My e-mail (and phone) must be broken

It's been just four weeks and two days (since it was a Monday) since I last saw K. Honestly, it feels like it's been about a month and a half at least. I wish it had been two, because then it would be even closer to when he comes home -- not that either of us knows for sure when that'll be.

























I ordered one of those single-star service flags today. (I didn't realize this picture would be that big, but you get the idea.) According to the American Family Traditions Store, where I got this picture, this flag "is displayed by immediate family members of a person serving in the Armed Forces during a period of war. ... The family member who is in the service does not need to be stationed overseas in order for his or her family to display the Service Flag or Service Banner." As far as I know, though, it's traditionally hung in the windows (although it can be flown as an actual flag) of family members of a person who is overseas. The flags can come with multiple stars to represent multiple family members as well.

K isn't immediate family technically, but he's everything to me, and he will be immediate family. Heck, he already would be if I had my way. It'll happen, though. I found a place in Dallas that makes these flags. Go figure, they're only open 9 to 5 Monday through Friday -- and I find them the week before I go full-time. :) I spoke with someone at the store yesterday, but I hesitated on ordering one since K isn't actually a member of my immediate family. I had mentioned wanting one of those flags to him before, though, and he didn't say anything against it or seem to object.

When I called the store today to go ahead and order one, they were on sale. And there was only one left, which they will ship to my apartment. Clearly, God wants me to have this flag.

Part of me is wanting my neighbors, who I don't really know, to know that K and I are still together. Even though I don't know them really, they've seen K and his car, which has Army stickers on it and non-Texas plates (so they know he's not local). I'm sure they noticed when my car was gone over the weekends. They've seen us together, and I don't want them to think we're broken up or something. Or that guy friends who come over to my apartment are something else and that I've become a slut or something. And they'll know why K's car will reappear in our parking lot all of a sudden in a couple months (or more). I don't know why it matters that my neighbors know that, but whatever.

I also want to hang the flag for support. I read on a site yesterday that one tradition is that the service member removes the flag when he or she gets home. That would be cool. At the same time, it'll be a while before K will get to come back to wonderful (exaggeration on my part, but I'm sure after Afghanistan, he'll think it's wonderful) Dallas. He'll get back to Louisiana first, and then he'll have to go through all these reacclamation classes or training sessions or whatever they're called. I never realized the military does stuff like that, but it makes sense.

Basically, the soldiers are reminded that while they've been gone, their families have had to carry on and pick up the roles that they normally play as leaders of or members of the household. The soldiers can't just walk back into their families' lives and homes and pick up how they left off. Everyone will have to get used to the person being back in the home and learn they don't have to be as independent as they were while the person was gone, if that makes any sense. Anyway, I think it's pretty cool that the military does that. I'm sure I'll really appreciate it once we're married and in the same house -- especially when we have kids.

I haven't heard from K in a couple days, though. He called me late Sunday night. We weren't able to talk long. He had told me that he'd be calling me "in the morning," but I didn't know if that meant his morning or mine. The call hasn't come yet. I'm sure he's just gotten bogged down with work and moving. I know he was going to be moving from the base he was at to another that's newer and less built-up. (He said the one he's going to -- and probably at now -- doesn't even have a gym yet!) It seems rational that that would mean it's also a little tougher to get to phones or the Internet. So I'm not worried or anything, but I'm carrying my phone with me everywhere, as I have been doing pretty much since he left.

Where I go, my phone goes -- the gym, the bathroom (even at work), my boss's office ... I don't know what I'll do if I get to my phone one Sunday and find I missed his call while I was in church. I'm definitely sick of my phone, though. When K gets back, I'm going to just leave it and not carry it with me or touch it for days. That'll be nice ...