I am writing this update in the best spirits ever. Our family is finally complete again, united again in bodily form:)
Nick arrived back on U.S. soil from a 6-month deployment on Thursday, March 3rd.................. for a day and a half! Yes, what we thought would be almost 4 days abruptly turned into 1 and then he had to go to Rhode Island for 3 more weeks for more school. However, going 6 months being without a husband and a daddy, just this 1 day.... to just lay my eyes on him, to touch him, to hug him, to kiss him, to have a REAL conversation with him and actually hear all his words instead of constant static and hang-ups, to just SEE and BE in the real-life presence of my husband and best friend again........ was MORE THAN welcomed and appreciated! You can learn so many lessons having to wait on things in life. It grows such a deeper understanding and appreciation of each other.
The homecoming was better than I imagined. I heard about an organization called Operation Love Reunited at just the right time. It is a group of professional photographers that volunteer their services for deployments, homecomings, and military family photo shoots. We had the privilege of receiving the services of Bob Forrest for capturing Nick's homecoming for us. As I thought, Sydney ran into the arms of her daddy at the very first sight of him. It was so sentimental to see all the people stop at the sight of our banner to watch our homecoming experience, and the warm applause received all around us as Nick came off the plane. There are no words to touch on the emotions of seeing the love of your life for the first time after a long deployment. All the waiting, enduring, and praying is rewarded at that very first sight of them. It is unlike any other emotion or elation that could only be compared to the degree of happiness you have on your wedding day, or the day you give birth to your child, but yet on a totally different level.
I will back-track here just to update since my last post at the end of January: The rest of the deployment went as smoothly as could be expected. We kept even busier the second half of the deployment than we did the first. I became even more involved with the Surface Officer Spouses Club, started taking monthly self- Auto Maintenance classes, hosted a church Lifegroup again and organized social activities for our Lifegroup, took advantage of more great family-friendly San Diego events such as the Big Bay Whale Festival, an air show, and ASYMCA Valentine's Party, homeschool pre-school work and deployment activities with Sydney, beach days (yes, beautiful beach days in February here:), park days with friends and their kids, and of course our Thursday morning Heart2Heart military spouse group meetings. I also finally started decorating our house, which took up more time than I hoped for. It looks more like a home though finally and is almost complete, with the exception of some touches to the guest room, and our master bedroom/bathroom, which I will have to pick back up on at a later time. We are really trying to savor our family time while it lasts!
Okay, back to homecoming: After our day with Nick, he had to go to school in Rhode Island for 3 more weeks. We were worried about how Sydney would handle getting to see her daddy finally for only 1 day and then seeing him leave again, but she did EXCELLENT. Toward the end of the deployment, she had begun crying for her daddy about 3 times a week, and her sleep was beginning to be effected. Even though he was home for just a day, it really re-charged us all, including Sydney. We made sure to explain it as best as we could to her, and prepare her that daddy would be leaving again for just a very short while longer. She understood as best as a 3-year old can, and handled it above our expectations, as she normally exceeds those. :)
After his 3 weeks in Rhode Island, he was FINALLY home for good. Well, for good for 6 months at least! It took a few days for him to get adjusted to the time change and exhaustion from deployment and travel. He had a 2-week break before having to return to work, and we packed it full of fun vacations and memories, and lots of relaxation too! The first few days we just reconnected as a family again and spent time alone together at home. The following week we took a fun 3-day, 2-night trip to Anaheim and went to Disneyland, California Adventure, Medieval Times, and then stopped through Hollywood on our way home. We also enjoyed an awesome Cirque de Soleil show here in San Diego, and the following week Nick and I took a 3-day, 2-night trip to Santa Barbara just the two of us. It was heaven. We had a blast. During his first light work week, we just enjoyed time at home together, the beach, and a Padres game.
Nick is now back to a semi-regular work-week. I say semi-regular because nothing in the military is very regular or "normal." He is gone by 6:00am sharp in the morning, sometimes home at 5:30pm at the earliest, and every 5th day he has to stay on the ship 24 hours. Oh, and then there's when they go underway (out to sea) for training for a few days at a time. But for us, this is Nick being home and us having our family together in bodily form again, which makes me one happy momma these days!
I have cut way down on my busy-ness (that is what helped me pass the deployment days). Part of that can be attributed to our vigilant determination to live on 1 car for right now. We only have had 1 since living out here, but our friend David has lent us his car in the past since he and Nick have opposite deployment schedules. His sister needed his however, so now we just have mine. Since we just paid off all debt we had, we really don't want to add a car note (plus the gas prices!) if it's not an absolute necessity, and would rather save up cash for the next one. Nick leaves again in 6 more months anyways, so we feel we can make it work. It actually has not been bad, we are not suffering, lol.;) Most of what I do during the week occurs within a 3 mile distance from our house, so I've just been getting extra cardio in strolling anywhere I must go with Sydney! When Nick goes underway, I keep the car. For grocery trips, I wait until he's home to use the car. Another benefit is it creates more home time for me to invest in things I'm working on with Sydney, which I am sooooo grateful for every single day.
It's been nice finally getting to introduce a spouse to all these friends I've grown so close to while he was gone. I can show people I REALLY DO have a husband! He's not just a figment of my imagination! We are thoroughly enjoying our time together again, on a couple/relational level, and as a family unit, watching Sydney grow before our eyes and laughing at her every day. Nick and I re-evaluated our core family values and our individual and marital goals that we will be supporting each other in. We are excited to pursue some new goals and hobbies together during his time home! I'll have to share some of those at a later time.
I can't imagine our life now not in the military. It has challenges that are difficult for a civilian family to even relate to, but it also has great rewards. You learn what patience really is and what it looks like. You develop an even deeper appreciation for your spouse and the amazing qualities they possess. You learn what it's like to go without, and develop the discipline of setting your hopes on that reunion day. You also have the opportunity to focus somewhat more inwards during a deployment. You can further self-improvements, disciplines, and hobbies. And then there's the long-awaited reunion.... Who gets to feel the INDESCRIBABLE flood of joy, relief, appreciation, and pride at a LONG-awaited reunion with their spouse? Who gets to experience the "honey-moon" with their spouse multiple times over in life? The waiting period will really highlight the depth of your love for your spouse and their attributes, thus creating a closer, stronger relationship and family unit.
Speaking of family, we are REALLY missing family and friends back "home" like crazy, especially Nick, since Sydney and I were able to go back during the holidays. Nick will make a weekend trip soon so he can finally see everyone again, and then the 3 of us will make a trip in October during the leave right before his next deployment. Many times the realization of things you are missing, really hit you. My niece Emma entered the world recently, and I cannot wait to get my hands on her! My dad had knee surgery this week. And to hear the sadness, and longing for Sydney by her grandparents over the phone, brings me to tears at times.
HOWEVER....... I feel overwhelmed with blessings. I remember when we were both working non-stop and struggling to make ends meet, and other people were raising our daughter all day. It's what we had to do, and who knows, we may have to go that route again someday. Nonetheless, I feel overwhelmed just thinking about the people and places we have, and will continue to, embrace along this journey, and I wonder how God has this all panning out. I ask myself frequently, what does a life look like in every area, that God smiles down on? That is my prayer for us. I know He has a great purpose for our life, and everyone's life, maybe we are just on the brink of it.
