Like planning a wedding isn't hard enough already

One of the reasons I was always so ready to be engaged to K was that in my mind, once we were engaged, we could start planning our lives together. Obviously, we'd start by choosing a wedding date.

To me, that would be the date we'd get to start living together and finally seeing each other every day. It's the date we could really talk about getting the Weimaraner we've wanted for so long. It's the date I'd get to leave Dallas. It's the date I can finally justify buying one of those digital picture frames I want so badly but don't have because I live by myself and have no real need for one (Who's gonna see it? Plus, they'll be cheaper this time next year anyway.).

Somehow, in all my dreaming of the big day and the engagement and starting our happily ever after, I never took into account the fact that K is in the Army.

We've set a date for our big day: May 24, 2008. We think it'll be the perfect time, since it's almost three years to the day from when we first met. It's Memorial Day weekend, so our guests will have more time to travel and enjoy themselves. It won't quite have reached 100 degree temps, so our many guests from milder climates won't melt entirely away.

Once you have your date, you can start planning. You can send out save-the-date magnets, build a wedding website, look for dresses, plan a honeymoon and get invitations printed. Everything can start moving forward.

But not for us.

There's still a good chance K could be deployed to Iraq in late November. We won't know if that will happen until August. If he does get deployed, that obviously changes everything.

We'd immediately start looking for great deals to some nice place in Florida (K originally suggested Vegas, which was really more the idea one of his buddies, who I guess had discussed doing that with his fiance. I vetoed that plan. I can't get married in Vegas.). We'd have to throw plans together for what would hopefully be a nice, quiet ceremony on some fairly empty beach. It would likely be just us on such late notice. Hopefully my dad, his girlfriend and my brother would be able to make it at the least.

We'd have to push back all the reservations and plans we'd made to 2009, when K would get back from Iraq. That would become the new date we'd finally get to start our lives together.

If K doesn't get deployed, you'd think that means everything goes through as planned. Again, not for us.

As GFF can tell you all too well, the military loooooves to keep people waiting to find out what's in store for the next three years of their lives. See, K's time in lovely Louisiana is drawing to a close, which means he'll be reassigned to a new base. For all we know, he could be sent to Germany. (We're hoping for Colorado or Hawaii.) K will move to this new base in late December or January, which means we'll likely be super long distance for four or five months until our wedding. Awesome.

We're still going forward with all our plans, but there's no need to rush on any of them since we don't know if they'll stick. We'll at least nail down the reception site and church. As for the rest, I guess we'll just have things in mind or make sure florists, caterers and photographers know there's a chance things will be postponed. Maybe we'll design save-the-date magnets but not actually order them until August. Or maybe we won't even wind up with magnets at all.

It's a little frustrating to know decisions are being drawn out so much that could possibly affect the rest of my life. All I can do now to stay sane is just laugh about the fact that what I just knew would mean we could finally start planning our lives together has instead meant we have to plan for Scenario A, Scenario B and Scenario C.