Saturday, June 23, 2012

Sad day.

Today is definitely a sad day. For anyone reading this, please go home and hug your loved ones. Let them know that you love them and cherish this moment in time.

We've just surpassed the halfway point for the deployment and we've certainly been celebrating this milestone. We've started counting down rather than counting up, and it feels amazing. That is, until today.

I hadn't heard from Mr. S in about a week, so when I got a message from him today I was ecstatic, until he told me that he had something important to tell me. Naturally, I stopped cold and began to panic. Had he been hurt? Was something wrong?

As it turns out, we lost a cherished soldier yesterday. He was a well respected man and his wife and I have become friends through the deployment.  He leaves behind two young boys as well. I am deeply saddened for her. She has dedicated her whole life to this man, to this life and now it has all been taken from her. She didn't deserve this. Her kids didn't deserve this. While we're all still counting down the days until our husbands will come home, her countdown has dissolved right before her eyes, and I can't even begin to imagine how that feels. 

Mr. S is upset. We were able to Skype for a little and talk about it. I think this genuinely frightened him. Since Simon has been serving, I've never seen fear in his eyes before today. The war is much more of a reality for both of us now. We're both that much more anxious for the deployment to be over and for him to be home safe with me again.

For privacy reasons, I don't want to give out the soldier's name, but please keep his family in your prayers. They could use all the prayers and warm wishes you can spare.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Surprise!!!

Just when I need it the most, he always seems to make me smile. Look at what showed up at my door today!
Mr. Fluffs is not so thrilled about our new friend, but I LOVE him!
Yes, that is in fact a 7 foot teddy bear. I woke up this morning to the doorbell ringing. When I finally got my bum down the stairs to answer the door, all that was there was a rather large package. I say large, but it was only about 1/3 of the size of it's contents! There was no note, so I popped that sucker open quickly like a kid at Christmas to find out what was inside. I found a very peculiar orangey colored something vacuum sealed in plastic. Of course, being the impatient nut that I am, I tore open the plastic and the mysterious contents began to grow and grow and GROW until it towered over my 5'3" frame. I realized that it was a giant teddy bear and could not stop laughing. That man new just how to make my day and show me how much he missed me.

So now, my bear and I (who I have affectionately named Bradley) are going to snuggle up in a bed that no longer feels empty and dream of my love coming home to me.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

I'm amazing!

So sorry that I haven't been posting much. I've been so darn busy being awesome!

I've completely changed my life for the better. Apparently, all I needed was a little challenge thrown at me to get me wake up and realize how comfortable I had gotten with being miserable. I don't want to be miserable! I want to be happy and healthy and amazing!

Well, I've been working hard. I am happy to report that I am down almost 20lbs. I'm working towards my certification to become a group fitness instructor. I am running a Mud Run in 10 days. Eek! I also just signed up for my local half marathon in a few months. Whoohoo! 

On top of that, my relationship is better than ever with my husband. I was finally able to realize that I was holding it against him that I couldn't talk to him despite knowing that it wasn't his fault. It was hard not knowing anything that he's doing, but I've sort of gotten used to the fact that I won't know what he was doing until he gets home. He's been making an extra effort to talk to me when he can, and we seem to have found our spark again. 

In a strange way, I feel blessed to have this deployment. Not only was it a wake up call to me to get healthy again, but it has truly challenged my independence. I am confident now that I can handle anything that comes my way. Yes, I still have bad days and sometimes all it takes is a song on the radio to make me cry, but I'm happy, confident, and so in love. 

Thank you to all who have been supportive through this tough time. It's been amazing to get so many messages of encouragement, and some have truly brought tears to my eyes. We're just about halfway through this thing, and I think we're equipped to get through the next few months with no problems.