His family and I piled into the car to head back. The mood wasn't very happy. He had told me to go into his backpack when we got back to the car to give his family the letters he had written to each of them, so once we got in the car I found them and handed them out. At the bottom of the pile was a letter with my name on it. I knew of the letters for his family, but I was not expecting one for myself because he had already done a lot for me to have for while he was gone (i'll talk about that in a little while). I briefly considered not opening it in fear that I would just start blubbering with tears, but if you know me at all you know that there was no way I could have saved that letter for later. Well, I was right. The blubbering tears began after reading the first sentence. Oh well...that wasn't going to be the first time in those 10 weeks that the whole Isherwood family would witness me at such a low point. It was a beautiful letter and I will always cherish it. I just remember the car ride back being pretty quiet. It was about 6 hours after saying goodbye in Portland that I got a phone call from a San Antonio Airport pay phone. It was Tyler scrambling to get one more goodbye in before entering ten weeks of hell. It was a quick phonecall, he didn't have more than a minute. I remember just saying that I loved him and to be strong, stand tall, and show them what he's made of. That's all I had time to say to be honest. So yeah, that was it. Our primary form of communication would be words on paper from there on out. That first night was the worst. I remember feeling a sense of emptiness that I have never felt before. It was a strange feeling and it was quite uncomfortable. I was really lucky in the sense that I had some amazing friends at school who were right there ready to help me get through it. Tyler had made me a DVD before he left that basically consisted of 10 chapters. A video recording of himself for each week he would be there. Each week i got to open the chapter that was for that specific week. The video clips consisted of Ty just talking to me. It was honestly the best thing he could have done for me for while he was gone. Just being able to pop that thing in and see him on the screen and hear his voice helped a lot throughout the time he was there. I watched the first clip on that first night because once again, I couldn't resist. It definitely provoked some more tears that I didn't think I had left in me and it was followed by my roommate Hannah crawling into my bed with me for the night. I don't know what I would have done without her and the other girls through those 2 and half months.
About 3 days after he arrived at Lackland AFB, he was able to call to provide us with his address. He had told us previously not to answer the call because he knew he would get emotional if he heard our voices while he was in such a vulnerable state. His voice message was very robotic and scripted. Lots of yelling in the background. He was allowed to spit out his address and nothing else. Oh, i'm sorry, he was able to say that he was "okay". It was progress though, because it meant that I could start sending the constant flow of letters. I was very devoted to the letter writing. I ended up writing one to him every night. I guess i just felt like it was the only thing i could do to help him get through it, and if that was the only thing i could do...dammit, i was going to do it right! 240+ pages of love and encouragement were sent from the little town of Farmington to the big city of San Antonio.
Anyways--The first couple of weeks were rough because he was not allowed to write until a couple weeks in. Honestly, i think it was rough because of the 'not knowing' factor. I was just always worrying about how he was doing, if he was okay, what he was thinking, if he had made any friends, if he was getting yelled at a lot...so many thoughts of HIM were going through my head day in and day out until i got word from him that he was doing okay. So yeah...besides the last few weeks of his time there when i had to get through the deaths of both of my grandfathers without him...oh, and the phone call from Ty in week 5 letting me know that he was deathly ill and had to be pushed back in training....i guess you could say those first two weeks he was gone were the hardest ones. After those first two weeks, i started receiving MY constant flow of letters and it got a little easier. Getting a letter from him made my day every time. The letters i got from him are priceless and i cherish every single one of them. This sounds a bit pathetic, but I would literally count down the hours until 2p.m. everyday because that is when mail came in. Okayyy-enough telling about how pathetic I am. Haha.
It was on valentines day that I received my first surprise from Tyler. I get a call from the mail room bright and early saying that I have a perishable item waiting for me in the mail room. Honestly, all I was thinking was, "oh geez, what kind of weird thing did mom decide to send me." Nope. That's not what it was at all. Thanks to "order-way-in-advance" online flower shops, I got a dozen roses from Tyler for the lovely commercial holiday accompanied with a little encouraging note from him. I loved it and had fun thinking that even though my boyfriend was on the other side of the country with no way of contacting me, I was still probably having a better valentines day than a lot of girls who had their boyfriend in the same town.
As for surprise number two...It was on February 20th that I got a phone call from him. If the flight somehow manages to 'impress' their Training Instructor, then they are allowed a quick phone call on the pay phones (this is rare). I was actually at his parents house that night having dinner, so it was perfect! I remember looking at my phone and seeing the weird number and thinking "COULD IT BE!?!?!" haha. I picked up the phone and heard Ty's voice on the other end. Like Ty said in his blog, that was the best phone call ever. I never thought that the words "Hi Baby" would ever make me cry so much. Tears of joy. We got to talk for a few minutes, and it was wonderful. Very rushed, but wonderful at the same time. I remember thinking that he sounded different, but I liked it. It seemed as though we were scrambling to say and ask all of the things we wanted. The time came to say goodbye, quicker than I had wanted, and it was hard because i didn't know when i would hear from him again. I quickly realized that goodbyes would be a big part of our relationship now that I had to scoot over enough to make room for the Air Force.
The time that he was at basic training was rough, but i did manage to find some positives. As many nights that I cried myself to sleep from missing him so much, I can honestly say that those 10 weeks made our relationship so much stronger. The phrase "distance makes the heart grow fonder" took on a whole new meaning for us. Being apart from each other to the degree that we were forced to be really made us realize how important we are to each other. Our love for each other was stronger then than it had ever been. Some may ask, "How is that possible if you couldn't even talk to him?" My response to that is that there is simply just something special about exchanging letters back and fourth with no other form of communication. I don't miss those two months he was at Basic Training at all, but I do miss the letter writing. I still send him a piece of snail mail every once in a while now even though he is mostly just a phone call away. I just like it.
Surprise number three happened on March 17, 2009. Our 2 year anniversary. I was invited to his parents house to have dinner that weekend. It was after dinner that i received my little surprise. Tyler's mom came out with a gift bag and said that it was from Tyler for our anniversary. Again, this was just another surprise I was not expecting. Who really expects gifts from people who are in Basic Military Training and can send nothing but letters? Just the card alone made the infamous tears come streaming out. Then it was on to the little box. After unwrapping it and coming to the conclusion that it was a 'shiny piece of love', also known as a diamond ring (NOT AN ENGAGEMENT RING), was quite the feeling for me. I had never owned a real diamond in my life. The ring was perfect and i just remember balling my eyes out saying something along the lines of "I just wish he was heeeeeeere! *blubber, blubber, blubber*" haha. Once again, my girly emotions got the best of me, but having the feeling that I was the luckiest girl I knew was a good feeling. Just knowing that Tyler had put as much forethought and effort into making me as comfortable as possible while he was gone was really great and made me realize how much he really loved me. It's a wonderful feeling and I'm very lucky to be loved as much as I am by him.
The time that he was at basic training was rough, but i did manage to find some positives. As many nights that I cried myself to sleep from missing him so much, I can honestly say that those 10 weeks made our relationship so much stronger. The phrase "distance makes the heart grow fonder" took on a whole new meaning for us. Being apart from each other to the degree that we were forced to be really made us realize how important we are to each other. Our love for each other was stronger then than it had ever been. Some may ask, "How is that possible if you couldn't even talk to him?" My response to that is that there is simply just something special about exchanging letters back and fourth with no other form of communication. I don't miss those two months he was at Basic Training at all, but I do miss the letter writing. I still send him a piece of snail mail every once in a while now even though he is mostly just a phone call away. I just like it.
Surprise number three happened on March 17, 2009. Our 2 year anniversary. I was invited to his parents house to have dinner that weekend. It was after dinner that i received my little surprise. Tyler's mom came out with a gift bag and said that it was from Tyler for our anniversary. Again, this was just another surprise I was not expecting. Who really expects gifts from people who are in Basic Military Training and can send nothing but letters? Just the card alone made the infamous tears come streaming out. Then it was on to the little box. After unwrapping it and coming to the conclusion that it was a 'shiny piece of love', also known as a diamond ring (NOT AN ENGAGEMENT RING), was quite the feeling for me. I had never owned a real diamond in my life. The ring was perfect and i just remember balling my eyes out saying something along the lines of "I just wish he was heeeeeeere! *blubber, blubber, blubber*" haha. Once again, my girly emotions got the best of me, but having the feeling that I was the luckiest girl I knew was a good feeling. Just knowing that Tyler had put as much forethought and effort into making me as comfortable as possible while he was gone was really great and made me realize how much he really loved me. It's a wonderful feeling and I'm very lucky to be loved as much as I am by him.
I could literally write a novel including many more events and happenings during this 10 week span and the effect it had on our relationship and myself personally, but i will refrain from that and just skip to the homestretch.
The last couple of weeks went by fast and slow at the same time. Fast because i was busy, but slow because, well, time always seems to drag when you are excited for something to come. It was Ty's graduation that I couldn't wait for. April 9, 2009 would be the day that I would get to see him again for the first time in 2 and half months...
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