::open letter to my soldier::

Dear Wayne,

My dinner plans were postponed this evening and it gave me a night off. I was thankful, actually, as it's just too hot to be social or in a relatively good mood. So I made myself a lovely Caprese Salad and thought about how I would have loved to have made one for you, too, and eaten it with you on our deck with a cold beer (O'Doul's for me, of course). Then I chuckled thinking about how much more groceries will cost when you're home for two or three weeks next month, and just how big the salad would have needed to be to constitute a meal for you. It really is different cooking for one. And easy! But downright boring for a foodie like me. I can't wait to have a reason to try new recipes again!

After supper, I took Dora to the Glen Valley Dyke in Langley. She had a grand time swimming in the river/tributary. You would have loved to be there. She was happy as a clam to be in the water, paddling around with her ball. We watched the sun set. I can't wait to go for leisurely dog walks with you again. I may be a little slow these days, but a good walk is still one of my favourite things to do. Will it be hard for you to walk and not to march? (Just jokin'.)

I saw video of myself from last night opening gifts at the BBQ. It's funny how I look down every day and see a baby belly, and I see it in the mirror all the time, but from farther away, through a lens, I really understand just how BIG I am! Sometimes I look down and wonder how a whole baby can fit in there. But on the video, it's clearly no problem! That footage has really shocked me into reality - we are going to be parents. And soon. To a person that is half me, and half you. This concept, while not new, is difficult to apply to oneself. I think that, until we meet our child for the first time, the concept will remain slightly blurry. But in that moment of meeting, it will all become crystal clear, and we'll be a family, the three of us.

I can't wait to have you home again, and not have to meet you in a rental car, or on an Army base, or in a hotel room (um, that sounds dirtier than it is). To ask you to take the dog out, to bring the laundry upstairs, or help me fold a fitted bedsheet (you have no idea how difficult that is to do alone!). I can't wait to dance with you in our living room, eat supper together at the table, play a few rounds of Liverpool, and watch CSI: Miami just so we can make fun of Horatio's opening lines. We can take the baby for its first walk around the neighbourhood and Dora and I will show you all the new things you've missed since you left eight months ago: the new dog park, the complex across the street, a new elementary school down the road, the Golden Ears bridge, the new paint on our walls, and the beginnings of a nursery.

Most of all, I just want to wake up next to you and know you are here, no matter for how long. I know it will fly by in the blink of an eye, but so will the 10 weeks after that, and we'll be together again, and moving together across our great land to start a new life together in Kingston, or Quebec City, or Shilo. Wherever you go, I (we!) will follow, and I am ecstatic to know that time is so close now.

I am so proud of your accomplishments so far. A year ago, we were telling our parents that you were joining the Armed Forces and they smiled and encouraged us to embark on an adventure. And an adventure it's been! There are no words to describe the power that your attitude and perseverance has on my outlook, how your integrity and drivenness help me to keep my head held high and to trust that the Lord is holding us up and holding us together in spirit, until we can be together completely again. We can do all things through Christ, who strengthens us.

I love you with all my heart, and I'm counting the days until I see you again, in Vancouver.

Your adoring wife,

Meghan xo