Second night here at Hinesville, GA. Right outside Ft. Stewart. Got here yesterday afternoon. The trip down here was kind of stressful, but I made it. Terry brought Sally over last night to the hotel. We spent the evening just hanging out. Last night she fell asleep on the bed with me and rested her head on my hip. It was nice.
Today we went to meet the Soldiers here at Ft. Stewart that are going to start training Service dogs for other service members. It was neat meeting them. Being the only Navy person there of course there were some of the old jokes. Would have been disappointed if there wouldn't have been. First all of the soldiers went around and introduced themselves, and gave a little bit of history. Then Jeff told a little bit of his story. Terry then asked for Jeff's folks to add in some too. It was during this time that I had to step out for a few minutes. My back and shoulders were beginning to really tighten up. I came back in and it was my turn. Terry told everyone that I was a man of few words. I guess I kind of blew that out of the water. I gave a little bit of history on my situation and then went into how being around Sally has made an impact on my life. The Soldiers all took a great interest in both of our stories. I think after listening to them talk they are going to do an incredible job.
Tonight Sally and I have been relaxing at the hotel. We did our bonding training, and have gone out for a couple of walks around the hotel. There is a pond to the side of the hotel that has some ducks in it. Initially I thought it would be a big problem with the ducks and Sally. So far she has noticed them and looked at them but if I tell her to leave it she ignores them and focuses back on me. Right now she is laying at my feet as I type this out. I have noticed today where ever I go in the room she has to follow. The only time she hasn't was when I went in to soak for a little bit and try and get my back to relax. There is a window between the bathroom and the bed area. She crawls up on the bed and lays down and as long as she can see me she just lays there. If I sit or lay down on the bed she has to get up and sit or lay down right next to me.
I saw on the new blog for the Ft. Stewart, Wounded Warrior Project, paws4vets program. That Sally has already made a special place for them too. It is nice to know that. I am glad when I hear that everywhere she goes people fall in love with her. It is easy to understand.
On a side note. On Friday I got an email from my Daughter Shakaya. She apparently sprained her wrist and I guess at one time I had her brace. She shot me an email asking me if I still had it and if so could I get it to her. I searched and searched for it, I ended up not finding it. I sent a quick text message to my brother Neil and asked him if he could let her know. He suggested that I send her an email to let her know. I ended up listening to him not knowing when she would get it. Just a few minutes after sending it I got a reply back. With this we started to exchange emails back and forth for a little bit. This was the first communication that we have had since all of this happened. It felt really awkward, but we did it. She asked a lot of questions, I answered them the best I could. One of the questions came about Sally. What were we going to do this week. I told her that I didn't know. I shared the link to this site with her with her Mom's permission. She said she was excited to read and see what Sally and I do this week. I guess it is another little step. Guess I am going to go for now. Sally is already sleeping. I guess it is time for me to do the same.
