As I write, I'm sitting in Kuwait again, on my way back to Iraq. I had an excellent two weeks of leave; it was nothing short of amazing. It's not like I did anything way beyond normal. What made this visit amazing was the simple pleasures of seeing the people I love, and doing what I wanted to do, and going where I wanted to go. I had very little planned more than a day ahead of time, and that's exactly how I wanted it.
On our first anniversary, Ashley and I went to Mass together, and then joined her aunt Carol and uncle Greg for the tail end of a seminar on the Shroud of Turin. Very interesting. After that, the four of us went to lunch and had a great time catching up. Ashley and I had planned on going to dinner and a movie possibly, but that plan was pushed to the wayside. I started tinkering with my computer, and Ashley curled up on the bed, and after a while I decided to join her for a short nap. When we woke up, it was 6am the next morning! So much for living up our anniversary. But to make up for it, we stretched out the rest of our anniversary plans over the next week.
The next big event was the next weekend, for Kelly's wedding. We picked up Jackie at the airport at 2:30am, after a 3 hour delay, and then then had to wait for a stuck bag on the carousel. The next day (or rather that afternoon), we packed up our overnight bags, dresses, suits, curling irons, snacks, frozen meals, and ourselves into two large vehicles to get up to Allenspark. After the rehearsal, it took the bride's side about an hour of wandering around Estes Park to find the restaurant for the rehearsal dinner. But overall, it was a good time. I stayed the night with the bridesmaids in a cabin in Estes Park. On the way down the mountain for a food run, I nearly crashed into an elk, but very luckily avoided an accident. How would that look? I survive eight months in Iraq just to be killed by an elk on leave!
The next morning was a rather frantic rush to get everything out of the cabin and to the event lodge. Since I wasn't part of the bridal party, I mostly stayed around the bridesmaids during their prep. I guess you could've called me a "bride's man." I ran to get things out of the car, carried boxes, got the decorations to the event staff, and all manner of small tasks. I also tried my hand at steaming dresses, and did a fair job at that. We had a few tense moments, but in the end things worked out very well. We had the ceremony in the outdoor amphitheater, with the snow falling and the bridesmaids barely containing their shivering. Despite the cold, it was absolutely beautiful. The reception was great, and Ashley gave Kelly a very sentimental and heartwarming toast. Kelly and Will, all the best to you and your new lives together!
The rest of my leave was spent visiting family and friends. We had a gathering of my dad's family at the Blue Parrot, a family favorite, and it was great to see everyone there. I spent several evenings at Holly and Chris' house, and that's always a great time. In the last few days, the weather was nice enough to do some yard work and gardening, which was actually nice to do for a change. I can finally appreciate how nice the soil is in Colorado when I compare it to what I've experienced in the Middle East.
Going back to the airport was hard, but the woman at the ticket counter was nice enough to give Ashley and Marcy concourse passes so they could see me to the gate. It was nice to have them there. Ashley and I were both sad, but we know it's such a short time until I'm finally home. The flights have been fairly painless. I've been waiting here in Kuwait a little longer than I would like, but we're supposed to get a flight out this morning. I had a really excellent leave, and I'll be looking forward to demobilizing in a couple of months!
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