Blessings! Quite some time ago, I ran across a poem (at the bottom of this post), and it really struk a chord within me. It made me smile, brought tears to my eyes, and reminded me of just how proud I am to be a Military Wife. Not that any one wife has a harder job than the next....a wife's place is hard in it's own way depicting daily living. However, the one thing that sets us apart from so many others, are the long good byes.
Tomorrow our family is set to embark on a journey of yet again, another seperation. This will make our 6th deployment in 12 years. For those who are not quite sure how to measure a deployment in Military time, deployments range from 3, 6, 9, 12, 18 month intravals (sometimes longer depending on the duty staion). For my family, this all equals =42 months of seperation!!!! This is BY FAR the longest one we will have had to do to date. 1 whole year... unaccompanied...with him in Japan! I have so many thoughts flowing through my body right now, I am surprised I am even able to put them into words.
I keep thinking to myself it's just another tour of duty, but the hourly devil keeps popping into my head:
12 months =365 days =8, 760 hours (8,784 in a leap year) =525,600 minutes!!!
(Yes, that's really dragging it out and makes it seems SOOO much longer, but math never lies if done correctly lol.)
For me, I feel blessed that God has prepared me for this journey. Having grown up a militry brat, this seemed like nothing new and has instilled in me a spirit of courage, independence, and honor. Now that we have children however, it makes the situation a bit harder. For our older two (ages 12 and almost 8), they understand why he has to leave, what he is doing on foreign land, that while we are born free, we must still fight to remain as such. Our youngest (who is 5), doesn't quite graspp the concept yet and having autism doesn't help much either, as her sensory/emotional state throws yet again, another wrench in this whole thing. This is her 1st cruise where she will be old enough to remember. She was only 4-5 months old during the last cruise. We are constantly trying to reassure her that Daddy is not leaving for good and that he WILL come back home. Daddy's body may be far away, but his heart is right here with us.
We also purchased some books especially for military children.
and many others.........
A wonderful stuffed animal/doll called a DADDY DOLL <...you can order one here and they look like this...>
We will begin our deployment chain very soon to count down the days until he gets back.
Last but not least, we have created this blog so Daddy can hop online and see all the wonderful things we are doing in his absence.
Preperation is key to any sucessful deployment. There are MANY programs, websites, and outlets to plug yourself and your children into. Keeping busy is definatly the one thing we do best being homeschoolers, so that helps! We are blessed with an abundance of friends and family who many of which, are/were also military. So, I say to you.....you are not alone in your journey because I am there with you in prayer!
~Be Encouraged~
I AM A MILITARY WIFE
I am a military wife -- a member of that sisterhood of women who have had the courage to watch their men go into battle, and the strength to survive until their return.
Our sorority knows no rank, for we earn our membership with a marriage license, traveling over miles, or over nations to begin a new life with our military husbands.
...
Within days, we turn a barren, echoing building into a home, and though our quarters are inevitably white-walled and unpapered, we decorate with the treasures of our travels, for we shop the markets of the globe. Using hammer and nail, we tack our pictures to the wall, and our roots to the floor as firmly as if we had lived there for a lifetime. We hold a family together by the bootstraps, and raise the best of "brats," instilling in them the motto, "Home is togetherness," whether motel, or guest house, apartment or duplex.
As military wives we soon realize that the only good in "Good-bye" is the
"Hello again."
For as salesmen for freedom, our husbands are often on the road, at sea, or in the sky, leaving us behind for a week, a month, an assignment. During separations we guard the home front, existing until the homecoming. Unlike our civilian counterparts, we measure time, not by years, but by tours -- married in Virginia, a baby born at Portsmouth, a special anniversary in San Diego, a promotion in the Atlantic Ocean.
We plant trees, and never see them grow tall, work on projects completed long after our departure, and enhance our community for the betterment of those who come after us. We leave a part of ourselves at every stop. Through experience, we have learned to pack a suitcase, a car or hold baggage, and live indefinitely from the contents within: and though our fingers are sore from the
patches we have sewn, and the silver we have shined, our hands are always ready to help those around us.
Women of peace, we pray for a world in harmony, for the flag that leads our men into battle, will also blanket them in death. Yet we are an optimistic group, thinking of the good, and forgetting the bad, cherishing yesterday, while anticipating tomorrow.
Never rich by monetary standards, our hearts are overflowing with a wealth of experiences common only to those united by the special tradition of military life.
We pass on this legacy to every military bride, welcoming her with outstretched arms, with love and friendship, from one sister to another, sharing in the bounty of our unique, fulfilling military way of life.
Author Unknown
I am a military wife -- a member of that sisterhood of women who have had the courage to watch their men go into battle, and the strength to survive until their return.
Our sorority knows no rank, for we earn our membership with a marriage license, traveling over miles, or over nations to begin a new life with our military husbands.
...
Within days, we turn a barren, echoing building into a home, and though our quarters are inevitably white-walled and unpapered, we decorate with the treasures of our travels, for we shop the markets of the globe. Using hammer and nail, we tack our pictures to the wall, and our roots to the floor as firmly as if we had lived there for a lifetime. We hold a family together by the bootstraps, and raise the best of "brats," instilling in them the motto, "Home is togetherness," whether motel, or guest house, apartment or duplex.
As military wives we soon realize that the only good in "Good-bye" is the
"Hello again."
For as salesmen for freedom, our husbands are often on the road, at sea, or in the sky, leaving us behind for a week, a month, an assignment. During separations we guard the home front, existing until the homecoming. Unlike our civilian counterparts, we measure time, not by years, but by tours -- married in Virginia, a baby born at Portsmouth, a special anniversary in San Diego, a promotion in the Atlantic Ocean.
We plant trees, and never see them grow tall, work on projects completed long after our departure, and enhance our community for the betterment of those who come after us. We leave a part of ourselves at every stop. Through experience, we have learned to pack a suitcase, a car or hold baggage, and live indefinitely from the contents within: and though our fingers are sore from the
patches we have sewn, and the silver we have shined, our hands are always ready to help those around us.
Women of peace, we pray for a world in harmony, for the flag that leads our men into battle, will also blanket them in death. Yet we are an optimistic group, thinking of the good, and forgetting the bad, cherishing yesterday, while anticipating tomorrow.
Never rich by monetary standards, our hearts are overflowing with a wealth of experiences common only to those united by the special tradition of military life.
We pass on this legacy to every military bride, welcoming her with outstretched arms, with love and friendship, from one sister to another, sharing in the bounty of our unique, fulfilling military way of life.
Author Unknown
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