The twelve day wait ended this past friday with a call from Afghanistan. I missed my boyfriends first call that morning, because earlier in the a.m. at about 1, he left me a text saying that all is well over there and that there is about 5 and a half months left to go. So I took that text as being his communication for the week, therefore, not expecting to hear from him hours later.
my phone was charging upstairs on my nightstand next to my bed, where pictures of us are scattered on top of the stand, along with notes from him and cards he has sent over the past year. I went to check my phone, and I saw that a weird number had called me literally a minute before I came to check. To my surprise, it was my boyfriend. And to my sheer dumbness, I tried calling back the unreachable number, in hopes to hear his voice. I'm not going to lie, i started to tear up a bit, because I felt bad that I missed his call. Maybe he called to say something bad happened, or that i missed his call of what he wanted in his next care package.
I calmed down, and said to myself that next time i wont miss it. As soon as I went into the bathroom to take a shower, I heard my phone ringing, and to my surprise, it was my boyfriend trying to get a hold of me once more. I picked it up frantically, and was glad to hear his voice.
He said that this was his first day off, and that he just completed his first 10 day mission. This was also the first call that he actually had details of how his days have been going. He said that he rode shotgun in most of his convoy missions, that he didn't get to see too too much outside the trucks, and to his dismay, didn't get to fire his issued M16.
I was relieved to hear his voice, and found him to sound upbeat and happy, his normal self i remember from back home.
He then told me something very interesting. I guess that on days off, soldiers are allowed to venture into some of the neighboring, safe towns, to shop and look around the environment and meet locals. My boyfriend told me that he stopped at a hajji store and bought a chess set, with the pieces whittled from marble or something like that, from the old man he bought it from. He said that the store and the town is pretty interesting, and that he hopes to find neat collectables for me and his family to take home with him.
awww! Jenna, this entry is so sweet! I'm glad he called back and you got to hear from him. I know how important that little bit of communication is to you. That's awesome that they actually have days off to act like normal people. Is that a photo from his chess set, or just one like it from online? Either way, it's neat, and it will give him something to do there with the guys in his unit. If I were you, I'd be excited about the souvenirs he's going to bring you. lol Even though they're from a difficult time in both of your lives, they're still from a foreign country. That's just neat in itself. :)
ReplyDeletehaha I FORREAL wanted to scream at the top of my lungs when I missed his call, but my brother was home so I didnt want him to think I was insane or anything... and no, the pic is just from the internet. I can't wait to see his trinkets and toys when he comes home. However, I told him already that I'd just be fine with him coming home safe :)
ReplyDeleteThat's so interesting your boyfriend bought a hand-made chess set of marble, because when my dad was deployed he got a hand-made chess set in Greece. We still have it and it's one of the few things he has left from those days along with a hand-made boat from Spain. Must be a military thing lol. It will be a nice thing to look back on when he comes home :)
ReplyDeleteI think it will be fun to see all his neat "toys" haha. Odds are he will spend a decent amount of money on stuff like that because he likes to blow money. what was your dads chess set made out of? And i bet the hand-made boat is pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteIt was made of marble, too. I meant to mention that lol. And the ship is awesome, it's sitting in my room and it's amazing because things aren't made like that anymore. It is hand-strung and everything.
ReplyDeleteI would freak out too if I had someone overseas and missed their call. It would be so frustrating to not be able to call them back. I'd be pissed. I know you just want him to make it home safe, but presents never hurt anything. :) lol Tell him he owes you a present for leaving you for so long.
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