What a Night!

     Well, tonight was a night that I wrote about several months ago.  It was the wedding for my adopted soldier Logan and his new wife Samantha.  For those who may not know the beginning of this story, back in January I "adopted" a soldier in Afghanistan through a program called Soldiers' Angels.  As part of that program, I committed to write to my soldier at least once each week throughout his deployment and to send him a care package at least once each month.  Over the course of the year, we went from strangers getting to know each other to great friends.  

     Logan is from Kentucky and we both share a love of sports, among many other things.  He returned home at the end of October and last month I flew him to Philadelphia to attend an Eagles game with me (of course they lost!).  He also invited Catherine and me to his upcoming wedding.

     We flew into Louisville, Kentucky this morning and drove to Georgetown, which is near Lexington.  The wedding was held this evening at an old convent that's been converted to a beautiful function facility.  Not only did we get to witness Logan and Samantha's wedding, but we got to know much of his family.  In fact, his father was gracious enough to invite us to sit with the family  during dinner.  While I'm certainly no expert on weddings, one of the things I appreciated about this one was it felt like the emphasis was more on the new marriage than it was on the "production."  It was refreshing to see that.

     Who would have ever guessed back in January that I would get to know this "pen pal" well enough to become good friends and 11 months later I'd be hanging out with his family at his wedding?!  Pretty amazing . . . and wonderful!

A Great Day Despite Losses

     Well, after nearly a year of being "pen pals", I finally had the chance to spend considerable personal time with my "adopted soldier" Logan.  I arranged for him to fly in to Philadelphia from his home in Kentucky (he's now done with his active military duty) yesterday afternoon.  Since he's a huge sports fan like me, we had a great weekend of football planned.

     On Saturday afternoon, we were excited to watch what we had thought (and hoped) would be a big victory for Alabama over Texas A&M.  Unfortunately, it didn't quite work out that way, but we enjoyed watching the game anyway.

     Today was a blast.  We got things started with a lunch of awesome ribs at Famous Dave's.  Then we went into Philly and toured the National Constitution Center (Logan is a big history buff) and saw the Liberty Bell.  Then it was off to the Eagles game, hoping to see them crush the Cowgirls.  Unfortunately, that didn't go as planned, either!  It was Logan's first-ever NFL game, so it was still fun.

     After the game, we picked up a pizza (a favorite for both of us) and brought it home to eat while watching the Bears (his favorite team) play the Texans.  We even got to enjoy a homemade apple pie that Catherine baked and some ice cream as well.  Unfortunately, the Bears lost to make us 0-3 in terms of the teams we were rooting for!

     Believe it or not, it was back on January 6th when I wrote this blog post about my decision to participate in an "adopt a soldier" program through Soldiers' Angels.  Never having done anything like that, I didn't really know what to expect.  And here we are 11 months later, having an awesome weekend together with someone who's gone from being a total stranger to becoming a great friend.  And in just 4 more weeks, Catherine and I are headed to Kentucky to attend Logan's wedding as well.  Very cool!  Pretty amazing what can happen if you're willing to extend yourself.

Still Writing

     I heard from my adopted soldier just yesterday that he was headed to the Philly airport (from Ft. Dix) where he and others in his unit would each be catching flights to their respective homes.  His tour of duty is now over and he'll be a civilian once again.  In fact, he's getting married this December.  While the commitment I entered into when I signed up through the Soldiers' Angels website to adopt a soldier, was that I would write once each week (and send a care package once each month) until the end of the soldier's overseas tour, I see no reason to stop writing completely, so I sent another letter (e-mail) tonight.

     I've mentioned before that we've become good friends over this past year of correspondence and I'll soon be meeting him personally (when he comes to the Eagles' game with me in 2 weeks).  I've thoroughly enjoyed getting to know him and expect our friendship to only continue to grow.  Of course he's thankfully again surrounded by family and friends and is no longer far from home and in harm's way.  Nevertheless, beyond the original "need", I find that good friendships add such a rich and wonderful dimension to our lives.  I feel enriched by knowing him and hope that he has benefitted from me as well.  I look forward to seeing that continue to grow.

Keeping the Letters Going

     I was tied up most of today and didn't have as many opportunities as I sometimes do to spread some extra kindness.  However, I did have a chance this evening to send another note to my soldier in Afghanistan.  He is anxiously awaiting formal orders to depart (literally any day) and begin his journey home.  I can only imagine how difficult that is to wait around, not knowing exactly when you'll be leaving.  I suppose that's the way the army works, though.  In any case, he still has access to the internet, and so we still have the ability to write to each other.  Just about 4 1/2 weeks till he visits me in NJ.  Until then, I'll keep on writing . . . 

One More Letter

     I sent another letter/e-mail to my adopted soldier in Afghanistan this evening.  I try to do this approximately once each week.  I remember when I first signed up for this relationship through Soldiers' Angels.  The organization asks that you commit to writing at least weekly and that you send a care package at least once each month.  To be honest, it sounded kind of daunting to me, but I agreed nevertheless, realizing just how important this is to our troops overseas.  What's been surprising to me is how easy it's actually become.  I think this is mostly because my soldier and I have developed such a great relationship over these many months.  Writing to him is not a chore.  It's a pleasure that I look forward to.

     My soldier will be leaving Afghanistan in just about 2 more weeks.  I can only imagine how excited he is to be coming home.  While my "offficial" commitment will be coming to a close, I have no doubt that we'll continue to keep in touch.  I've mentioned before that I've invited him to visit me for an Eagles' game, which we'll be doing in early November.  I'll be sure to post a story about that as well as some pictures.

Almost Home

     Today it was time to write another letter (actually an e-mail) to my soldier in Afghanistan.  I titled this post "Almost Home" because that's what he is!  The replacements for his unit are due to arrive within 15 days and then he'll be leaving Afghanistan within a couple of weeks thereafter.  I can hardly imagine how excited he is, especially as he's coming home and getting married in December.  

     I continue to marvel at the relationship we've created over these past 8-9 months, given that we've never met each other and were complete strangers prior to our random pairing through Soldiers' Angels.  I feel like we've become good friends and I'm looking forward to continuing and growing that friendship upon his return to the States.  He's going to be coming to join me for an Eagles' game in early November and I'm likely to be going to his home in Kentucky after the new year to catch a UK basketball game.  Men can almost always bond over sports!

     I was thinking tonight about how e-mail (and social media messaging like texting, Facebook, Twitter, et. al.) has mostly replaced letter writing.  While some complain that this has caused communication to become so brief and informal, it does have the advantage of speed and immediacy.  When I was writing letters to my soldier, it took awhile for them to arrive, and I waited for quite awhile wondering whether or not he had received them.  As soon as I gave him my e-mail address, however, I got a quick reply and our relationship began to grow in earnest.  It's amazing to think that I can send him an e-mail, and halfway across the world he's reading it almost instantaneously (depending on his army work schedule, of course), and then responding to me.  In a matter of a days, we can have gone back and forth multiple times, whereas this could never have happened if we relied upon letters and the postal system.                            

     To me, the benefits of this speed of communication far outweigh the disadvantages that we sometimes harp on.  Where would my soldier and I be without it?

Never Too Much Peanut Butter

     Today was my day to send another care package to my adopted soldier in Afghanistan.  Just a little over 2 months until he comes home (he's from Kentucky), and I'm sure he's counting the days.  I know that he really loves peanut butter and claims that you can never have too much of it, so I keep sending him jars!  I also sent him some powdered drink mixes and a variety of snacks to enjoy.  

     While I don't have any penetrating insights to share, as I've sent him multiple packages throughout the year, I continue to enjoy supporting him and I know how much it means to our troops to receive packages from home.  Whether you've adopted a soldier or not, you can still send a package to a unit.  There are a number of different websites that facilitate doing this, Soldiers' Angels being just one of them.

Keeping Up With My Pen Pal

     Today was my day to send another letter (actually, e-mail) to my adopted soldier in Afghanistan.  I actually had a nice note from him this morning.  Only 45 days left till the replacements arrive for his unit, so he's really starting to count the days till he comes home.  He'll be arriving through Ft. Dix, so I might even get a chance to meet him when he's there.  

     I was talking with a friend the other night who told me that she has a pen pal (in England) that she befriended when she was a young teenager, some 45 years ago!  And they've been great friends since.  For me, it's been so fascinating to see how the relationship I have with "my soldier" has developed over these months.  I remember blogging about the frustration I felt when I hadn't yet heard back from him, as if I was having a one-way conversation.  Since we've started mostly communicating by e-mail though, the relationship has blossomed as we've been able to "talk" so much more frequently.  It's strange to think that he was randomly "assigned" to me when I volunteered to adopt a soldier through Soldiers' Angels and now, months later, we've fast become friends.  

     I suppose in some ways, it's a reminder that we're all pretty similar.  Despite our outward differences, at a deeply human level, most people have the same hopes and dreams, joys and fears.  I think it's what enables us to connect with each other, even when we begin as strangers.  My growing relationship with a soldier serving overseas has definitely been one of my most rewarding events of the year.

Never Too Much Peanut Butter

     Today was my day to send a care package to my adopted soldier in Afghanistan.  You may remember that in "adopting" him, I committed to sending a care package at least once each month.  Whenever I ask him what he'd like, he reminds me that he could "never have too much peanut butter."  So peanut butter (and a  few other things) it is!

     I went to the store yesterday to pick up various items for the care package.  I bought more peanut butter, some granola bars, a box of Twix candy bars, a large container of powdered lemonade mix, and a few other snacks.  This morning I packed it all into a box, enclosed a note, and headed to the post office to ship it out.  Amazingly, the packages usually seem to arrive at his base within a week, so he should have it by early next week.

     As I was getting ready to send it off, I was thinking about how cool this "adopt a soldier" program is.  It's been six months now that we've been corresponding and I feel like we've become good friends, even though we've never met and were randomly matched as pen pals.  I've invited him to visit and go to an Eagles' game with me this fall when his deployment is over (just under 90 days to go!).  He's a great young man totally dedicated to serving others. 

     I know it means a lot of our soldiers serving overseas when they hear from people at home, and when they know that we support their efforts.  If anyone is interested in adopting your own soldier, I'd encourage you to check out the Soldiers' Angels website.

Staying Consistent

     Today was my day to write to my soldier.  He's actually on leave right now for 2 weeks - back in the states with his family and fiancé - but I believe he's checking e-mail.  When I signed up to "adopt" a soldier through Soldiers' Angels, I committed to writing at least once each week.  It's a commitment I take seriously.  It's important that our servicemen and women know that we care about them and support them and nothing shows that as much as consistency.  

     Since we now know each other much better, it's way easier to have things to write about.  I've also promised him that when he returns home from his deployment in October, I'll fly him to Philadelphia so he can go to an Eagles' game with me.  It will be great to finally get to meet him in person!

     While anonymous acts of kindness definitely have their place, acts like these where a personal connection is made certainly have a different kind of reward.

Continuing Support for Our Troops

     In a recent interview I did, I was asked to identify which act of kindness has been the most fulfilling so far.  This really is a hard question to answer because I've done such a variety of different types of acts for different types of people, each with its own kind of reward.  However, if I had to pick only one, I think it might be the "adopted" soldier I have in Afghanistan.  I say this for several reasons:

1. I know (from what I've been told) that letters and care packages from home mean the world to our troops overseas.
2. I get to see/hear/read the impact it has in a firsthand way.
3. We've created an ongoing relationship vs. a one-time incident.

     Well today was my day to write my regular note to my particular soldier.  I write every single week (sometimes e-mail and sometimes snail mail) and I send a care package once/month.  Since my last letter was sent through the post office, today I sent an e-mail.  It does have the advantage of getting there much faster and often generates a quick response.  My soldier is actually about to be going on leave for two weeks next month and he's excited to be back in the States and with his fiancé.  

     While it's never my intention to use this blog to raise money or push for a particular cause, I will occasionally mention a website or an organization that I think readers may want to check out.  There are a number of different sites that facilitate the process for writing to our soldiers.  The one that I used is called Soldiers' Angels and if you have any interest in this type of thing, I'd encourage you to check it out.  I think you'll find it very rewarding, as I have.