We talked to Eric on Skype tonight. That was our last video chat for a while. He can't tell us for how long or where he is going. I know that he will be at several locations over at least the next month and that he will try to call us when he can. I have to shake my head and remind myself how very lucky we have been to talk to him as much as we have.
I can tell that Eric has been down lately. He misses us and I have a feeling he has been bored. I've been telling him "its just a drop in the bucket", "you'll be home in the blink of an eye", but he replies "maybe for you". I know what he means. I'm so busy with work and the kids, that the time has flown by for me so far. Except for moments like this when things are quiet and then time seems to slow down for me. I rarely get this time, though, so between the two of us, I'm the lucky one. All I'm trying to tell him is that, in the scheme of things, one year is so little compared to the next 50 that we are going to spend together.
There is a delicate balance between reassuring him that we are ok and letting him know how much we need him here. I try to slip in a little of the day to day craziness into our conversations and at the same time let him know that I'm handling things. Yep, I'm forgetting things here and there (like yesterday when I went to the store for one main item and came home with everything but!), the dishes are piling up, and I have a mountain of laundry to fold, but the kids are fed and warm (so what if their clothes are slightly wrinkled!). I give them extra hugs and kisses and tell them how much their daddy and I love them. We are safe.
I suppose that he is going through the same thing. I can tell that he wants to tell me things, but he stops himself. There are simply things that he can't say and I don't think that we have ever experienced that. Lord knows, I have never been afraid to tell Eric anything that I'm thinking or feeling and I feel like the same is true for him. Its odd for us and it makes for awkward pauses now and then.
So to replace our Skype-time, I plan on emailing him every day. I don't know how or when he will be able to read them, but at least I will be able to fill him in on the day to day. It makes me feel like he is here where he belongs.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Intro to our life
My husband, Eric, and I have been married 7 years in February. We've known each other since Oct 2001. He has been an Army Reservist since 1991. Other than a one year mobilization when the Iraq War started, his call-ups have always been short tours. As a Finance Officer working for a training unit, we never imagined he would be deployed overseas.
He was cross-leveled to another unit and he left a little over a month ago. Once he arrived in Iraq, they moved him from location to location trying to find a spot for him. All of the finance units that were already there were overstaffed! How frustrating for us, when we are clearly understaffed here! It seems he has now found a "permanent" location and he will be staying there for a while.
Back home, Abigail (2), Elijah (5), and I have made it through Thanksgiving and Christmas without him. We miss him dearly. We spent Thanksgiving with his family in Nebraska and we are looking forward to seeing them again next week for our family Christmas.
Christmas proper was quiet for us. My mother came to watch us open presents in the morning and we spent the day playing with our toys and recovering from all the craziness of the last couple of weeks. We were able to Skype with Daddy all morning while the kids opened their presents.
Skype is our best friend. The kids talk to him almost every night and we are very fortunate for that. I am grateful that we are still able to feel connected to him in this way.
I have so many friends that have been supportive and helpful. I'm very lucky for that. People have volunteered to watch the kids for me and they have brought us meals. Someone even came over and shoveled piles of snow for me the other day. What an awesome Christmas present!
Since Eric was cross-leveled, his unit is in another state. There is no one from his unit that I can empathize with. There are some friends from his old unit that have reached out, but they are still pretty far away and they can't relate to this deployment. Its nice to have someone to talk to that knows what its like to have your life turned topsy-turvy.
Eric let me know a few days ago that he will be going out on a mission soon. I have no idea what that means other than we will be unable to talk to him every day and he will be less safe than he is now. I pray constantly for his safety.
I will hopefully have more time for this blog now that the holidays are over and I'll try to update a few times a week. If nothing else, it will serve as a record of our days apart.
He was cross-leveled to another unit and he left a little over a month ago. Once he arrived in Iraq, they moved him from location to location trying to find a spot for him. All of the finance units that were already there were overstaffed! How frustrating for us, when we are clearly understaffed here! It seems he has now found a "permanent" location and he will be staying there for a while.
Back home, Abigail (2), Elijah (5), and I have made it through Thanksgiving and Christmas without him. We miss him dearly. We spent Thanksgiving with his family in Nebraska and we are looking forward to seeing them again next week for our family Christmas.
Christmas proper was quiet for us. My mother came to watch us open presents in the morning and we spent the day playing with our toys and recovering from all the craziness of the last couple of weeks. We were able to Skype with Daddy all morning while the kids opened their presents.
Skype is our best friend. The kids talk to him almost every night and we are very fortunate for that. I am grateful that we are still able to feel connected to him in this way.
I have so many friends that have been supportive and helpful. I'm very lucky for that. People have volunteered to watch the kids for me and they have brought us meals. Someone even came over and shoveled piles of snow for me the other day. What an awesome Christmas present!
Since Eric was cross-leveled, his unit is in another state. There is no one from his unit that I can empathize with. There are some friends from his old unit that have reached out, but they are still pretty far away and they can't relate to this deployment. Its nice to have someone to talk to that knows what its like to have your life turned topsy-turvy.
Eric let me know a few days ago that he will be going out on a mission soon. I have no idea what that means other than we will be unable to talk to him every day and he will be less safe than he is now. I pray constantly for his safety.
I will hopefully have more time for this blog now that the holidays are over and I'll try to update a few times a week. If nothing else, it will serve as a record of our days apart.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)