SparkleShan

Today I say good bye to the Army after a 13 year career. I am being medically retired early, so I will receive retirement pay and benefits just as if I stayed for twenty years. It is bitter sweet. I love being in the Army, my job, my unit and the people I worked with every day, but I'm also excited to start a new chapter in my life. I also get to have some freedoms that I didn't have before like painting my fingernails, coloring my hair pink and getting my nose pierced again with out having to take it out every day. Today I also got promoted to Sergeant First Class and received two awards, the Meritorious Service Medal and the Connecticut Medal of Merit.

So I must say that we have one of the best First Sergeants that our unit has ever had (and I am not just saying that because we have been friends for years before he was the Top Dog). His lovely wife JoAnn emailed me a few days before his birthday and asked if we could do a little something for him over here. Unfortunately we couldn't do it on his actual birthday because he got delayed on a trip to Iraq, but we did it a few days after that. A bunch of us chipped in and got him his very first IPOD. Welcome to the 21st century! Opening the card from his wife.

Today is my last day of freedom before I am on lock down for deployment. After today there will be no wearing cute summer clothes, no driving my own car and no more snuggling with the family. I am sad to say that I will not be aloud to attend Emma's very first dance recital. It breaks my heart, because ballet is one of the things she enjoys most in life, and she has asked me about 50 times if I am going to get to see her do her dance on stage. Until two days ago I thought I would be able to. But even though I am going to be 5 minutes down the road from where she is dancing, I am not aloud to leave. OK enough before I start to cry again.