deployment

by

Life These Days (In a Nutshell)

– Work is so busy! But in a good way. We have the Elected Officials BBQ coming up, two BizMixes, a bunch of Ribbon Cuttings, and the Safety Awards with the Department of Labor. I am thankful every day I have a job here where I feel useful and valued.

– Monday was Month 3 of deployment! I must say – my days go quickly, but the time on the calendar is dragging rather slowly. It feels like it’s been way longer than three months. In some ways, this deployment is easier than the first. In other ways, it’s harder.

– I’m heading home to DC this weekend, partially for my high school reunion, but also to see my girl friends, since my trips home are generally stretched too thin to see much of them! Should be fun (though I’m still a little nervous about the reunion! And whatever will I wear?!)

– I’m officially moving out of my house June 1, since our realtor is an idiot and screwed up our lease terms. It’s a huge/expensive pain in the tushy, but I’m grateful I found someone willing to rent me their house for 3 months…before we pack up and move yet again for GA!

– My search for cruelty-free beauty/hygiene products continues! As it turns out, all lists out there are kind of… inconsistent. It seems that brands are opening their markets to include China, which requires animal testing on everything. So rather than lose the Chinese market, companies are reversing their position on animal testing. HOWEVER, the EU just passed legislation forbidding cosmetic animal testing going forward, regardless of where the testing was done.. so it will be interesting to see how the companies adjust. I guess I need to decide how serious to get about this. Le sigh!

– I went to the doctor yesterday for my annual physical and am happy to report a clean bill of health! I did receive my 10-year tetanus/ whooping cough booster, however… and my arm still aches. Aren’t those diseases obsolete yet?!

– Finally, I need a good book to get hooked on, as I am relying far more than usual on TV to entertain me on lonely nights. Actively taking suggestions!

by

Gray, damp, bored, and lonely today. But not the kind of lonely where I actually want to go out and socialize or talk to anyone – I’ve had plenty of that this week! It must be more of the I-miss-my-husband kind of lonely. I wish he was here! How has it only been 2 months…?!

Anyway. I think I’m going to clean, work out, get cozy, and then order a big old pizza and watch the Big Bang Theory marathon on TBS. I’ll be a normal person again tomorrow 🙂

My Chuckles was promoted to Captain in Afghanistan this week. It’s a bummer he’s always getting promoted in-country when I can’t be there!! But I am so happy and very proud of him… and making fun use of that bump in pay (see extravagant Coach purchase below, lol.)

A young new military wife from Chuck’s unit posted this today. It’s a little negative and dramatically put for my taste, but true nonetheless. And we’ll go way longer than 3 days without talking, most likely. Last deployment, I went as long as 4 weeks without hearing anything! It’s not easy hearing a friend complain about a measly business trip. Such is the life… we are more independent because of it 🙂

Anyway. The first weekend was soooo quiet here by myself. I have felt drained and moody though, so I needed a weekend to unwind. Basically all I did was clean and nap. Hopefully things will pick up once the weather warms up… otherwise it’s gonna be a long ass deployment in this lonely little town. It is just the first week, but I can already tell it will be worlds different from the last deployment when I led an interesting, dynamic, and engaged life up in DC, where there was bustling activity and various forms of human interaction as soon as I stepped out of my apartment.

With the exception of leaving my Bean alone all day, I think I will look forward to going back to work on Mondays… apologies for the momentary lapse in positivity!

Today, Chuck left for his second deployment to Afghanistan. As much as saying goodbye sucks, I am surprisingly okay (for now.)

I will have bad days, but I have this odd sense of relief to have it started and the countdown underway, even if our future remains a bit uncertain. I never did have the freak out/meltdown that everyone predicts (though that USO/Jeep commercial during the Superbowl brought me very close), but his deployment has been a long time in coming. I think I am just very prepared…

Still, the house is very quiet and empty, and will be that way for quite a while. I’m making myself a giant pot of Kraft mac n’ cheese with hotdogs – an all time favorite – to keep myself full and spoiled. 🙂

And in the meantime… boy, will I miss him!!

by

Challenging Year Ahead

First I must say that I feel very silly describing anything I go through as “challenging” or “difficult.” I’m always so acutely aware of how lucky I am – blessed with health, support, and happiness – but bear with me a sec 🙂

So, we found out what our next assignment will be. It’s neither DC nor California. When Chuck gets back from his 6-7 month deployment to Afghanistan, he will ship off for yet another 5 months for training in Fort Benning, Georgia. BLEH!! Not at ALL what we were expecting or hoping for. It essentially means a year apart.

It’s a PCS, so technically I could go with him. That option is not off the table, but it would create a whole new set of issues (what would I do for 5 months in a small Alabama border town while he goes through some rigorous schooling?) Practically, I should probably stay here.

It’s really not the end of the world, but it did throw us for a loop. I was all prepared and feeling great for this deployment, and looking forward to planning for our next 3 year assignment. The news sent me reeling a bit, and has required a whole new mental approach – not just for the time we are about to spend apart, but for whatever the immediate and long-term future hold.

I mean, I was only supposed to be here till this spring at the longest. Then it got bumped to this fall. Now, it’s back to a full year from now before we’ll move on. I won’t even get into the housing issues we’re going to face when the owners of our rental come back this summer, or how we’re going to handle paying two rents, or how we’re going to get to all the weddings this fall (I’ll probably end up going to most by myself.)

Anyway. C’est la vie. We seriously just found out, right in the midst of the stress that comes with prepping for a deployment – so that was annoying. But I think we’ve both stabilized. There’s nothing we can’t handle 🙂 I am endlessly grateful that I do have a job and some semblance of a life here now! We’ll take it all one step at a time and get back to “normal” next January/February.

2014 WILL be our year!!