When I left for Germany 3.5 years ago multiple people told me I would meet the love of my life there.
SPOILER ALERT: Didn’t happen.
But, I did fall deeper in love with my life.
These past three years have reminded me how many things I haven’t seen or done, and how much more there is to discover! I’ve done so many delightfully unexpected things: start and finish grad school, learn to swim and drive a manual, take a road trip from Germany through Austria, Slovenia, and Croatia, and another through Austria, Italy and Switzerland, travel to 12 new countries including Russia and Israel, and visit 10 countries a year for 3 years! I have also learned how to be a MUCH better leader and teammate.
These 2 pictures were taken 9 years and 2 different continents apart, but both capture the same thing: an ambitious single woman cleaning up a USO center after another day of doing what she can to make our troops lives a little easier and loving *almost* every minute of it.
Through my time in Afghanistan I found a desert family that are still my rock to this day. Randy, Erin, Blair and Megan never stop helping and loving and supporting and visiting me and each other. It was a love like I had never known and a bond deeper than I could imagine through shared incredible joys and unimaginable pains.
In Germany I experienced a different kind of love - the kind that cares for a stranger as you would your best friend. I had never lived in a military community before. I didn’t know what it was like to have people you don’t know want to help you and care for you. I felt like my hometown priest with how many invites I received to people’s houses for Christmas this year! My heart swells with indescribable pride when someone I don’t know says, “oh yeah you’re the USO girl.” (Although of course I would prefer they say USO woman or person or bossbitch).
I shared with my volunteers in an email this morning that I felt love:
When I got heat stroke at Sun and Fun and I was surrounded by staff, volunteers, and strangers giving me bags of ice and making sure I was okay. When I was busy at work and forget to pick up my car from the autocare center before they closed and my house keys were on my car key ring, multiple people offered to let me stay at their place. When the electricity went out base-wide on Thanksgiving eve when I was about to cook 30 turkeys, volunteers and staff spitballed ideas and then stayed late into the night to help me cook the turkeys once it came back on.
While to others this list may sound like awful debacles to me they are cherished memories where I felt like my family wasn't an ocean away, but right here.
I have grown so much in the past three years. I moved and lived in Europe all by my grown ass self! I can’t get over that. I accomplished what I dreamed of when I was sitting in my parents' living room unemployed bingeing House Hunters International. There have been MAJOR hiccups along the way, but I did it. Thank you to every single teammate, friend, volunteer, garrison contact, community member, neighbor, and stranger who has helped me make my dreams come true.
New change, can’t wait!
