A New "Next of Kin"

Well, it's now official and I can talk about it. Sprout is taking a wife. They are planning a wedding when he comes home for Christmas leave. This will be fun, especially since last Christmas was such a bummer for me since he was about a million miles from home. I must say, Sprout has chosen well. The two of them have dated since high school and I have secretly hoped that he would marry this one. Since he joined the Army, their relationship has been sort of on-again off-again. But I think surviving the last year apart from each other was a good lesson. While Sprout went to Korea, she went to Switzerland to be an au pair for a set of twins. Both of them suffered a lot of homesickness but I think they both did a whole lot of growing up. When Sprout was home this summer, the girlfriend was glued super-glued to his side. I should have seen it coming.

What all of this means is that I will no longer be his "next of kin". The only person I'll be the next of kin to is a man I don't share one iota of blood with. Well, we share everything else so I guess that counts the same as blood. It also means that I won't be the one receiving any "dreaded phone calls" (since we now know that Sprout's deployment over there is probably sooner than we care to think about and which I suspect has something to do with these sudden wedding plans). It also means that while he is over there, I probably won't hear his voice for about a year because his few phone calls home will go to Mrs. Sprout, as so they should. Thank God, she is good at taking notes and repeating things...not that she gossips, mind you. She always only deals in facts (it ain't gossip if it's true, is it?) And it means that FINALLY this family will have an equal number of males and females. For too many years I was the only rose among thorns. Now, with D-I-L #1 and D-I-L #2 and the Little General and me, we can take the guys on in a game of basketball or sumptin'. And it means that I will have a close female ally who, astoundingly, loves my son as much as I do. Someone that I can commiserate with and cry with while my child lives in a war zone straight out of the eighth century. I hope she is strong enough...I think she is.

So this upcoming holiday season will be one for the record books around here. We are planning a trip to see Sprout for Thanksgiving and then a Christmas-themed wedding...maybe Santa will be there...it don't get no better than this. For now, we will celebrate. Next year I will spend the year looking for Sprout an appropriate deployment tree to store away until Christmas (thanks for that idea, SoldierMom). Phew! Life around here just got a little bit crazy.

Congratulations young ones...I know you'll both be happy.