final count down.......1 of 3

walkin along the parade field, originally uploaded by tommiea1.

Without a doubt I am looking forward to Husband's return. We can finally start to get back to our normal. I wonder if it will be happy, stressful, strained, difficult. I really do want to make this transition as easy as possible.

I think first and foremost, I am thankful he will be back safe and sound. (I stopped reading the paper early on because every single day the front page was filled with the story of some soldier who gave the ultimate sacrifice. Tear-swollen eyes are not the best way to greet the day. ) I know Husband is ready to have the normal day to day creature comforts.

One of the hardest things about these last 15 months was about in month 5.....Husband had already come home on his R&R. We thought we were almost half way done. Then all of a sudden I felt like I had the air knocked out of me.....we found out we weren't half way done, his 12 month deployment was EXTENDED to 15 months. So, from the time he came home in late february, early March.....it would be ten months before we saw him again. Oh well, what can you do?

This deployment has definitely shown me I am much better WITH him than I am without him. We celebrated (or didn't celebrate) our 10 year anniversary while he was gone. (actually it was the 9th and 10th) . I feel like we are in that early dating stage all over again. I have totally forgotten all those annoying little things that he does. I am in the honeymoon faze of life.

there is never one thing you can prepare for and that is fear. no on can explain it....but all we can do is trust that men and women like my Husband are doing their jobs. all we can do to stop the fear is to live, to go on with our day to day lives and live our lives. When the guys at the front gate select my little cute Volvo wagon to do the 'super-inspection', I shouldn't get all pi$$ed off. I just pull over and let them run their mirrors over and under my car.

Our first challenge will be the time of his arrival....right smack dab in the middle of nap/quiet time. But don't think for one minute that I am not going to have the kids there. We are 'suggested' to be there an hour before arrival. Okay, reality check, do you know how hard it is to keep a 3 and 4 year old entertained while in a mongo tent (if it's cold) or blechers (is that even spelled right0 if it is warm? yeah, right,that is what I thought. I better take some bribes.....oops, I mean snacks!

Remember this pic from our last VTC.....

this is where we will be on Wednesday or thursday.....