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and as a couple. At one point, I tried to dump him, which is something we laugh about to this day. He was a Security Forces troop and wanted to go to Army Ranger school, which I wanted nothing to do with. Anything that was associated with Special Forces was a big fat “no thank you”. My infamous words to him, “I am not that girl, Greg. I can’t be at home wondering if , not when you would be coming home. Sorry, I’m not that strong.”
    I chuckled at the irony of that conversation as I sat in Manas waiting for my flight to go spend six months with the very people I’d wanted no part of so many years ago.
    After we broke up, for all of twenty four hours, over that “disagreement,” we got past our differences, and fell deeply in love. He became my “Gerg” and I was his “Nej” (our names spelled backwards). His son, Griffen, who was three years old when we met, also became a very special little man in my world. Greg and I moved in together, and he eventually decided to separate from the military. He had come to the conclusion that Ranger school was not for him, and after much thought, he decided it was time to part from active duty.
    This was unexpected. When we first met, he was determined the military was going to be his lifelong career. We even had a conversation over sushi one night while I was trying to convince him to go and get his degree. He laughed at me and said, “Why do I need a degree? I love this job, I’m good at it, and this is all I am ever going to do.” I was so frustrated with him; I couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t take advantage of the opportunities that were staring him in the face.
    “Gerg, you need to think outside the box. You can’t put all of your eggs in your “military basket.” What if something happens to you and prevents you from doing what you are now? Then what? All I’m saying is, think beyond your active duty time. Be smart about this!” He was as stubborn as stubborn could be at that time, but he did hear what I was saying. Due to many circumstances with his current squadron and an assignment tasking to Japan he didn’t want to take, he made the very difficult decision to walk away from what was once all he ever saw himself doing. How scary it must have been for him.
    Two months before my class start date for PA school, he was accepted for a position as a civilian contractor working for KBR as a Security Coordinator in Iraq and Kuwait. I was fearful that once he left, our lives and different paths would pull us apart; but at the same time I trusted that if we were meant to be together then we would be.
    To my delight, despite the incredibly demanding time in my life while I was in my first year of school in San Antonio, Greg and I grew even closer, and it became evident he was the one. I had always hoped he would be, but I didn’t know it until then. He was able to come back to the states from Iraq and Kuwait every three to four months, and chose to spend his time with me in my luxurious 700 sq. ft. apartment with no cable, no food except my staple of chips and salsa, and only my car for transportation. I would leave him early in the morning, get home in the late afternoon and tell him, after not seeing him for months, “Sweetie, you only have two hours of my time, and then I have to study.”
    Amazingly, he never complained. In fact, he set his watch to ensure I stayed focused on school. He supported me in a way I could never have asked for. I realized that year how truly blessed I was to have such an amazing man.
    That December, over my Christmas break, we returned to Las Vegas to visit Griffen. After asking my parents’ permission, he proposed in the most romantic way imaginable; in front of the waters at the Bellagio as my favorite song played, Sarah Brightman’s “Time to Say Goodbye”.
    It was a very cold night, and as we stood there waiting for the fountain show to start, I reached into my pocket of my coat and put my gloves on… right before he