The title of this blog post makes me warm and fuzzy inside. I can’t believe we are counting down until homecoming. This year has been trying on both of us, we made many sacrifices, and have learned more about each other. For Dan’s last deployment, friends and family waited outside while veterans came in flying flags high on motorcycles, soon followed by the buses of soldiers. You could feel the tears, hear the cheers, and couldn’t wait to get your hands on your soldier. Time had frozen and you were the happiest woman on earth! Fast forward 3 years and it is happening again.

This year, I have been fortunate enough to get to know one of Dan’s fellow soldier’s wife, Burcu, and have been amazed by her strength and resiliency carrying their baby and delivering during this deployment. Little Marshall will be loved by many. I’m sure he has been a blessing to her during this time. I had to include this adorable picture of their son.

I couldn’t imagine doing that alone. This deployment kind of put our life on hold, including building a family. Once Dan is home in November I can finally feel settled, although you always have the fear of him leaving again.

Here are a few things I learned this year during this deployment:

1. When things go wrong in the house take care of it myself unless I have to involve Dan. Dan can’t do much from miles away and this only puts unnecessary stress on him.
2. Reach out to friends and family. People always tell you to let them know if you need anything. I am not very good about that and assume people know I need help mowing, cleaning, etc. Sometimes I feel like superwoman and I can do it all myself.
3. It’s okay if our house is a mess! This is a tough one for me being slightly OCD. I want nothing more than to come home to a spotless home where everything is neat and tidy. Then reality sets in!
4. It’s also okay for me to want to be alone. No visitors, no chores, just me and a book or netflix. I struggle with feeling selfish about that, but sometimes just need alone time and I am okay with that. This is not the happiest time and it is not because I am depressed.

So needless to say, I can’t wait until homecoming. I can have my family back together again and be somewhat normal until the next call to duty happens. But I wouldn’t trade it for anything else. I would rather have my husband sometimes than not at all. I will make sure to post pictures of homecoming. Until then, I will be counting down the days!

Thanks for reading! Kim