Phone Calls & Letters

Side Note: I’m writing all these blog posts today because since the day Chad left I wanted to start writing a blog but just never found the motivation to do it. Today, I decided that it was time to start. So I’m playing catch up! I wish I would of started sooner so all of basic training could have been documented.

So for 8.5 weeks, I lived off of phone calls and letters from Chad. They are what kept me going. I wrote Chad a letter every single day. I knew that’s what kept him going too. About 2 weeks after Chad left, I got my first letter. I remember that day. 3 envelopes from Chad had came for me in the mail that day. My Mom texted me while I was at work, “you got 3 letters from Chad!”. I was so excited that I rushed home from work! It was kind of disappointing that in 1 of the envelopes was just information about Lackland and graduation weekend, another 1 had the form I needed to apply for my DoD card, but the 3^rd was an actual letter! YAY! I was so happy. I was lucky enough to receive a phone call every single week. It usually came on Saturday or Sunday, but never at the same time. I always had anxiety all weekend long waiting for him to call. If I sat my phone down somewhere and forgot to carry it in to the next room, I’d freak out! I never did miss one of his phone calls. He always got to talk for about 15 minutes. Those 15 minutes, I lived for every week.

There are several things that people do to prepare for their Airman’s graduation. 1 of those things is make custom t-shirts. My Mom, Mother-in-law, and I decided to get PINK shirts made since Chad knows that my favorite color is pink. We wore the shirts during the Airman’s Run (which is when the Airman run by, kind of like a parade), so we knew Chad would easily be able to spot us! Another thing people do is make a banner for their Airman to hold during the Airman’s Run. So I spent a couple days creating that. These are all things that kept me busy while he was away. I think it’s kind of cool! My friend’s husband is in the Army and she said they don’t do anything like this for the soldiers who are graduating.

Overall, basic training for me really wasn’t that bad. Yeah, it sucked not hearing from my husband everyday or knowing what was going on. But it really made us stronger as a couple and as people. It’s a good learning experience. I had my weak moments but I also had my strong ones. The best part of basic training was graduation weekend. All the stress, tears, and unhappiness over those 8 weeks all pays off once you see him graduate!