Air Force Wife Life: Best Friends Forever

You know when you're in high school and you say/ think that you and your friends will be friends forever, but then you eventually drift apart? But if you're lucky, you have a few that you still talk to or see on occasion? Having close military friends is like that...in no way whatsoever.

Like I've told y'all before, I was 19 when Justin and I got married and moved to Japan. I left all of my friends that I have had since Kindergarten. I was worried that when we got to Okinawa, I wouldn't make friends really well. Which was an absolutely crazy thing to think, because if you have ever met me, you know that I am probably the most talkative person on the planet and could make friends in hell. I have no idea why I thought that. Nerves, maybe? Any who, when I got to Japan, it took me a while to actually put my self out there and try to meet people and make friends, even though I was perfectly capable of it. I was in a terrible frame of mind for a while after we got there so I wasn't really trying. But, one day in the commissary, I asked a stupid question to a random stranger that just so happened to become one of my very nearest and dearest friends on the entire planet. And it goes a little something like this....

I had been in Japan for about a month. We had just moved into our apartment so I had yet to meet anyone living in our building...or go to the grocery store. One day, I just got so sick of eating at the food court that I decided I was going to make a pot of chili. But we had absolutely nothing in our house to eat except for coffee and pop tarts. That doesn't exactly make for a good meal. So I had to take a little life changing trip to the commissary. It was the first time I'd been to actually grocery shop instead of just going in to grab a thing or two and run out. So, there I was, wondering up and down each isle looking for chili ingredients. I was looking for tomato sauce and could not for the life of me find it. I finally broke down and asked someone to point me in the right direction. And from that moment on, my life was forever changed. The girl that I asked was so sweet and friendly and helped me right away (She didn't work there in case you are wondering. Just some random shopper). I also asked a stupid question about tomatoes but I can't remember what it was. I just remember that she laughed at me! After she took me to the all things tomato isle, we chit chatted for a bit then went our separate ways, never expecting to see one another again. Later that evening, we had the front door open and the screen door closed to let in some fresh Okinawa air. I was in the kitchen making my chili concoction when I heard a knock on the door. Justin answered it, then yelled for me to come to the door. When I turned the corner and looked out the door, I saw my sweet, bubbly commissary buddy standing there introducing herself as our neighbor! I was so surprised and so happy that the random stranger that was kind enough to help me find my way in the commissary lived right across the way from me! From that day forward, we were inseparable. She was my very first and very best friend that I made on Okinawa and in the military. And still to this day we are best friends. We can go days on end without talking to one another but as soon as we do talk, it's like we never skipped a beat. We have seen each other through so much. Ups and downs. Good and Bad. Drunk and sober. She is my other soul mate and I love her dearly! I got lost in the commissary for a reason that day. It was so God could put my amazing friend, Ashley, in my life. She is my Dirka Dirka for life and I love her, always.

As I got more and more comfortable with the island and with meeting people, I made a lot of good friends that I will never forget and will always love. Especially my POL girlfriends! The guys that Justin worked with and their wives quickly became our family. Every holiday was spent at our friends, the Wisemans, every year. It made being away from our families over the holidays so much more bearable. We would always have a big meal and sit around talking and enjoying each others company. The guys would eventually wonder off with their cold ones to the "man cave" to throw darts or play cards while the girls stayed down stairs and sipped wine. As much as I love being home for the holidays, I will always remember and love the holidays we spent with our military family.

When I started working at Human Resources office on base, I meet a woman that not only became my friend, but my island mom! She was/is my rock. She saw me through me through everything and was always there every step of the way. I honestly don't know how I would have made it through my pregnancy without her. I still call her my island mom and she is Silas' "Mae Mae"! We still talk all the time and we even go to Louisiana to see her sometimes. I love her more than she probably knows and am beyond thankful that God placed her, as well as all of my Oki loves, in my life.

Even through military friendships are one of the greatest blessings of being in the service, it's also one of the hardest. You get so close to these people and become a family with them all, that when it's time to say "see ya later", it tears your heart out. Unfortunately, that's just part of it. But, if you are lucky enough to have friends as great as ours, the distance between you means nothing. I still talk to almost all of my lovely ladies that I met in Okinawa and Justin still talks to a lot of his buddies, even though we are spread all over the globe now (Social networking is the greatest). The friends that you make in the military, especially those you make while stationed overseas, will be your friends for life and will always feel more like family. It's a bond that can't be broken. I look forward to the new friends that I will make in the future, but will never forget the family we made in Okinawa.