At My Wedding My Mother Said Uniforms Were Not for Me Until Hundreds of Service Members Rose to Their Feet

my boots off and my wine going warm in my hand, not thinking about my mother or the wedding or the salute or any of it in particular, just sitting in the ordinary quiet of a life I had assembled from scratch.

I was not waiting to be understood anymore.

I was not waiting for permission.

I was just here.

And here, it turned out, was exactly enough.