Thinking about my husband's 2004 deployment while writing about my Valentine's curse made me relive the days before his departure. And one thing in particular.
The sewing.
My husband got promoted the day before the deployment. And this was back in the era of BDUs, which meant that he needed all new rank insignia before he left town the next day.
Sewn on.
We were stationed in Germany at the time: there was one alterations shop on post, with a slow turn-around time. There was no way they could get the job done.
So on my husband's last day at home for a year, I sat at the sewing machine and put all new rank on every BDU and DCU he was taking with him. Plus his soft cap. Oh, how that soft cap vexed me. I remember sewing the rank on, removing the cap from the sewing machine, seeing that the rank was really crooked, cursing, ripping it back off, repositioning it, putting it back in the machine, and promptly sewing straight through my fingertip.
And to make matters worse, other guys found out I could sew rank and started showing up at my house begging me to help fix one or two things.
Oh, the sewing. I don't miss you. Thank heavens for velcro.
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Photo taken by U.S. Army photo Sgt. Matthew Cooley
