Less than a handful of days to go

No one ever accused a military wife of having an easy life, and if they did they certainly didn't know what they were talking about. No we didn't sign the dotted line but we endure everything that our service member goes through. Maybe not in the exact same way, but in some ways even more so.

My hubs will be deploying in less than one week, two days actually. He'll be going on his 5th deployment, 2nd to Iraq. As far as places in Iraq are concerned he'll be in the safest area for our Military to be. The base is affectionately known as Camp Cupcake, this eases my mind a smidgen. None the less, there is still that remote chance…

So stateside I will stay and carry on with the daily tasks of running a household. Three children missing their daddy will more than likely drive me loony with their incessant questioning of our hero’s return. All the while I am called upon to be the sole boo-boo kisser, under-bed and closet monster chaser awayer, rear-end reddener, homework helper, stylist (not that daddy is much help in this department anyway) personal chef and live-in house keeper (although admittedly, in this department, I am lacking) and general all around fort holder downer. I will be a singleish mom for a little more than half of a year.

This deployment has been approaching with the typical pre-separation bickering; the hardening of feelings that is required to say goodbye and let them go. The girlies know that their daddy is leaving but I’m not sure that they have realized the scale of what that actually means. They have all already experienced deployments during their young lives but the last time was a few years ago. They are drawing pictures to sneak into his bags as I sit here writing. We will make a paper chain later today to countdown the days until his return, one link for every day he will be away.

This time around has definitely been a little bit different from our experiences of the past. We may as well have installed a revolving door in our foyer. We were visited by more than a few people this time around, all wanting to see Matt before he leaves. All of the family members that came to visit have since left and I don’t expect to see half of them again for quite some time.

Life will go on when that plane takes off for the Middle East. Days will come and go; holidays with our Marine will be missed. To many this is a completely unthinkable way to live, for others it is a way of life. Don’t get me wrong, I never said it gets easier. Military life is not for the faint of heart by any stretch of the imagination. It just becomes the norm.