The Countdown Begins

The night before he left, his family came to dinner. Then, my family stopped by later that evening. They asked him questions and joked around. I don't know how it felt for him, knowing he wouldn't be seeing these people for 3 months, but he said that he had a good time. They gathered around us later and prayed for us. Okay, so I cried a little.

The morning of his flight, he started saying that he would miss me and I started to cry again. Then later, he said something again and I started to cry AGAIN. Ugh!

I know this is perfectly normal and in a way, I feel like I should be crying more. But I'm afraid that if I do cry, then I won't stop. I don't want my kids to see me crying like that. I have to show them that yes, it's sad, but it's also going to be alright.

My oldest son cried a little before we left for the airport, which surprised me. He doesn't usually wear his heart on his sleeve. In fact, his feelings are usually a mystery to everyone.

As you can see, my daughter had a rough time yesterday at the airport. She and I haven't really talked about how she felt about her dad being gone for 3 months. I figured she didn't really grasp that concept, but it must have hit her all of a sudden. Or else, like me, she was trying to put off the tears as long as possible.

I did cry when he and I hugged. I wanted to stay in his arms all day and not let him go, but I also wanted to get on with it-- the separation. The sooner it starts, the sooner it gets over!

He called when he landed in FL and then again when he was in a taxi on the way to the school in RI. When he got there, the taxi wasn't allowed on the premises, so the policeman offered him a ride. When he got to check-in, they told him that they had just sent someone to pick him up. Oh, well. They also didn't have his name on their roster, but he showed them his orders and that was cleared up quickly. He called one more time later that evening and told me that he met some people already. One was a baptist chaplain like him, so that was good. Also, this guy had the same experience as far as not being on the roster. How we have known for 3 months that he would go there and the Navy hasn't known is beyond me. I'm sure I should get used to that, huh!

In the past few days I've received encouraging words, texts, and offers of help. I just want to tell you all THANK YOU! I take great comfort in knowing that people out there are praying for the both of us. I know that I can't get through this on my own. As far as offers of help go, I don't really know how you can help me yet. Since I've never been here before, I'm just not sure.