I want to take a moment of your time to share with you a wonderful moment I got to share with my friend Tyler. Usually I say "long story short..." but why would i do that? you have a few seconds to peruse through this.
Tyler got a promotion, he will now be working full time! I used this as an excuse for us to hang out on a Friday night, Ashelyn isn't in town.... so what else am i to do???? Friday was also the day my boss decided to buy a newer security system. "The box says quick and easy installation, in under an hour" he told me.
Three hours later, I have Tyler helping wrap the cords and finish up. Mind you, I'm not dumb when it comes to installing electronics, its just we decided to hide cords in attics and go through walls, it was much more than an "easy installation"
So, we went home so i could clean up. Tyler to a look at show times and decided that a 845 showing of Mission Impossible was perfect for us. We had a little more than 2 hours to go eat before the movie, where should we go? Canellas!
We called in advance so we could make sure we had a seat, I told Tyler what was on the menu so he could better make a decision, I didn't want to be late to the movie! When we sat down and the waitress took our order (Lasagna for me, Pesto Ravioli for him, and tiramisu to share), Tyler looked over at the bar and said "There's Scott!"
"Scott who?"
"Mom's Scott"
Sure enough, at the bar was my mother's boyfriend, who suggested the restaurant to me ages ago. We flagged him down and started chatting. after some small talk he went back to his seat and finished. as he left, the waitress walked up to us and told us that the gentleman we were talking to just picked up the bill, tiramisu and all!!! Score!!!
We were feeling special that night, the spirit of charity was around us. As i looked around (I'm a people watcher) I noticed two ladies in the booth across from us. They were filming each other opening presents, naturally this intrigued me. I noticed that one of the presents they were passing around was a collage of one man in a military uniform.
Our waitress walked over to their table and picked up the black check book, and made some small talk. the only thing i heard was "He's in Afghanistan, I'm his mom and this is his girlfriend." After a while the waitress came over to our table to ask how everything was.
I asked her "have they paid yet?"
"No" she responded
I pulled out my card and told her I wanted to pick up their tab. When she asked what she should tell them, I fumbled with a response. this is where Tyler very calmly said "tell them a fellow soldier paid for the meal." PERFECT! Why didn't I think of that?
She came back with the book, I signed it and looked at Tyler. He nodded and we got up and left.....
I remember getting a gift card from a mother of a soldier because i was in my uniform and felt comforted knowing that there were boys like me willing to help her son get home.
I never knew how close the military families were to each other. they are held together by the triumphs, the pain, and the lose of people close to them. God Bless every soldiers family.. not just in these holidays, but the entire year..... you never know when you'll be celebrating Christmas with a soldier far away/
