After more than 10 long weeks of seperation, Ruby and I were able to fly to South Carolina to see Louis. It was a beautiful and emotional experience for me to see the two people I love the most reunited after so long. I've never been happier than in the moment.
Ruby was very excited to see her Daddy on Family Day. I had talked to her about Daddy being a soldier now, showed her what he was going to look like, and tried as best I could to prepare her for the big day. She did great. She pointed to all the men in uniform walking around saying "Daddy? Daddy?" When we finally got to run onto the field to find Louis, there seemed to be a sea of men that all looked the same. Ruby was confused. When we finally found him, Ruby seemed a little nervous, but once Louis started talking to her she started to feel comfortable and realize it really was her Daddy! And soon after, it was like he had never left us. We spent the day on base, hanging by the lake, shopping, letting Louis eat everything in sight, and doing a lot of driving around with the air conditioning blasting in the rental car. Ruby had the biggest smile on her face all day. I think we all did.
The next day was graduation. The ceremony was nice, but all I wanted was for it to be over so we could be with Louis again. We met him back at his company where they had a promotion ceremony, and then we were able to hit the road to Virginia. I think it was a 5 hour drive, but it felt short =). Ruby was happy and content in the back seat with her DVD player showing Yo Gabba Gabba on repeat, and she ended up sleeping for about 3 hours.
Our time in Virginia was wonderful. We really loved it there! And the break from the humidity of South Carolina made the heat much more manageable =) We walked around downtown Richmond, went shopping, and went out to some cool restaurants recommended by locals. Good stuff. I could have stayed there forever. But sadly, our time was short and before we knew it, it was time to take Louis to AIT at Ft. Lee. We were hoping to get an overnight pass, but they made him stay. =(. Ruby and I both cried and it just plain sucked. Thankfully they did allow us to come pick him up the next day, Sunday, to visit for a few hours. That helped tremendously! I felt like we had closure, were able to say goodbye properly and leave with a smile on our face. I was so thankful for the time we were able to spend together and for Ruby to be able to reconnect with her Daddy.
It truely was an amazing trip that I will remember for the rest of my life. Time with your loved ones is so precious, and I will never again take it for granted.
