One day down 455 more to go

I SURVIVED DAY 1 OF THIS DEPLOYMENT! While some of you might think woohoo big deal there are others who know exactly how hard the first day is. Yesterday at 1130 the kids and I said our final goodbyes and watched daddy walk away. It was an emotional day for all of us! Let me set the scene of how yesterday played out.

Our day started at 0630 we got up got dressed watched daddy pack the last few precious things he needed to get him thru the next 15 months this included drawings and letters from the kids and family pictures. I gave him a St Michael's necklace to protect him and he gave me his wedding ring so that it didn't get damaged or lost while he was gone. We went out to breakfast and talked about what we could all do to stay close as a family and make the time go bye faster while daddy was gone. Then we drove to my husbands unit to wait with him til it was time for him to leave. This is where it hits you that your not alone every single soldier is leaving someone behind even the ones who don't have anyone to see them off are still leaving family and friends behind. Its a powerful thing to watch a soldier say goodbye to his family! I had friends who came out just to be with me and the kids and show us that they care. I cant even begin to tell you how lucky I am to have my friends. YOU GUYS ROCK THANK YOU! I watched as my husband delt with last minute details and pass information along to his soldiers. We weren't able to spend as much time together as everyone else but I know it was his job to get these soldiers where they needed to go.
The most heart wrenching thing I had to endure was watch my husband tell his kids goodbye he gave them all hug and told them how much he loved them and of course to be good for mommy. Megan of course is still too little to really understand just how long daddy's going to be gone so to her we must have all looked really silly crying and trying to get in enough hugs to last us 15 months. Elizabeth was so incredibly upset as she hugged daddy one last time and there was nothing I could to ease her pain, Nicholas tried to fight back the tears and show his dad he was tough 10 year olds shouldn't have to be tough but on the drive home he let the tears flow. I have a strict policy that I wont let him see me cry as he walks away the first time he deployed I was a blubbering mess and I saw how much harder that made it for him to walk away and I vowed that I wouldn't do that to him again and so far I have been able to honor that vow, but today was tough watching the kids so upset and seeing what it did to my husband I couldn't help it I slipped and cried a little ... who wouldn't have? Once the goodbyes were over my husband formed up his soldiers and led them to the buses that were waiting to take them away from us. That was it, the last time we saw him.
The kids and I went to McDonalds with a few friends to help keep our minds off of everything. We eventually had to go home and right after we walked thru the door the doorbell rang and there stood a lady holding flowers for me from my hubby with a card saying he loved me already missed me and wanted to make me smile today ... it worked. We spent the rest of the evening beginning what will be our daily routine from now on. The kids went to bed easier than I thought they would and even I found it easier to drift off to sleep ... I whispered a prayer of thanks for that small miracle. We woke up this morning and started our day we went to the schools carnival but it was too cold and windy out so we left and came home, we had a friend stop by to drop off a little bag of goodies to us just in case we needed them. Did I mention how lucky am I am to have my friends? We did the usual chores and even squeezed in a trip to the commissary then we headed over to Michelle's for dinner and laughing it was almost normal ... ALMOST.
We get to do this all over again in about a month or so when Michelle's husband heads out. Dont worry we will be there for just like you were for us with a shoulder to lean on and taking tons of pictures.