Blather

'Twas early 2000 when factors (see early posts) brought me to Yahoo chat. Like many of us, I did the A/S/L thing. Something clicked with one gal, from about as far away on this planet as you can get, and we began chatting. We've been more than friends since.

Today, sitting in Fort Benning and waiting for my plane to Kuwait, I'm thinking about how I got here and seeing no plan at all.

Eight years ago, I was the typical guy- mortgage, marriage, children and a job. Now I'm divorced and going to Iraq. And my Aussie-style mate in all this has been a great gal, this one who happened to be in the chat room I didn't anticipate being in, for reasons I can't quite pin down, at a time in my life when I didn't need anyone beyond my (former) wife.

The wife's out of my life (except for the Never-Ending Divorce crap) but Sue is still here.

Those who have been unfortunate enough to go through a divorce will understand the turmoil. For those who haven't, suffice to say it's exceedingly painful. Sue's been with me through each little event, each uncomfortable step in the process of going from happily married to a condition that isn't quite " happily divorced," but resembles what cancer patients say. Thus, "I'm a divorce survivor."

And now I'm both confident and happy that Sue will be with me as I become a not-quite-soldier in Iraq.

Sue has been an element of joy, a loving woman who gives me a female's perspective on things, and who's shared parts of her life with me, too. When her granddaughter was born and came home, the first thing she did was to show me with her webcam what this bundle of joy looked like. Her daughter was a bit perturbed- What's this? Showing my new baby to some strange guy in California? But she also trusted her mother, so I guess everything has worked out OK.

And while I've not been entirely celibate since the divorce, we're OK with each other's exclusive arrangements with someone else. I think her husband is a great guy, and I've told her so. She knows about a warm and intelligent woman I am off-and-on involved with. For each of us, it's not "I'm better than that other person," it's "I'm happy for you."

Thus I find myself (almost) in the Army, waiting for a flight tomorrow to a different sort of lifestyle, reflecting on the one gal who's been with me through a lot. And I'm grateful she's in my life. Thanks, Sue. Ain't serendipity ... well, serendipitous?