The Story: 2006 was one of the craziest years of our life. This is the year that we got married. But our marriage wasn’t a typical American wedding. Oh no. It was never that simple for us. I left Ashgabat, Turkmenistan (where I met Kris) in July 2005. Kris and I were not able to contact each over until November of 2005. A month later, I asked Kris to marry me. This was all fine and dandy, however, there was no way for me to get back into Turkmenistan. So we had to create an intricate plan.
We decided to send Kris to Russia to visit some family. While there, she would get her visa to Helsinki, Finland, where I was at. The plan went off without a hitch, however, it was still super stressful. Remember, we didn’t have instant communications via cellphones back then. Everything was a waiting game. Kris arrived on the train from St. Petersburg and we moved into a small apartment I was renting.
Next, we set up a small marriage ceremony in downtown Helsinki. It was quick and easy. It was on Valentine’s day. My boss, a Master Sergeant (E8), attended as our only witness. I was still a Sergeant (E5). After the wedding, the hard part began. Now we had to do everything to get Kris a visa to American. This required medical checks and shots, tons of paperwork, and some interviews. By the way, I was already in receipt of orders to Okinawa, Japan. The stress was intense. These matters were completely out of our hands, all we could do was wait. Finally, the paperwork came back approved.
We left for San Diego around March 15, 2006. I was due in Japan on March 26, 2006. So we flew into San Diego where my Mom was waiting for us. Mom was amazing during this time. Remember, she hadn’t as much had seen a picture of Kris, let alone met her. I remember Mom bought a bed for Kris before she had arrived. We had a good ten days. I forgot to mention a small tidbit. Kris and I found out that she was pregnant shortly after we were married. Wow!
I was off to Japan to do my Marine Corps job. Kris and Mom stayed in San Deigo. Over the course of the next 7 months, I worked hard and got selected to the rank of Staff Sergeant. Kris was hard at work on learning English, the money system, and how to budget money. We were all learning new things. I remember staring at Kris’ pictures for hours on end. She was so beautiful (is so beautiful). In October, it was time for me to come home. I will go into the whole delivery in another post, but needless to say, it was stressful. On November 4, 2006, our first son was born. I was able to stay home for another 4 weeks after birth. My family was able to come into town. It was a good time. Looking back, we were so young. We knew nothing of what we know now. But that is a good thing.
Major Accomplishments: 1) Getting married. 2) Getting a visa for Kris. 3) Getting selected for E6 4) Kris learned some English and American Money system 5) Kris and Mom built a lifelong friendship 6) Having our first Son.
Travels: 1) Helsinki, Finland 2) Moscow, Russia 3) San Diego, Ca 4) Okinawa, Japan
Important events: 1) Mom was there for our arrival from Finland. 2) The family was able to attend the born of our firstborn.
Disclosure: I am not a financial advisor or money manager, and any knowledge is given as guidance and not direct actionable investment advice. Please research any investment vehicles that are being considered. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article
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