It did not even occur to me that today is the 21st anniversary of the start of  Operation Desert Storm.  A friend of mine pointed that out today on Facebook.  I didn't think that I would forget this date, as it was such a pivotal moment in my first year as a wife.  But, like so many pivotal moments, it turned out to be just another moment in a long string of moments.  This was very significant at the time, but when I look back on it now, we were just warming up!
I have told this story before.  I was in Oceanside.  I was over five months pregnant.  I had two very sickly little kitties.  And the three of us, four if you count the Ashlyn in my tummy, were completely unprepared for how it was going to feel when the war actually started.  The news was on all the time at my house.  I was so terribly afraid of missing Danny on TV again that I watched every newscast.  Seeing the video of war and knowing that my husband is in it somehow is really quite surreal. 
Twenty one years ago.  Is that even possible?  Well, I suppose it must be since I have a nearly twenty one year old Ashlyn.  Is it possible to think that at that time, I thought this was the hardest thing I would have to face.  What did I know?  At that point in my life, and I was twenty one at that time, it was the hardest thing I had to face.  Oh, the military prepared me well for much of what life has brought me.
Wow, that's half a life ago.