Another reality check. I cried, now I am a more emotional person, I might even be tearing up now, but this just sucks. Their first baby is going to grow up without knowing her dad. So I vented to my mom and grandma about the whole situation and we took a trip to Target and picked out some goodies for the new baby, Serene and her momma Cassy and shipped them off to Italy.

I've never met Cassy, her husband or their new baby, but I feel like I know them in a sense. We are all related. The Air Force is my family now too. I pray for them, for Serene to grow up to be an amazing woman and for Cassy love and cherish every moment.

I picked up the mail today and got a surprise! Cassy and Serene sent us a 'Thank You' note. It was so sweet and nice of them to send us one all the way across the world!