Week 1: So Not a Honeymoon

The first week of our marriage was very very trying. While Will settled into much needed recovery time, His Chain of Command pushed for him to clear out and get out! The barracks needed to be cleaned and cleared out of, as well as lots of paperwork and runaround needing to be done. As Will couldn't drive we went everywhere together with me at the wheel, with exception of the office, I waited in the car more often than not using the time to update family and friends on how things were going. 


Since we were not authorized to stay in the barracks together even while married we ended up needing a place to stay. Will's friend was deployed but his gracious wife allowed us to stay with her after asking her husbands permission. Thus as newlyweds we settled into a small guest room in the house, which now occupied 4 cats, 1 yellow lab, 1 one year old little boy, two Army Wives, and one soldier. 


Days consisted of runaround together and then Will would lay down to play video games while I insisted on cleaning and sorting through all of Will's things so we could move them out and clear the room, as instructed. Will hated watching but couldn't exactly say no. Lunches and dinners were light or takeout but that didn't seem to matter as we were so tired after all of it. Occasionally Will would even insist that I lay with him and take a nap (which was undeniably much needed and welcome). Nights consisted of laying together in the small room exhausted and trying to get past animal scents (the poor animals had been neglected by their sitters while the owners were on vacation for leave), and one of the cats insisted on spraying our pillows if we dared to leave the door open a second too long. Laundry day and night became a norm, and love was the only thing that held me up so I could support my new husband. 
It took 4 whole days to clean and clear the barracks and I was glad to see them go after that. Truth be told I wanted to scream when the civilian contractor who checked the room before signing the form said it wasn't good enough, but after scraping some varnish off the floor with Will's multi-tool the room was cleared and we cut dirt like we had never seen it before. 

Will received orders to go to a new unit, what seemed very quickly to the Army was just right on time for us,Will was so fed up with being treated the way he was in his old unit that he could hardly wait to leave. Thus, off to WTB he went. The first day he reported and was given a stack of paperwork, since writing has become difficult for him it took longer than normal to complete, but he did it all on his own. In the morning he woke to a call telling him that one of the forms had been completed by his former command and he needed to come sign it. Will knew that this was not the way it should be done and was very frustrated, which makes the lasting symptoms of his stroke worse. Only a few short hours into the day and Will needed me to bring him in some paperwork. I did so, but what I met when I entered the room was shaking to the core. Will sat in a chair, his unit escort by his side, and at least 3 others in a small room, all trying to talk and all shoving paperwork at him and asking him questions, Will was so frustrated that he could get no words out in an understandable fashion and when he did, the people in the room all shoved it aside and pushed their own agendas, I wanted to cry as I stood by my husbands side. Will asked me to leave, I refused. After a few minutes of Will insisting and me refusing to leave his side, I left and went about business we needed done. It was the hardest day of our marriage to that point for me. As I pulled away I cried and called my Mom. When I went to pick Will up things seemed to have gotten magically better! Will had been assigned a squad leader and was no longer affiliated with the prior unit. The new squad leader was competent, efficient, kind, caring, and even made sure that I went to Will's appointment with the Nurse Case Manager that day. Suddenly the worst day day became the best and this Sergeant became the biggest blessing I'd seen all day.


(original post: Life as Will's Wife 5/3/11)