“Above All, Be True to Yourself, and if You Cannot Put Your Heart in it, Take Yourself Out of it”

It is always a happy kind of a Monday when I get off the phone with my Meja! I made it through the week with ease, but it was a crazy fun kind of weekend and I need another day or two to recover! This past week was my Spring Break from SU, so I didn't have to go to class, just work at Jowonio. Tuesday was normal. Nothing too exciting happened at work. It was nice to not have to go to class on Tuesday night. Instead of going to class, Kasey and I went out with a guy that she dated and she is forging a friendship with now. We went to Outback, which was delicious! It was the first time that I met the fella, he was pretty nice for a friend. It was an interesting kind of meal, but we made it through :-) ...even Kasey. On Wednesday, I got my hair cut and done up so that I could look extra nice for the events of the weekend. Kasey and I went to Zumba, you know that is always fun. On Thursday, after work, I did all my packing and getting ready to go to Nashville for the weekend. I had to make multiple lists to make sure that I brought everything that I needed. I tried to get to bed early on Thursday, but, you know me, I get addicted to details. Eventually, I made it to bed.

The big fun really started on Friday. I had a normal day at work and then met Kasey back at home. My flight left Syracuse at 3:10, so we pretty much headed straight to the airport. I left Kasey home for a quiet weekend without me...


New hair cut is looking pretty good!

Once I got to Nashville, after two and a half hours worth of delays, Melissa's mom had me completely hooked up! She went to the Dominican Republic for a while and left her car at this place called Flight Park. Well, when I got there, she had it set up so that I could just pick up the car. When I got to the Flight Park they even had the car running with the heat on! It was great! And what a fun little car it was to drive.


Sweet. I was particularly impressed when my buns started getting toasty halfway down route 40!

I stayed with Melissa's family. They had everything set up for me, which was super sweet! I am sure that is was the room always looks like, but I pretended that it was my own little suite!


Don't judge me! :-)


Does it get any better?

So, I went straight to bed once I enjoyed the scenery. I was very excited to get a text message from one of the other wives from the Albuquerque early Saturday morning saying that the sub pulled into another port. I was excited that I was going to be seeing James' family and that I would soon get to talk to him, too. It was an extra bonus! I headed over to James' Mom's house and with completely perfect timing, James called from Bahrain about five minutes after I got there! It was perfect. James was able to talk to pretty much the entire family. He even got to talk to Justin and give him a little pep-talk before the fight on Saturday night. It was so wonderful to be with his family. They are such fun people! It was hard to be at his house without him. I miss him, so much. It takes everything I have to keep it together sometimes. He is my rock, and sometimes I am just mush without him. After a while, Justin headed over to get ready for the big fight (woo) and I headed to meet Alfred to get over to the Limelite. The fight was Amazing! I can't say enough about Justin. He worked so hard, he put his heart into every move. I was so impressed.


This is my "Now, Justin, be nice" face. That was intentional use of the Peace and Love t-shirt.


Adoring fans!!


Even more Justin fans!


This is ALL business.


After round 1 Justin still looked good. Ready to bring the heat.


I can't say the same for this guy!


Round 2: Classic picture. I love it.


Show no mercy.


And that is a WIN!

Justin's was, by far, the most exciting fight that we saw all night! He used so many technical skills and maneuvers. When the ref called it and he jumped to his feet, our extire section did the same. We were screaming and totally going crazy. It was so much fun. There was so much adrenaline and excitement. I will definitely be back to see Justin kick some more butt!

To Justin: I would have paid double what I paid to be the farthest travelling fan and watch you up there doing what you do! From where I was sitting, I could see every mile that you ran in training, every weight you lifted, every minute that you spent in the gym. Your passion was so present and was beaming off of you. You should be so tremendously proud of yourself. I know you are. I am, too. Keep practicing, keep your dedication and your heart. And, while you're at it, keep going to school, too. Thanks for the invitation! You can count on my return!

As for Saturday night, I headed back to Melissa's family home. I would have loved to stay with James' family for longer, even for the night, but I couldn't do it. It was so hard to be without him out there. It made it even harder that I know how much James wishes that he could have been there, too, for Justin. He is everything to me. I wouldn't want to lose my cool with the family because I know how much they miss him, too, and how hard it must be for them as well. I try to keep the emotional parts to myself. So, that is what I did.

I had to get up early on Sunday morning anyway to get back home. The flights ended up being fine this time. I didn't have to wait around for multiple delays which was nice. I got flagged down a couple of times by people interested in my Navy sweatshirt. I love it when people tell me about their history with the military and I am able to thank them for their service, while they are telling me to thank James. One guy was actually at the commissioning of James' sub, how cool is that?! I saw this one girl walking by at one point. She was about my age and she was wearing a Navy issued sweatshirt as well. This may seem a little far-fetched, but we made eye-contact for a minute and I really felt like we had an honest and sincere connection... it was kind of like a feeling of saying to each other "Me, too." I am getting a little teary again thinking about it. We really did seem to have some kind of unspoken... something. I felt it.

Once I got back home, it was over to Aunt Christa's for St. Patrick's Day dinner with family. That always brightens me up. I got to talk about the wedding and I even got to find out that a few more people are for sure going to be coming to the wedding! I am so excited. It is going to be such an amazing event full of good food and drinks and lots of people that James and I really love!! Before heading home to start catching up on my sleep, Kasey and I got some new fish since our other ones all bit the bullet. Look how cute!!


The fish are cute, too :-) hehe

All in all, I had an incredible time with my wonderful new family! I simply cannot wait to get back to Nashville again.

Today, I got to talk to James again. I miss him so much and hearing his voice makes me feel so much closer to him. We have spent a lot of our relationship on the phone, so in the time that I get to talk to him, I get to feel like we aren't thousands of miles away from each other. I get to pretend that I could hop in my car and go see him if I wanted to. I take that time in as deeply as I can and I use it to hold me up when I get really low. I love all the people that make me smile each day. He is one of them, and there is a likelihood that you, who are reading this, are one of those people, too.

Have the most wonderful week that you can. Smile a little extra this week, just for the fun of it. Hug people who aren't expecting it, that always works for me.

Be safe, My Sailor, hurry home to me. I love you.

always,
Jamie