I had been counting down the days since I found out we were going. I miss our home so much. To me, it's directly tied to my husband and our time together as a family. All of which are things I'm also missing dearly.
Friday was our first full day and we didn't do too much. I got a lot done around the house in the way of baby proofing and laundry. That afternoon we went to a family event for our Group on base and had pictures taken with the plane my husband flies, C130J!
That night we also had dinner with my surrogate spouse from our previous deployment! It was wonderful to see her and spend time with her and her fur child! Elise loves them both! Since her husband and mine are now roommates and on the same crew we were able to tell stories about them we were hearing and of course talk about how much we miss those crazy boys!
The next morning we had breakfast with a good friend of ours who recently got stationed at Dyess! She was in ROTC with my husband and we were all really close in college and still are. She's been taking amazing care of our home and of me and my husband and child. Always texting us and even sending my husband an awesome care package. She's been irreplaceable in our life lately!
That night we had a pot luck party for the spouses at a friends house on base. I got to see lots of girl friends from our squadron and catch up. Elise actually played with the other kids, which allowed me to eat and chat without much distraction. Rarely happens these days!
The last day was spent running errands and packing things I would need to take back. Though I wasn't crazy about the idea of leaving again.
Being home brought back the sense of independence one gets when left behind in a deployment. I did a lot at my house on my own while taking care of my daughter. Something I was scared that I couldn't do alone. One of the reasons I wanted to come to Oklahoma.
After talking to my husband, I decided not to stay. Like always, he understood my wanting to stay in our home and do my own thing. Living with my parents has made some things much easier and others a little harder. Having extra help is amazing. But I feel like a kid again, and as much as they'd like to, not many people here understand what I'm going through.
But my husband reminded me of the other reason I came to Oklahoma. For our families. We live far enough away that they don't get to see Elise as often as any of us would like. The silver lining in this deployment is that now they can get some solid consecutive QT with her. I know it means a lot to them and it does to us too.
So we are back in Oklahoma, for now. Leaving was painful. I didn't realize how painful until a few tears fell as we pulled away. I had the same gut wrenching feeling in my stomach as I did the day I dropped my husband off and kissed him for the last time.
After the holidays and Elise's birthday, we will move in with my in-laws for a few weeks before finally coming home. For the first time since I heard this deployment was coming, it feels like time is starting to work in our favor. I hope it continues to fall off our countdown. We are all ready to be home together to make up for lost time.
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