Week One: Done!

We survived our first week of separation! Hooray and hallelujah!

On the home front, it’s been a rough and crazy week but sprinkled with blessings. There’s something called a “Deployment Curse” and it acts a lot like Murphy’s Law: whatever can go wrong probably will. For example, as soon as I dropped Bill off and got back in the car, our check engine light went on. Bam! When I got home the Internet had stopped working (and has been on and off since). Bam! Bam! Then waking up two days later, on Christmas, with the stomach flu…well, all of that is the deployment curse that occurs to military families when their spouse leaves. I experienced it the last time the hubby was deployed but didn’t have an actual name for it. I mostly thought it was bad luck or awful timing. But, since then, I’ve heard so many stories of similar issues that I now know it's not just me! In fact, now that I have a name for it, it’s so much easier to deal with. I can point my finger at it, laugh and shrug, while thinking to myself, “Yes, of course, this makes perfect sense!”

Here’s my week recap: surviving Christmas (thanks to the help of my friends)=check, two rounds of stomach flu=check, refilling the air in my tires=check, taking down the outside Christmas lights by myself=check, all while managing the normal day-to-day chores, errands and to-dos. After this week, all I can think is, “I am woman hear me roar!” :)

I wouldn’t be in such good spirits about it all if it weren’t for my friends, both local and far, and family. All the calls, messages and texts have been food for my heart and soul. And my local friends have all pitched in to help – from watching the kids, to delivering Starbucks and milk to my house – they have been angels in action.

Still, I’m sure hoping things ease up a bit and we can get into a somewhat normal routine with limited drama and upsets.  

All said, the first week is done, and that means we’re one week closer to having our family back together, and that is something I can celebrate!