Stuck in MS forever

Okay, so its not forever, but F just got extended in this God foresaken state until March 2011. That means that poor H will have to at the very least start school as a homeschooled child. Unfortunately, children cannot attend school in MS unless they go back through the entire retinue of vaccinations, including those that are irrelevant for older children. I am at a loss as to why I would do this at this point. So we will homeschool my poor socially deprived little man through Kindergarten and hopefully move somewhere with a more logical approach to the parent/child/school interaction before he starts first grade.

What a let-down!

Don't go to work!

So yesterday, F was working on getting his tail lights fixed on his Yukon, since we had gotten pulled over the night before (what a way to start date night!). Meanwhile, the kids were "helping" him and "using" his tools and such. I decided to make it easy on him and take them to play across the street at the playground, and easily influenced them because there were other kids out playing. K asked Daddy to come with us and I said, "Daddy has to do a little bit of work first."

Perhaps we ought not call him deploying "going to work" (stupid Elmo video) because K FREAKED OUT and said, "NO! Daddy! Don't go to work!" I explained that he was working at our house and that we'd be able to see him the whole time, but she was literally in tears over the idea of F going to work again.

Tomorrow morning is going to suck! F heads out for a 9 a.m. muster and will be gone for just a short while (we hope) but explaining the difference between a few hours and a few months to a two year old stinks! I have tried telling her that Daddy has to go to work for a few hours and that he'll be back for lunch, and I sure hope that she believes me when the time actually comes!

So what have you learned?

"So what have you learned, Dorothy?" Or perhaps more apt, "Hey JoJo what do you say? We all want to know what you learned today!" Eight months two days since I started this blog and here is what I come up with at 1 a.m. the night before it allegedly ends...

Well, I've learned that if you have family and friends, you can survive anything. I've learned that if the military can goof it up, they will (kinda knew that one though, didn't I?). I've learned that I can do things on my own that I never dreamed possible even though a brave face and bravado of the mouth may state otherwise.

I have learned that my children really are fabulous kids who are sensitive to other people and resilient in a way that only a military child can be. I've learned that you can't listen to what other people say about doctors, hospitals and their experiences but rather you must explore options for yourself to see what really works.

I've learned that knitting is a GREAT way to pass the time when you are cooped up UNLESS you are trying to feed a baby who likes to grab yarn or tending to toddlers with their own agenda(s). I've learned that paper or plastic is the wrong question, because cloth is WAAAAAYYY better (both in diapers and shopping bags).

And I've learned that a "good night's sleep" can be defined as less than 5 hours and you can still be bright eyed for homecoming!

And so we wait...

Its a good thing I have kids to keep me sane (uh, what? Hmmm more on that statement another day when I have the fortitude to rectify the dissonance!). This morning, K asked if Daddy was still with Peter Pan. Confused, I quizzed her and discovered that when I said Daddy was in Japan, she thought I meant he was hanging out with Peter Pan. Well, he is with the lost boys who refuse to grow up for the most part, so perhaps she is more wise than I know. And I think it will take more than faith or trust or pixie dust to get their stupid plane off the ground and get them home! Delay #3 has them arriving tomorrow - I won't hold my breath in case those aforementioned children need me today!

And so it begins

Just heard from the lovely husband and the first delay is in effect. Twelve hours as of now puts them set for a 2:00 a.m. arrival - fabulous! I was just hoping that I could drag the monkeys out in the middle of the night to meet with him - three cranky kids and an airport area - nice. : (

There will likely be another delay that makes the nightmare scenario moot as they arrive the following day. Ugh - some days I despise the military!

8 months-1 day

Running around like a headless chicken tonight, I realize that
a) the house will never be clean "enough"
b) nobody will care tomorrow
and
c) by Monday anything I did would be trashed again anyway (who am I kidding - by tomorrow).

So we work on "normal" tasks like bathtime and bedtime and brushing teeth. Here's to hoping that the kids sleep through the night in their own beds tonight. Here's to hoping they sleep at all. And here's to hoping some lame pencil pusher doesn't decide that one more day is no big deal.

Why should the last day/night of deployment be as difficult as the first? I don't understand it but it always seems to be the way. The kids are a bit more honery, I'm a bit more tense, things break and don't work the way they should. (You run out of alcohol except for the nasty Bud Light that you put in the fridge for him tomorrow.)

Ugh, make it through the night, fall into his arms tomorrow afternoon and sleep for three days as if the last eight months were just a bad dream...

Nearly there

Well, we have "only" a week remaining. In the larger scope of eight months I suppose that it won't be that long, particularly with what we've been through in this eight months, but its bittersweeet to have him coming home so near to the holidays, yet not in time for the holidays - particularly when this year the kids finally started to "get it" in terms of Santa and presents and so on. (I base the statement that they really "get it" on their reluctance to take down the decorations or the train we set up under the tree because they want it there for "when Santa comes back.")

So, tomorrow my mom leaves and by the time we return from New Orleans, the day will be over - one more down in a long string of days that loomed endlessly before us at the start of this blog. Haven't decided if I'll continue here, or create a "homeport blog" or consider the name to be a daily mantra appreciative of every day that we are able to share with F once he's home - more of a coming home from the daily grind, than the long deployment.

In any case, seven days and hopefully (as of now) he'll be home, but as always that will be subject to the whims of the military, the command and I'm sure the weather.