A Source of Pride

One of the things I have always been most proud of is Randy and his service to our country. I love the fact that he is a pilot and watching him fly the Apache helicopter always makes my heart swell with pride and many times has brought tears of happiness to my eyes. To me, there is no better sound than aircraft flying overhead. That noise is the sound of freedom! There was one time when Randy flew the Apache helicopter over the Atlanta Speedway to start the Cracker Barrel 500 NASCAR race and my friend Tiffany and I stood in the infield on top of some one's minivan jumping up and down waving to our husbands as their helicopters roared over us. When we lived in Savannah GA Randy flew his helicopter to my school and landed in our back field. The whole school was out there to greet him along with 3 news channels and the newspaper. All three of the town's police officers turned out that day along with the mayor and several city leaders. He and his lieutenant were quite the rock stars that day! ;-)

I tell you that story to tell you this story. (Am I starting to sound like Melissa here?) Around here in our little military town, custom made purses from BDU's (battle dress uniform, fancy word for camo uniforms) are starting to pop up all over. It's a way for military spouses to show how proud they are of their soldier. I told Randy awhile back that I thought it would be neat to have Artem's diaper bag made from some of Randy's old BDU's. The only problem is, Randy never wears BDU's, he wears flight suits and I hadn't seen anyone carry a bag made from a flight suit. BDU fabric is stiff and flight suit fabric is very flimsy so I didn't know if it would be possible to have a diaper bag made from the material. But I found Seneca, a fellow Apache helicopter wife, and she put together an incredible bag for me.

I mailed her one of Randy's old flight suits and she took it apart and made it into Artem's new diaper bag. I told her I wanted it to stay looking as close to a flight suit as she could keep it. I also didn't want Randy's rank on the bag. A lot of people put the rank on their bags, and that is their choice, but for me personally, Randy's rank is not as important as his service. I also wanted a pocket placed on the back of the bag and wanted the pen holder that is standard on all flight suits to be put inside the diaper bag. She included two pockets on the sides for bottles and put some pockets inside for my cell phone and keys. I picked the inside lining fabric which has an Apache helicopter on it. What else did you think I would pick? There is a spot on the front for Randy's "badge" to go on it. The badge has his wings sewn on it and his name. Randy told me he had extras that I could use for the bag but I've torn this place apart and for the life of me cannot find one, so I'll have one made this week to add to the bag.

I've included some pictures of the bag and put a picture of Randy in his flight suit (a very old picture!) so you can see what it looked like before it was made into the bag. I'm so proud to carry this bag with Artem's things inside and I will pack it in the suitcase to take with us on trip 3. I hope one day that Artem will see Randy as one of this country's quiet, everyday heroes that have served to make this country what it is today.