Day 8-Sleep

I have re-written this post about 5 times.  I need to go to bed, but I know I still have a MILLION things to do.

Deployment Tip #4--Go to sleep

I am off to take my own advice, just as soon as I: start the dishwasher, tuck the kids in, brush my teeth, tidy the living room, fold some laundry and lock all the doors.

Of course I just heard thunder, so maybe I will say up for a few more minutes.

Day 7-Positive

So, I actually went to the right party on the right day.

Thanks Steph, for a great party.  My kids had a great time.  I had a great time.  I think EVERYONE had a great time.

Deployment Survival Tip #3  Surround yourself with positive ladies.  They will help you feel better when you aren't feeling so great and you can return the favor when they aren't feeling so great.

Day 6-Farewell Again and Again

I spent the day volunteering at 2 farewell ceremonies.  I was there to help, but I couldn't help choking up as I watched my friends say good-bye to their husbands. For many of them this is their first deployment.   Waves of memories filled my brain.  I know they will come out better and stronger at the end, but in the mean time, it just sucks.

What surprised me the most about today was how drained I was at the end, which is why when a friend suggested a party, I was ALL OVER THAT.  I asked if she had invited a few other mutual friends and she didn't have their contact info, I offered to invite them for her.

Around 6pm,  I showed up at her house with bean dip in hand and 3 kids in tow.  I was so excited to hang out with friends.  The hostess opened the door and looked slightly confused.  "The party is tomorrow."  Somehow in my excitement I had missed the part of the text that said "tomorrow."  Yeah, I felt pretty silly.  Adam, my almost 10 year old pointed that out, "I bet you feel pretty embarrassed, don't you, mom?"  (We had a quick etiquette lesson about not making people feel bad when they already do.)

But the evening wasn't lost.  Said hostess was on her way out the door to go to Smash Burger on post for dinner.  Thursday is free kids meal day.  She invited all of us.  Since I had invited and mis-informed 2 other friends, too, it was the perfect number of adults to get a free kids meal for each of my kids.

After dinner I let the kids play in the dancing fountains across the street.  They loved it.  I think we all needed a break.

So, deployment survival tip #2  Good friends are the key to sanity during the deployment.  Oh, that and ice cream, but that is another post.


Thanks to my friends that hung out with me this evening--even though I am a complete air-head.

Day 5-Rain

It rained today in El Paso.  I usually LOVE the rain.  Most places I have lived, they are equipped to handle the rain.  They have things like gutters on houses and curbs that actually hold water.  Since it rarely rains in El Paso,  nobody has gutters on their house and the water just runs down the street like a river.  ANYWAY, last time it rained, our roof leaked.  Of course that happened 4 days before Mike left.   I am very, VERY happy to report that the repairs that we did seemed to do the trick and that there was no leak!  Yahoo!!

My main focus tonight was all of the standing water around my house.  The rain started out pretty slow and I doubted if it was really even going to amount to anything.  It has been so hot that the droplets seemed to sizzle as they hit the ground.  But then, there was a flash of lightening immediately followed by deafening earth-shaking clap of thunder.  I looked up and I could see the rain drops coming.

I wish I had pictures to show you.  Let me paint you a picture, just so you can imagine it.  Imagine me fully dressed.  But not my usual clothes.  We had just gotten home from Cub Scouts.  So, there I was in my Den Leader Uniform, khaki shirt with patches, brown pants and tennis shoes.  Now imagine what I would look like if I just jumped into a pool.  Now imagine me trying to sweep gallons of water, UP a slight slope, away from my house and toward the street.  Yeah, I was the crazy lady.  Then it started to hail.

Last year, we were able to use a few garden hoses and syphon the water out, too.  Again, I know I looked like a crazy lady, out there in the pouring rain trying to get the syphon to work.  I couldn't.
Stupid Army deployment.  Mike got it to work last time.  After saying a quick prayer asking for help or for the rain to stop or whatever, I thought I would try our Shop Vac.  After all, it is a WET/ DRY vac.  NO, I wasn't going to try to vacuum up all of the water--that really would have been crazy.  I thought I might be able to use it to get the syphon started.  After I checked and re-checked that I wouldn't electrocute myself, I plugged in the vacuum and carried it over to the end of the green garden hose.  I stuffed the garden hose inside of the big black vacuum hose and turned it on.  Within a few seconds the vacuum started to "cough".  I pulled the garden hose out and water came gushing out!  Success!!!

I am glad it is dark outside, so my neighbors can't see the multiple garden hoses that are stretched from my backyard, across the front yard to the curb.  I am still trying to decide if I am going to roll up the hoses tomorrow or if I am going to leave them out for a few days until I am sure the rain has stopped.

Day 4 - Unknown Name Unknown Number

Do you remember what life was like before caller ID?  If the phone rang, you answered it.  Well, usually you answered it.  Something in my brain says that when I was growning-up, we didn't answer the phone during dinner, but, then again, we probably did.  All of us kids usually raced to the phone, hopeful it was for us.  We didn't have an answering machine, so any missed call was actually a LOST call.  What if was an emergency, or a friend or...

Nowadays, I use caller-ID often.   Being the mom of three kids, there is RARELY a good time to answer a call.  One of my kids is usually on the brink of spontaneously combusting or I am in the middle of changing a diaper, or I know that just as soon as I pick up the phone a little one (or big one) will find me to tattle on the other or ask for some forbidden food.   I get plenty of "Unknown Name, Unknown Number" calls.  Usually, it is from United Blood Services, calling to let me know that I am eligible to donate, AGAIN.  No, thank yoooooouu, I would prefer not to faint in front of complete strangers.  My kids also know that we don't answer "Unknown Name, Unknown Number" calls.  I have them so well trained that most days, they don't even hear the phone when it rings.  In the past, if I were busy or unable to answer the phone, I would let it go to voice mail or I would check Caller-ID and return the call when it was convenient.

Today, during dinner, the phone rang.  From my place at the dinner table I turned around to look at the display on the phone base.  It said, "Name not found."  "Odd?"  I thought, "I have never seen that before", so I checked the number.  It read "10081111153"  My mind scrolled through the mini Rolodex in my mind.  "1008? I don't know anyone with that pre-fix."  My mind kept scrolling through the Rolodex, "1008, 1008, 1008--That is an international number, maybe?"  Now by this time we are on ring 3 and a half.  The call will soon be sucked into the black hole of voice mail.  Remember when you could pick up the phone mid-message if you had an answering machine?  Forget it, if it goes to voice mail. "1008?  Yeah, that would be an inter...."  I couldn't make my fingers work quick enough.  Of course it was an international call!?!  I am so dense sometimes!

I pushed the green button on my phone and said a breathless, "Hello?"

Silence.

"Hello?"

More silence.

I closed my eyes and said a little prayer.  "Hello?"... please, please, please I whispered  

"Robin?" My heart melted and jumped all at the same time at the sound of Mike's voice.  I smiled.

"Hey, Baby!  How are you?"  With that, the kids exploded in chorus, "DADDY, I want to talk to Daddy!"

So, here I am, back to the days of answering every "Unknown Name, Unknown Number" call.

Day 3-Laundry

It is amazing how normal things can bring such a wave of emotion.  This morning, as I was getting dressed, I noticed that I needed to do some laundry.

I started a load of whites.  You know the drill, throw them in the washer on your way out to run errands.  Put them in the dryer when you come back from said errand.  We were school supply shopping, but I digress.   Dryer timer dings while I am getting lunch ready for the kids and me.  Then I un-load warm, clean laundry into a basket and place the basket on my bed.

Sometime later this afternoon, I had a few minutes to fold the laundry.  Everything was just fine until I pulled one of my husband's undershirts out of the basket.  I started to fold it and then I stopped.  The thought occurred to me, "It will be a while before you fold any more of his laundry."  I held his shirt, half folded to my face and smelled it.  I smiled as I smelled the clean white shirt with a hint of bleach.  I decided I didn't have time to cry.  But honestly, I didn't want to.  I finished folding the batch of clothes and put them away.  I smiled again as I opened Mike's dresser and placed the clean clothes inside.  They will be ready for when he comes home.

Day 2

Day 2 happened to be Sunday.  Sundays and Deployments are another post and I promise I will write about that later.

But I want to focus on Day 2.  At church, I got comments and hugs from so many friends.  So many well meaning friends who looked at me sadly and said, "How are you doing?" with a concerned frown.  I smiled and said, "It is Day 2.  If I were falling apart today, I don't think it would be good for the next year.  Talk to me on Day 45." Which is usually when reality hits me upside the head and I fall apart.

This is the thing. And don't get me wrong.  

I miss my husband so much that sometimes it is hard to breathe and if I dwell on the thought too long, yes, I do break down into tears overwhelmed thinking about the next 363 day.  363 waking up and getting the kids ready and out the door, 363 dinners, 363 days of emptying the dishwasher (Yes, my husband will unload the dishwasher),  363 nights of getting my kids into bed by myself, 363 nights of procrastinating going to bed because I don't want to fall asleep alone, 363 whatevers.  BUT I can't dwell and I can't break down.  I have 3 little people depending on me, so I have to save the self pity moments for when I am alone.

I am so thankful for a friend who invited us over for dinner tonight.  Actually, it was the son of a friend.  In our church, male members of the congregation are asked and assigned to watch over certain families in the congregation.  Tommy, almost 16 years old, is the young man assigned for our family.   I am thankful for the example Tommy sets for my kids, especially my son, about how to help and serve those people around you.

Marie and Amanda's favorite part of the evening was getting to play with the bunny.  Nice to have such a cute and fuzzy distraction.

I don't know if can catch it in the video, but Marie calls the rabbit a "Hopp-it"  So cute!

Day 1

Do you ever wonder what an Army Wife does while her husband is deployed? I don't mean the crazy Army Wife who spends all of her husband's salary on Precious Moments figurines? (Yes, I did know a wife who did that) No, I am talking about what a REAL Army Wife does. I decided to catalog the days.

Sure there is a whole bunch of stuff that EVERY wife and mother does, but I thought I would highlight a few.

Here are a few pictures from yesterday.

Am I disturbed that my husband has an M-4 slung over his shoulder while our kids are around. No, not at all.

This being my 5th deployment, I have learned a few things.

1. Busy kids are happy kids.

After we said goodbye and Mike headed for the bus, we headed to Carl's Jr with an air conditioned play place and some good friends. The kids ran around like crazy and I got an Oreo Milkshake and chatted with my good friend.

Day 1 has been great. Of course it should be. If day 1 is AWFUL most Army wives would have left a long time ago.

Here are a few photos from today.

I took the opportunity to organize something. It is amazing how organizing just one little corner of your life helps you feel more "in-control" I choose my broom closet. I had picked up the shelves at Target. I intended to use them for my sewing stuff (That is another post.) But I opened my broom closet and I couldn't take it any more!! I pulled everything out, swept it. I remembered that I had the shelves and sure enough, they fit. I wasn't sure because of the sloped ceiling. It was a fun project and Adam helped me assemble the shelves. Note to self: Remember to take before pictures, so you can be REALLY impressed.

We also went to the neighbors pool with friends. The kids burned off a whole bunch of energy. So much that Amanda feel asleep on the way to return the Redbox movie at 7pm.