D Day

So today marks day one of our six month journey. My kids and I said goodbye to Dad this afternoon and I think it went pretty well! "J", my ten year old, had the hardest time which is to be expected. She is the oldest and at the age where she understands and remembers vividly the trials while Dad is gone. The boys, "T" who is five and "K" who is three, did well. I don't think it will hit them until we are in the thick of the deployment. I held up okay until I saw all of the other dads kissing their little ones on the head and their wives sobbing. I had done a pretty good job at separating myself from what was coming, having been through this before, and I was pretty determined to cling to my delusions for as long as possible. Ha! That didn't go as planned. But I did plan an escape route. I needed to go grocery shopping (the kind that cannot be avoided a moment longer) and I knew that having a task to focus on directly after would make me get my act together. Other than a few "buy mes" we came out of the store unscathed and ready to drive home and get back to our new reality! This is where the fun begins. Every military wife knows that something WILL happen that will test your training (or lack there of) while your spouse is gone. And boy it sure didn't take its sweet time!!! We got into the house, unloaded the groceries, got "K" down for a nap! Just when I was patting myself on the back I heard/smelled it! I walked around the corner to the kitchen and what do I find ????? SUDS! E-V-E-R-Y W-H-E-R-E!!!!!!!!! My darling "J" was trying to be helpful and started the dishwasher for me. One minor detail though, she used regular dish soap. And A LOT of it! So I have spent the better part of the afternoon trying to clean it up and get rid of this foamy nightmare! I swear the stuff keeps growing. For every one scoop I take out, three more scoops are waiting for me when I return........ Kids. You gotta love em. But I guess I am thankful that I got the first "one" out of the way, and a bonus is that it didn't require a trip to the Urgent Care! I am sure that there will be more to come, but we will be ready!  - E

*I hope you will enjoy reading our journey as it progresses, and I know I look forward to using this as a way to keep things in perspective during this deployment!