23:18 of Heaven

I got to talk to my best friend tonight. There is something about just hearing him say hello that makes my heart race! I can tell by caller ID it is him yet I still wait with anticipation to hear his voice. It is a calming, wonderful voice!

I got to talk to him for 23 mins and 18 seconds. It may not seem to some as a long time but in the military world you never know what you will get. Last deployment we have plenty 10 min conversations because that was the limit.

When I fell in love with him did I ever think that 23 mins and 18 seconds might be all the time we have in a week, no. I cherish every minute we do get to talk on the phone. I like his e-mails too (of course) but nothing will ever replace the shivers I get when I hear him say 'I love you'.

I know that during our 4 1/2 years of marriage, I have taken for granted (at least) 23 mins and 18 seconds of time we have gotten to be together. If I added up the hours and mins that I took for granted that we would always be together or wake up beside each other, I am sure I would hate myself.

That is what is great about deployment. It is a brutal reminder that I should never take any of the time we have to love each other lightly. I should never assume that there will be another opportunity for the snuggles while watching TV, the race to see who can answer the Jeopardy question or the private jokes just between us.

Deployment sucks. There is no tactful way to put it. And being a soldier's wife isn't easy. But I gladly talk to him for 23 mins and 18 seconds on the phone for a few months to be able to love Aaron for the rest of my life.