In November of 2006, Kyle decided to join the Air Force. He took a bunch of tests and passed a bunch of evaluations, and decided he was going to take a job that's fairly difficult to attain, and that also, at that time, had a fairly long wait. So he signed up and was placed in the Delayed Enlistment Program (DEP). In March of 2007, we found out I was pregnant. From that point forward, we lived with fingers crossed that Kyle's slot would open up either early enough or late enough that his training wouldn't conflict with our baby's birth. Guess what: crossing fingers doesn't work. He was called up to go on September 11, placing his graduation from Basic Training on approximately Halloween weekend. I flew down to Texas to see his graduation, after which he left for the Defense Language Institute in California and I flew back home to CO. About two weeks later, I found out I would need to have a c-section, and he found out he couldn't get leave to come home for it. So I went in for surgery with my mama as my moral support, and Damien was born on November 19, 2007.
Having Damien without Kyle was survivable because of one thing: Damien. He was an incredible baby. He was born at 10 pounds, 9 ounces, and suspected of being somewhat late. He had jaundice, so his doctors ordered us a bili-bed to be delivered to my parents' home, where we were living while Kyle was in training. They replaced the bed with a bili-blanket when they realized that my newborn was definitely NOT suited for a newborn-sized bili-bed. Once he got past the jaundice, he was the happiest, sweetest baby that ever did live. Kyle came to meet Damien for the first time, and move us to California, in December. Training was VERY difficult for Kyle for a while, and struggling academically meant mandated extra time at school, extra homework, extra stress, and an extra lonely period of time for me. Damien was my solace and my company, and my best friend.
He still is. Things are much easier for Kyle now and we have grown so much as a family, but Damien and I still have a unique bond because of our history, and I'm so grateful for him. He's sweet and cheerful and honest to a fault. He tells me he loves me about 100 times a day, and assures me that he likes me "even when I'm mad." He gives compliments freely and helps me out around the house. He gets so excited about things that it's hard not to get excited right along with him. He is without question one of the greatest joys of my life.
Today, as every day, I am thankful for Damien. Because even though he's been vomiting for a large portion of the day, he's still, even as I write, protecting me from all the invisible badguys in our living room with two swords, a shield and a stormtrooper costume. My hero.
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