The dreaded "D" word

As I stood in front of our family and friends almost a year ago, through tears, I choked out the vows, "together or apart..." I knew spending time apart was not only a possibility but a probability.

As a military wife, there is one thing you do not want to hear from your husband. "Honey, I'm deploying."

Unfortunately, I got the "sit-down" conversation a little before Christmas. The time that I've been dreading has come and Clinton will be deploying to Afghanistan this Summer.  At first I was really sad and could hardly think about it let alone talk about it without crying. 

We've had a lot of time to let it soak in now. While I'm still not excited to send my husband to a war zone for a year, I have accepted it. Some days I wish he could just leave tomorrow so he could be back sooner and we could put this deployment in the past!

It's hard to swallow sometimes. It's hard to imagine not having Clinton around to celebrate Caius' first birthday and Thanksgiving and Christmas... and all those special times throughout the year. But it will all be okay. Clinton will be here for the birthdays that Caius actually remembers and he'll be here for all those times that little boys really need their daddy.

We love Clinton so much and it will be a long year without him. We have spent plenty of time apart and, while we love being together, our relationship is strong and we can endure the distance.

These next few months will be busy. We will have packing, organizing, planning and all the details that come with a deployment. Clinton is going to have to pass the financial torch to me... (send your prayers!)

This will be a learning and growing experience for the three of us. Thankfully we have Hope in the fact that God is good and will get us through the toughest of days.

I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives.

I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him.

-Abraham Lincoln

I am very proud of Clinton for all he does for our family and our country. I know first hand it is not always easy, but he continues on, works hard, and does it all without complaining.