The Final Push

Ladies and gentlemen, I am excited! The final week of my husband’s Army career has finally arrived. Tomorrow, A turns in all of his gear. On Wednesday, A has his Final Out, after which he starts his terminal leave. And then that’s it! We’re done! No more working as a soldier.

I am so proud of my husband. He has managed to do this terribly hard job for twenty years and he has done it well. He rarely complains, just does what is demanded of him. I’ve been doing it with him for the past eight years and I know that I could never do the things my husband has done. He is incredible!

As of Wednesday evening, everything will be different for us. After twenty years of having been owned by the US government, my husband will be a free man. For the first time since high school, he will be able to grow his hair out as long as he wants. He will be able to grow a beard and dye it purple, if he wants. There are no more rules, no more restrictions- he can live wherever he wants, work where he wants, do what he wants (within the law, of course…)

This freedom is so exciting and wonderful to me. Endless possibilities! I think A is excited as well, but also a little unsure of how life will go without the protective cloak of the Army around us. I’m not nervous- this is the start of a whole new life and it’s going to be fantastic!

No more calls late at night about soldiers who got arrested/ have been fighting with their spouses/ have been taking drugs, etc. No more getting called in on weekends. No more endless hours of work that nobody even keeps track of because compensation is always the same. No more ruined birthday parties, anniversaries, Christmases. No more 24 hour duties. No more weeks in field exercises. No more fear of deployments or bad assignments.

Liberty!!!

Of course, our life is still going to be unsettled for a few more months. We haven’t sold our house yet. We’re trying to sell at least one of our cars. We haven’t found a new place to live in Florida yet. Or a job/ jobs. There’s going to be a big move with big changes for our little people and animals. It’s going to be a rough time, but also an exciting one.

Either way, it’s going to be OUR time. We call the shots now- we decide where we want to live and how. And that’s why, on Wednesday evening, we will be celebrating. Good riddance, Army!