My husband is on orders. He left for training on January 10, 2016. We've been married for 2.5 years (his first, my second) and together for 4.5. I brought a daughter to the union from my first marriage who just turned 16. My husband will be gone until sometime in November. I am literally counting the days until he comes home. This blog is an attempt at sharing how I keep myself centered and happy while he is away.
First of all, and this is what I tell everyone who asks how I'm doing, the waiting for the departure was the hardest part. Knowing that, in the days leading up to "D-Day", everything we did enjoyed doing had a limited number attached to it was excruciating. Whenever my husband or I would mention that to each other, the canned response was, "Don't think about it. Just enjoy this moment. It will be okay". But the thought was there, lurking behind everything.
At the airport, we were allowed gate passes and hung out with him for the 2 or so hours he had to wait before his plane boarded. We sat in CVG's amazing and wonderful USO with our airport SmashBurger lunches while we half watched an episode of "Ghost Whisperer" that happended to be playing on the TV. And we waited. And then it was time to walk over to the gate, and we all held each other and cried like babies in front of everyone. He was in the last boarding group so we had quite a bit of time to do this and I felt split in two. Part of me just wanted to get it done, rip off the Band Aid: "If you're going to go, just do it!" But mostly I didn't want to let him leave my arms. I wanted to hold him there and bring him back home with me forever.
So he eventually had to walk through the gate and board the plane. My daughter and I waited and watched until his plane taxied away. As long as I could see his plane through the window and know he was inside it, it still hadn't happened yet- we were still together. But it was when that plane rolled out of sight that is was real: Except for a vague chance at getting to see my husband for a week or less before he was shipped to his mission sometime in February or March, that would be the last time I would look him in the eyes for close to a year.
And yet, with it finally being done, there was relief. All the military deployment literature says that would happen, as well as D-Day being the worst day of the entire separation.
As the blog title says, this is the 15th day of his deployment, the beginning of the 3rd week. I have discovered that keeping busy makes it easier, and I have had plenty to help me in that regard. On top of my regular schedule and the many things Eric had done around the house that I now do, I planned and organized a big surprise party for our daughter. That was on Saturday (incidentally was a huge success), and had kept me occupied for about 10 of the 12 days between Eric's departure and the day of the party. I was fairly frantic on the day of the party with all the set up (which I did by myself. I didn't ask for help, which I was admonished for later by my family). My face was very flushed in the pictures from all the activity. But it went off without a hitch and made my daughter feel treasured and loved by her family, which was the objective. So yay.
One of the ways Mia and I are mitigating the long stretch of days until we have Eric home again is by doing periodic things that we look forward to. For example: going to a local ceramic painting place once a month. That means we only get to go 9 times in a whole year, which really doesn't seem like that much. And by the 9th time we go, it will be almost time for Eric to be home.
That is general idea behind this blog. Historically, journaling has helped me get through tough times, so that is one therapeutic measure covered. And one of the motivating factors will be me, trying out a new thing each week and then reporting on how doing this one new thing has affected my life for that week.
For this week, Week 3, it will be (drum roll please):
Driving the speed limit. All. The. Time.
