Dog Tags

Today I have recieved a replica of Joe's dog tags and I haven't been this excited over something like this in a long time. A while ago I let the issue go and figured I would get them if Joe remembered...and now I have a set! I don't know what it is about the tags, but I do find something nostalgic about them. It shouldn't be that important of a symbol, but there is something about the visual representation that makes it feel more Joe.

I will say that, at the heart of it all, it is a bit unnerving to know I have Joe's information around my neck. I trust myself with it, but I don't take the responsibility lightly. I take this more as something I wear for him (on top of the necklace he already gave me for this deployment). I don't want the tags to replace the necklace he already gave me, so for now I wear both. I don't know if Joe knew my intentions of wearing both, but I don't want to forget the moment he gave me his cross to wear.

I never really noticed how much Joe's confirmation cross had stood out in my mind till it was given for me to wear as a token in his absence. It was always just a part of his dorm room bed, always hanging on the same post as his dog tags (kind of a strange coincidence now that it is brought up), but the day after I had experienced a nightmare that he often has, Joe approached me with the cross I now wear around my neck.

To be honest, I was happy to have it. Earlier in the semester, about a week before I started talking to Joe, I had lost my "Lady of Fatima" necklace that I had worn almost every day since my own Confirmation. I had always felt a loss without my daily necklace and it was one that the chain had been replaced a few times, but I had lost because the chain was too large. Really, it is because of this incident that I am now afraid of losing every piece of jewelry I own.

However, the nightmare was most likely a coincidence because this was also in the last couple of days of school. What I do remember is that he was a bit nervous and his heart was racing really fast when I hugged him afterward. It was one of those strong beats that will stay in my mind...much like his heart beat from when we fell asleep together for the first time. He said to wear this to remember him when he was away. It came a half year sooner than his deployment and I didn't really mind. The only thing that bothers me is the amount of wear and tear that has been put on the necklace since then. It went from rarely worn to always worn and the chain has broken a few times.

Long story short, I now have two necklaces to wear. One being the representation of Joe when we were still in school together and a representation of God in our relationship. The second being the representation of Joe's military life, more directly this deployment. It also seems to help that Joe put "Jedi Knight" in the religious section because that goes to show how nerdy my boyfriend actually is. Now that I think about it, these necklaces go well together.

All that is left to do now is make the chains I ordered into the old regulations for Dog tags. Where there was once 365 balls on the big chain (52 on the small) there are less than half. With the 3ft chain I ordered I am hoping to be able to make the 365 and 52 chains for both Joe and myself (at the least Joe). The main focus was that the 24in chain I have falls at an awkward length for my boobs, the plan is to make it longer like Joe's chain so It hangs lower and wont get caught between or hang too high.