Going, Going, Gone

  It's official; my husband is gone now.  On deployment.  Adios!  And you know, as much as I'm going to miss him, for the moment I find myself feeling at peace.  It's funny how when you're dreading something, you'd rather it hurry up and just happen than wait around dreading it.  That's how the pre-deployment phase has been for my husband and I.  We knew about a month in advance when he'd be leaving, and we took the time to get our stuff in order, spend time with one another and take care of all those last little "honey-do" things.  We then hunkered ourselves down into hermit mode to absorb every last little moment to carry with us over the next few months.  Then we were told he had another week.  By that point I was all for them just ripping the bandaid off and getting this deployment started.

   That being said I'm extremely grateful for the extra time.  His last day here, especially, because it was so perfect.  We had a lazy morning watching a movie after a huge breakfast of eggs, bacon, and grits.  Then we brought Monkey to the park where I watched them play together, taking as many photos as possible.  Then we played Hide-and-Seek in the pine trees behind our house before heading in for lunch.  Then we all played tag and pretend until dinner time, which was wonderful and carefree thanks to the roast I had in the crockpot.  During dinner J looked at me confused, asking, "This is lunch, right?"

   "No, Love," I said.  "This is dinner."

   "It can't be going by that quickly, can it?  Can I just rewind today, and keep reliving it?"

    I felt the same way.

   Soon after dinner, it was bath time for Monkey.  Then we had time for a few more games and shenanigans before bedtime.  Mommy read a story; Daddy said an extra-special prayer, and Monkey fell asleep with no fuss.  Then we had our time together to say all those last-minute things that needed to be said before we too drifted off into our own dreamlands.

   As I'm sure any weathered military spouse will tell you, the key to getting through a deployment is keeping busy, and we went to it with gusto today. Monkey had two of her friends over to play.  I cracked down on cleaning and getting my errands run, and the day has flown by.  We've even begun a couple of crafts to help keep track of the time.  I'd like to share them with you.

   This is the chain we made last deployment.  We would add one link for every day Daddy was away.  We're doing this project again this year, and we'll see how long it'll get.

   We're also starting a Deployment Diary, where we write a short list of all the things Monkey does each day, and when Daddy comes home we'll be able to read it as a bed time story.  To make it fun for her, she gets to draw a picture of one thing she did that day.

Working hard

    Well that's it for now.  I'm sure the ugly cries and sobs will come later, but for now I just feel so blessed for all the wonderful memories I was able to make this year with my husband, and I look forward to all the one-on-one time I'll be getting with my baby girl.