Just Catching Up ")

Being an Army Wife is not easy. It's not a walk in the rose garden. And it isn't for everybody. But being an Army Wife is so rewarding. It opens up opportunities that one may not have had before. And it allows me to do a bit of soul searching, to see who I am outside of a wife and daughter. I'm not saying that I haven't cried, I have. I'm not saying that life without him is easy, it isn't. I'm saying that there are good things to come of it. And you have to find these little positives otherwise you lose your mind in how much you miss them, how much coming home to an empty house sucks, and how many months there are until you see them again.

I have certainly had my moments of utter anguish, where I wanted the Earth to swallow me whole in order to avoid the pain of not being with him. But this is not the kind of feelings that you harbor on and it's not what you share with your husband when you do get to talk. You tell him that everything is fine, that you are doing really well and that of course you miss him(!!!) but that's it. You don't share that you've eaten a whole thing of cookies, two big things of pudding, and that you may have done a bit of retail therapy. ;) {I know my secret is safe with you guys.}

I must say though that the last few days with Shawn were great. We took a trip to Denali State Park with our favorite couple and had an absolute blast and took lots of cute pictures. And then we spent the afternoon at the park one day with the puppies. And then our last night we watched movies and cuddled and just tried to memorize how I felt in his arms, the way he smelled, the way he would cup my face in his hands and kiss me... The morning he left was easier than I thought. We went to the holding area and me and another wife spent the two hours chit chatting while they ran around getting their gear ready. And then we held one another for a bit. And then they called them to form up and after that my husband's squad called for a meeting and when they were finished with that they had to form up to leave again, and they were marched out the door..we wouldn't have been able to say good-bye except that Shawn turned around and came back to give me one more hug and kiss before he loaded the bus.

Other than that he is doing well. 8 days down 357 to go. :D There are times when it feels like its been a month when other days I'm like oh my gosh its already been a week! I have stayed really busy with school and work, plus the last two days I've been helping my best friend move. Not to mention the dogs, house, errands, and bills. OH!! And I'm leasing a little dappled grey Arabian/Quarter Horse. She is soo cute, and she has already done so well for me. She's like my therapy right now.

I'm also looking forward to seeing all my friends and family when I go visit Florida in a few days...11 to be exact. :) I'm planning a big get together with everyone from my old job, wings from The Diner, a spa day with my little sister, maybe a trip to Universal with my friend Dexter, eating SUPER YUMMY FLORIDA FOOOODDD!!! lol..and lots of time with my Mom and family. I don't want to do a whole bunch of "going-being-seeing" I wanna relax, take a load off, and spend some quality time with my family.

On a couple OMG notes, I have officially been up here for 5 months and 6 days. And on Monday it will be Shawn's and my's 6 month anniversary. And I have been working at American Eagle for over two months too, all craziness I tell you, absolute craziness!!

So I guess that is about it. Everything is going really well and I can't wait to see everybody!!

PEE.ESS:

Top pic: Waiting for him to leave

Middle: On our way to Denali, we are actually standing on this rock overhanging a raging river at the base of the mountain...yea..totallyyyy safe.

Bottom: My Lindsey Lou, who I call Elle <--pronounced like "L."