Posted in deployment on February 13, 2009| 1 Comment »
If plans don’t change, J is scheduled to return home from his deployment in just under a week. I’ve been thinking about what I can do to celebrate his homecoming. Last time we were living in an apartment, so I taped a handmade “Welcome Home!” poster to the outside of our front door and had a big balloon waiting for him inside. What should I now that we’re in a house?
(image source)
Posted in deployment, fashion+shopping on February 6, 2009| 1 Comment »
My Amor Verdadero (True Love) may be returning home from his deployment in as little as two weeks! Perhaps when he gets back, he’ll buy me one of these lovely little 14k gold-fill discs from Anne Kiel as a belated Valentine’s day present.
(via Supermarket)
Posted in deployment on February 2, 2009| 2 Comments »
I’m so excited it’s February! And not because of Groundhog’s Day or Valentine’s Day or because it’s the shortest month of the year. I’m happy because J will be returning home this month. What better reason to be excited than being reunited with my love?!
(image source)
Posted in daily happenings, deployment on January 27, 2009| Leave a Comment »
J called to say hello while I was deep into a late afternoon nap yesterday. I’m embarrassed to admit that I drifted in and out of sleep during the first few minutes of our conversation. At one point, when I hadn’t responded to one of his questions after a reasonable amount of time, he asked if I hadn’t heard him because the connection was bad. I lied and told him it was. Better than saying, “Sorry, honey, I fell asleep while you were talking to me,” right?
Oh, why did he have to call me during my nap? My brain wasn’t fully functioning. Ugg.
(image source)
Posted in deployment, series on December 19, 2008| 3 Comments »
In our continuing series, “Surviving Deployments,” the author of wonderful one times one shares her tips for getting through her husband’s deployments.
It’s true. Deployments stink. I’m all for silver linings, but I’ve only found one when it comes to deployments – I can do drastic things to my hair that my husband would hate. Last time, I cut all my hair off and this time, well, I’m sitting here with my pretty bangs hanging my face. That’s it. That’s the silver lining.
I loved LB’s post below and agree with everything she said (and got some tips!). Stay busy, get involved, get on a schedule – these are daily mantras at my house. I thought I’d add on a few more things that helped me through my last deployment and are currently helping me through this one.
1) Find something new and exciting to be passionate about.
When J deployed for the first time, I quickly became passionate about two things – Hank, our Newfoundland puppy, and photography. I had just moved from New York City to small-town North Carolina and was (and still am) completely blown away by the beauty of this area. Nowhere else have I found such amazing landscapes and open wild land. And so, I bought myself a nice digital camera and set out with Hank to explore. And we discovered this area together and at the same time, became best friends (corny, I know, but oh so true). (more…)
Posted in deployment, series on December 16, 2008| 3 Comments »
In this guest post, LB from the blog Olio discusses how she deals with those dreaded deployments.
Deployments suck, hands down. But when they are a fact of life (because you know that the life you will have together beyond the military is worth enduring them), you find ways to deal.
With a half-dozen deployments under my belt (and an address book filled with tree services, concrete layers, plumbers, electricians, vets and roofers), I can speak with some authority on “How to Barrel Through a Deployment as a Twentysomething Childless Dog Mom.” Please note, I’m not going to pretend to know what to do as a mom-to-be or a real mother, but I do think that some of my (long-winded) advice still applies.
1) Save some goodies for yourself.
Give yourself something (or lots of things) to look forward to. A facial. Watching that girlie movie. Catching up on TV shows. Learning to knit. Painting the bedroom. Taking a trip. Volunteering. Do one of those things not long after he leaves, sort of as a ritualistic induction into “You Time.” Then spread out the rest throughout the deployment. Now is the time to live for yourself – why not plan for some Gold Star days?
2) Stay busy. Busy busy busy.
Part of my “Me Time” launch ritual includes cleaning out kitchen cabinets or a closet within a week of his leaving. I find it therapeutic, perhaps because it helps me feel busy and like I’m in control of something.
I also always become way more focused on work during deployments. Then I pile on all of the “Somethings I’ve Saved For Myself,” and start developing a routine – dog, breakfast, work, dog, gym, eat, movie/tv/book, sleep – for the ordinary days. Weekends become my oyster, filled with paint samples or cuts of fabric after spending an hour at the dog park each morning. Again, I think this goes back to the “Feeling Like I’m in Control of Something” – if I can’t control when I see my husband, at least I control how happy my dog is and what my bedroom looks like!
Posted in deployment, series on December 15, 2008| Leave a Comment »
I’m excited to present a new series this week: “Surviving Deployments.” I’ve asked some of the strongest military wives I know to share their secrets for surviving their husbands’ deployments. At the end of the series I’ll include my own plan to get through the winter without J.
I hope you find these guest posts as motivating and moving as I did.
Are you a military spouse? Would you like to write a guest post on how you survive deployments? Contact me at pamelajaye [at] gmail [dot] com. I’d love to hear from you!
(image via flickr)
Posted in daily happenings, deployment on December 14, 2008| Leave a Comment »
Day 1 without J was as hard as I expected. I felt sad and lonely, but I did my best to stay busy and distracted. Here’s how my day played out:
* Woke up at 9 AM (went to sleep at 2:30 AM) because the dog wanted to go out.
* Bought this and this on Etsy because online shopping always makes me feel better, and my office walls are calling out for more art. (The bird lady strikes again!)
* Took Briscoe and a sample of his, erm, loose stool with me to the vet because I’m a nervous new mother and wanted to make sure everything was OK (he had had diarrhea the night before). A ten minute wait to run the test turned into 45 minutes… and the test came back negative. Since I was already there I decided to wait 15 more minutes for a room to open up so the vet could give Briscoe one of his booster vaccinations (I would have had to return later in the week for it anyway). Once we were brought into an exam room, it was another 30 minutes until the vet came in to see us. At least there was a copy of Dog Fancy to occupy some of that time.
* Went to a friend’s house for lunch and then on a long walk with our dogs (she has a sassy Beagle/Dachsund mix named Lola) because the temperature was nearly 60 degrees.
* Returned home to see if J had sent any emails (he had!) and video chat with my sister on Skype.
* Met two friends at the movies to see “Rachel Getting Married.” I was not expecting it to be as “indie” — or as emotional — as it was. Rosemarie DeWitt (“Rachel”) gave just as powerful a performance as Anne Hathaway (if not more so) and, IMHO, should have also been nominated for a Golden Globe.
* Returned home to find that poor Briscoe had vomited in his kennel while I was away. Called home crying because I felt like a total loser of a puppy mama and because I missed J fiercely. I cleaned up the cage and let the dog snuggle with me on the couch for the rest of the night.
* Ate a late dinner and watched two disturbing TV specials on TLC about the beauty pageant industry–“Toddlers & Tiaras” and “Painted Babies at 17.” Then I forced myself to stay up a wee bit longer to watch the brilliant Hugh Laurie on a disappointing episode of SNL.
To summarize, it was long and frustrating day that mostly revolved around a dog who wasn’t feeling so well.
One day down. Fifty-nine (or so) to go.
Le sigh.
(Letterpress calendar by Paper Boat Studios via Etsy)
