Komarnicki Kids

It's Veteran's Day. A day to remember and thank those who have served, or are serving, our country! 

Since it's Veteran's Day, I thought it would be a good time to tell you a little history about Scott and me.  We met in May, 2002. My friend Melissa and I moved into a duplex and he lived next door! We became friends but didn't start dating until nearly a year later in March, 2003. After dating for only 9 months, we got engaged in December. Those who know me know that I love weddings, so I began to plan immediately.  We set a date for October 23, 2004 - a fall wedding had always been a dream of mine! 

Our plans changed in January. Scott was in the Navy Reserves (a Navy Seabee), so we really weren't expecting him to get deployed.  He got the news in January that he would have to go somewhere. At first he heard it would be Rota, Spain, and this didn't seem so bad! I was even excited about the chance to go to Spain.  However, he then found out he'd be going to Iraq, and leaving in February. He called me at work to tell me the news (why he called me at work, I'll never know!) and I had to be sent home early. I couldn't think, and it's all I could do to talk. I probably shouldn't have even driven home! 

We discussed the possibility of getting married before he left. This would make things easier on me (I could get information on him easier as his wife), and we thought it would be something special to do.  We weren't 100% sure yet, but went ahead and got our marriage license, just incase.  Scott found out that he'd be going to Mississippi for training on February 27, 2004, then he would leave from there for Iraq sometime in March.  He called me at work (again!) on Thursday, February 19 and said that if we wanted to get married in time for all the paperwork to go through, it'd have to be done by Friday - the next day!!! We had already decided by this point it was something we wanted to do, so we had to act fast. I called Melissa, and we went to the mall so I could buy something that would be my wedding dress! 

Scott and I lived in Columbia at the time, so on Friday we drove to Kiawah Island so we could get married on the beach. I never imagined that I would be riding to my wedding (after a wedding lunch at Hardee's) with my husband-to-be.  At first we were going to have family and close friends there, but the number of people coming got very large, so we decided that it would just be the 2 of us. We knew we wanted to do a bigger wedding once he got home, so we told everyone that they would be invited to that one to help us celebrate.  So, at 5:00 p.m. on February 20, 2004, we got married right by the water.  My mom had ordered white tulips to be delivered to our hotel so that I would have flowers to carry. And while we were having the ceremony, a photographer happened to be walking up and down the beach taking pictures of the scenery, so he offered to take pictures for us. He sent them to us with the negatives for free. Thank God for him, or we would not have any pictures of that day except for the couple we took with our own camera. We then celebrated with dinner. We spent the night in Kiawah Island, then had to head home the next day. This was certainly not the wedding I'd always dreamed of as a little girl, but it was very special and very personal since it was just the two of us there.

A week later, Scott left for Gulfport, Mississippi. I was able to go see him once there before he left for Iraq. He left in March and was stationed in Fallujah, Iraq for 7 months. We were lucky because he had access to email, so I at least got an email from him almost everyday. He returned to Mississippi, then got to come home to Columbia in October! I was in Mississippi waiting for him when he got off the plane. I'm pretty sure that was the happiest day of my life (other than Addison and Fischer being born). 

While he was gone, I planned our "reaffirmation" ceremony, which was on April 2, 2005, complete with a huge celebration/reception!  We had a wonderful time with our friends and family that day! 

I am very proud of Scott for what he did for our country, and I know Addison and Fischer will be once they are old enough to understand what he did!