final countdown ....part 3 of 3

bunting hung, originally uploaded by tommiea1.

Okay, it is almost midnight and I still can't sleep.....i have even tried the 'warming up my Minkie' trick.....Since I have to wash my hair in the morning, I have to get up at least at 6:15AM, so I really need to try to start count some sheep!

ALL I have left to clean is to mop the floor and wipe down the stainless steel appliances.....yeah, I know LIKE he will even notice.......BUT STILL, it will make ME feel better! You know it is on my list of things to do!

nighty night!

The bunting is hung by the front door with care....There are no freaking yellow ribbon or bows in this town...so we had to go for red. Oh well...what's a girl to do?

I just finished prepping the coffee pot for the last time for just a half a pot. I wonder if I will remember how to make a full pot.

Here is the final installment of my "I wonder how life will be after tomorrow afternoon":

I wonder if he will even notice how much I have cleaned? Probably not since I am so OCD about how our home is cleaned anyway.

I wonder how he will fit into our routine. We HAVE survived these last 15 months without him. But without a doubt, I am ready to pass some of these responsibilities on to him. His job is to give the kids a bath and brush their teeth while I get the clothes ready for the next day. I turn down the beds. We each have our THING with the kids. I am so used to the cushy little life of lunches with the girls and a mani/pedi. This being on duty 24/7 is for the birds! I have planned time so precisely as a defense against the emotional effects of his absence. I can only hopes he takes a step back and watches us in action. We have changed, I hope he can see this and fit into our new routine.

The first week he will be back, the kids will be on Christmas break.....is this good or bad?
Good, we will have some great family time..

Bad, is being together every waking moment good after being apart for the last 450+days?

We decided to spend our Christmas with just us. We really need to just start being us. He has training and other stuff on post until the 23rd anyway. A two day drive to OH is out of the question until late December. I am really trying to not over-schedule him these first few days he is home. I am sure he will be glad to not have constant responsibilities of being an active duty soldier in a war zone.

Now for some early resolutions:

I will try to be open to talk about his experience if he wants to talk.

I will watch the budget, as we will be making less than when he was deployed.

I will be patient with him and kids as we ease into the new 'us'.

We will survive......because I am MUCH better with him, than without...

Now to everyone who reads my blog:

Many thanks to all of you who have wished us well over these last 15 months. I can't believe it is finally over! I know some days I was ready to throw in the towel. I have made many friends thru this little medium. I will definitely continue to blog. The first time someone commented on some writing by little ol' me, I was hooked. Then lisagh from Grosgrain Garage/ reached out and I "met" a whole group of other bloggers. Thank you all for your daily encouragement.....now this is starting to sound like an Oscar acceptance speech!

I will post some pics tomorrow....I promise! The ceremony should only be an hour....so we will be home in time for dinner. So check back tomorrow around this time and you see a pic of our hero!


happy holidays