Since I've Been Gone

I knew it had been awhile since my last blog but I didn't realize just how long! Yikes. What have I been up to since March?

·         Soldier came home on schedule

·         Soldier got a new job

·         Soldier was gone A LOT this spring for flood duty

·         I was gone A LOT this summer for work – you can tell everyone got new budgets this year, conferences galore.

·         Ran a 10K- next time I'll train a little more ;)

·         I got accepted into graduate school – YAY!

·         My sister moved in with us for a few months – we got some practice raising a teenager, now I want to put off having kids even longer J. Just kidding, I love my sisters.

·         I volunteered to become the FRG Lead for my husband's unit – what was I thinking!

·         Went on a family canoeing vacation and tipped my canoe

·         Became addicted to pinterest

·         Soldier has been job searching, keep your fingers crossed

·         I started making a quilt- it's a great way to unwind after work

·         Began taking new member classes at church with the Soldier - he is converting to Lutheranism

Until next time, and hopefully next time wont be another 7 months!

FW: At Last

 Settling down at last. After the headache that was my canceled flight I made it down to Soldier by the grace of God and the good will of a fellow traveler. As I wrote before my flight down to Soldier had been canceled and I was rebooked on another flight flying out of a nearby town that evening. The roads opened up in time for me to make it down there, but they had overbooked my flight and I was on standby. The next flight out wasn't until Monday evening, just the day before Soldier's graduation. Fortunately the kindest gentleman in the world volunteered to take a later flight out and I got his seat. I did feel absolutely horrible for the other 2 travelers who weren't so lucky. I sent up a prayer that they would make it to their destinations and a little curse to Delta for putting us all in this position.

It was great to seen Soldier again and know that after this we would be driving home and he'd be staying for good. Even having his parent's there couldn't ruin my mood J. Though I was a little offended when his mother said all Army Wives are petty and only cause trouble and that Officer's Wives always try to pull rank. I had to bite my tongue other than to say that hasn't been my experience with military spouses. Granted, outside of the blogging community I don't know too many military spouses, and even less officer's wives, but those I do know have been very kind. Furthermore, I'm a military wife and an officer's wife and I'd like to thing she didn't mean to include me in this statement as I don't consider myself a catty person ( or I try not to be) and I have no opportunity to "pull rank" even if I was inclined to because I live 250 miles away from Soldier's unit and don't know anyone in it.

We made it back home and have been working on adjusting to being together again. I'm trying to let go of my routines and be more spontaneous and let Soldier do more and he's trying to find enough to stay busy. I prided myself on keeping up on all of the house chores fix it list and not leaving anything undone, but now I think I should have left more so he has something to do during the day. He's been going to the gym for a few hours every day and spending a few more hours job searching, but he's so used to go go go that it's hard for him to settle down and relax.

Canceled

That is the status of my flight to see Soldier. I got a call from the airline at 5am this morning saying my 8am flight has been canceled. I immediately called and tried to book a later flight...the next available flight was MONDAY! I am not waiting another 2 days to see Soldier. I then asked for a flight out of the nearest town and I got one this evening. The only problem is the roads are closed so I have to hope they open up by 2pm this afternoon, or I'm going to miss that flight too. This really sucks. If my flight hadn't been canceled I would be in Soldier's arms by 2pm already today. Cross your fingers and send up a little prayer for me that the roads will open by 2pm so i can fly down and bring Soldier HOME!

Stressed to the Max

The countdown to K coming home is getting very near. I'm equal parts excited and scared to death. I have been so stressed about his coming home that my skin has broken out like it never has before, I've gained 7 pounds, and I am so tired I have huge bags under my eyes. This is supposed to be a very exciting time, but all I can think about it "there goes his paycheck." You see, Soldier is not employed outside of the Army National Guard. He graduated college last May and since then he worked some temp jobs with the army before this training, but he doesn't have a job to come back to.

 

Fortunately I have a good job and he made good money down there so we have a good chunk of money saved up to fall back on, but I would rather not use that. I'm hoping to put it towards a hefty down payment on a house here in the next year. I just wish he had a job already. I know he's been trying, but it's terribly frustrating to be stuck in limbo. We can't buy a house because we don't know where he'll find a job. I'm going to graduate school so I know I wont stay in my current position for too much longer so we have the flexibility of moving somewhere else if he finds something he likes. I would like to start thinking about having kids in the next few years, but I'm not going to do that until we're home owners for a while.

 

I'm trying not to stress and worry, but it's constantly on my mind. I want to start moving forward.

Chopping Wood and Carrying Water

Today is Soldier's Army Birthday. He has been in the Army for 7 years now.  7 years.  It's amazing to look back now at how much the military has shaped where we are today. I didn't notice those changes as they were happening, it's in reflecting on those years that I realize how marrying a man in the military changed me.

 

I remember hearing once about a journalist who asked Gandhi about his life before and after his enlightenment and he responded by saying, "Before enlightenment I chopped wood and carried water. After enlightenment I chopped wood and carried water." I didn't understand what he meant by that when I first heard it growing up, so I'm surprised it stuck with me, but I now know it's all about frame of mind. And that's what I feel the trick to surviving military  life is as a spouse.  

 

We choose our spouse, not their job, and as in my case Soldier was already a soldier when we met. Although I'm not impacted by military life like an active duty family is, the army is always in the back of my mind. I could be resentful or upset by the restrictions the military places on us and the long separations but I try always to embrace the possibilities those separations bring us.  A drill weekend means I have either a weekend full of the girls, a lazy weekend, or a chance to finally finish those projects around the house. A month of training means I can finish that quilt I started last year but never finished, or I can finish watching all 4 seasons of that TV show Soldier's not interested in. A deployment is a chance for me the renew my appreciation of our relationship and to remember why I should never take anything for granted.

 

I wouldn't consider myself "enlightened" or a model army wife because there are certainly times that I have thought this sucks and had a big ol pity party. But then I remember why I'm supporting my soldier and continue  'chopping wood and carrying water'.

Family Pains

Not too long from now I will be bringing Soldier home! I am beyond excited and cannot wait until he is back home and can take over snow removal duties! No, I just want him home with me. I didn't think anything could bring me down until I got a call from his parents. They are planning on coming down for his graduation as well, which is great, that haven't been to anything of his. Not his basic or AIT gradution or his LDAC grad so I'm glad for him that they will be there. He's worked so hard so I'm glad he'll have a few more people there to congratulate him.
But....they want to make a big family vacation out of it and come down early and stay later. I'm not even coming down as early as they will be because K still has to be at training everyday until he graduates. He doesn't have free time to hang out. So I was a little disappointed that they were going to be there already when I get to see him for the first time in over a month. And I know Soldier wants to get home right away because it's been awhile since he's been home.
I make it a practice to NEVER complain or say anything negative about Soldier's family because they're basically nice and I don't have any problems with them, other than with things like this. And I don't want him put in the middle or feeling like he needs to pick sides. I know he's the baby and the last one to leave the nest, but sometimes I feel they cling a little too much and I'm not sure how to tell them we need some alone time together and that K has told me that the minute they are released we are jumping in the car to head home.

Last visit to FTL

I went to visit the soldier this past weekend down at his training post. He had the weekend off from training so I took the opportunity to take  along weekend from work and fly down to see him. It was amazing. After the fiasco that was our Christmas leave it was so great to reconnect and be able to spend some quality alone time together again.
I almost didn't make it back home and part of me was hoping I wouldn't! :). A huge storm was supposed to come through and the airline canceled my flight in preparation for that storm. The south really freaks out about snow because it was hardly even cloudy yet and my flight was already canceled. Anyway, the lovely airline got me a cab to take me to the airport I was connecting at free of charge (or I guess for no additional charge over my plane ticket). The cab driver almost didn't get me there on time though. I had a short window already and he made not one, not two, but three pit stops during the 2 hour drive to the airport. Fortunately my flight there was delayed so I ended up making it out of there. Of course, I wouldn't have been disappointed if I had to spend another day with Soldier. O well, next time I fly down there will be for his graduation and to bring him back home!

O, and I can't forget one more thing Go Pack Go!