The Christmas Visit....

Well, my wife left to go back to Fort Sam on the 1st. It has taken me this long to digest everything that happened. It was definitely an interesting time to say the least. Everyone I had talked to said that they just knew I would enjoy having her home, and in time I was.

The first couple of days though were not so smooth. I had worked so hard to make sure I kept things a certain way so that she wouldn’t have much to do while she was on leave. That ended up being my undoing. Nothing I had done or had been doing was right. I felt like a failure as a Husband and a failure as a Father because I didn’t take care of things like I should. By the end of the second day, I wanted her to leave. What made things worse was that that day was our anniversary. To say I was a basket case would have been an understatement.

By the next morning I was beside myself. These were problems that we had never run across in our many years of being together and I was not going to let them start now. In the end after we talked it through, it was OK. It seems that I had honestly done a better job than she had expected me to do and she felt that she was not “needed” anymore. So I became a “slob” again and let her take care of things while she was home. Problem Solved.

I did enjoy the time we had together over Christmas. It’s kind of funny. We talked ALL the time. Very seldom did we turn on the TV. We ended up spending most of our time just sitting around in the living room and talking.

The kids had a blast with her until they did something “wrong”. The wife use to be the one they went to when I got onto them because she was “easier” on them then I was. Imagine their surprise when she ended up being tougher than I was. I had such a good time with that one.

Touching....

What time of day are you...

You Are Midnight

You are more than a little eccentric, and you're apt to keep very unusual habits.Whether you're a nightowl, living in a commune, or taking a vow of silence - you like to experiment with your lifestyle.Expressing your individuality is important to you, and you often lie awake in bed thinking about the world and your place in it.You enjoy staying home, but that doesn't mean you're a hermit. You also appreciate quality time with family and close friends.

What Time Of Day Are You?

Family Day

I don't think any of us slept lastnight. At least if we did, it wasn't a fitful sleep. I know the kids were excited with anticipation on seeing their Mother again after almost 12 or 13 weeks. I will have to admit that I was a little nervous myself.

We got to the auditorium early and got to play the Army game of hurry up and wait. We were supposed to have started at 9am but didn't get going until about 9:40am. Thing about it was the battalion Commanders presentation started right at 10am as scheduled.

When he released us to go see our soldiers, there was a mad dash by everyone to go try and find their loved ones. It was funny in a way. Some of the people were having trouble finding them because of the changes that had occurred over BCT. The Ole' Lady was still in formation. Once I found her Company and Platoon, I didn't have any trouble finding her. I think she had the roughest part though. She was still at attention and saw us. I could see the tears starting to form but she couldn't move. It was made even tougher when AB, my 13 year old started crying. The Ole' Lady told us later that the First Sergeant, who was standing directly in front of her while this was going on, just looked at her and smiled.

I felt good to be able to hold her again. We spent the day running all over post just trying to see what was available for us to do in our time allotted. It was bittersweet when we had to leave her again at then end of the day. Just the fact of knowing that we would get to see her again the next day made it easier in some regards but in other aspects it made it worse. This while time we have been looking forward to her coming home for Christmas, now that the time has come the realization of her having to leave again in such a short time has hit home.

Welcome from Fort Jackson

The drive in yesterday was beautiful! There was not a cloud in the sky. It was a nice surprise to find that the hotel we booked did in fact have WiFi access.

This place is huge. We didn't get a lot of time last night to look around post. It was dark by the time we arrived but I can guarantee that we will be sight seeing today. We did go last night and check out the PX. The kids had a great time and I finally found some stuff for an Army Husband! That was cool.

Well it is about time to go find something for breakfast. Until next time.