Daddy is home

T returned (once again) from the Middle East a few days ago. We are so thankful and grateful to have him here,
if only for a short time.
He will again, return to FL and his job.
We continue on with the pursuit of selling our house, but are now really hoping Tony can just get back here.
For now, we will cherish the moments we have together as a family. They are few and far between.

Panama City Beach, FL

We were able to visit PCB, FL again a few weeks ago. This time, our guests were Ricardo, our Spanish exchange student and my beautiful mom from SD.

The atmosphere was entirely different from when we were there in February when it was cold & vacant. This time, there were people EVERYWHERE while the sand and water were warm and inviting!!! It was so wonderful. The water was crystal clear, the sand was hot and sugary, the kids had a great time, my mom and I just enjoyed being together and relaxing.

The highlight of the trip had to be our ‘swimming with the dolphins’ excursion! We had a pontoon and a captain for 2 hours out in the gulf. Right off the bat we found a pod of dolphins and the captain started shouting, ‘go, go, jump, get out there NOW!’ We were in and out of the water many, many times and came VERY close to touching the dolphins – within a foot or so – but Ricardo was the only one of us that had contact. We did this for 1 ½ hrs or so and then anchored while we all got out and swam in the crystal clear water seeing tons of little sand dollars below. We have quite a stash of them now.

Anxious to be able to go again soon!!!

Numbers...

Today, Sunday, July 12th, I will have been married to my sweetheart for 22 years! I’ve now been married for 3 years longer than I was single. Hard to believe! I’m pretty confident that no one thought it would last. After all, I was only 19-years-old, T was 23. We had only known each other for 6 months and had only been ‘engaged’ for 3 of them! The odds were most certainly stacked against us. Neither of us had any money, college degrees or good-paying jobs – aren’t those the pre-cursors to a healthy, successful marriage??! And, bonus, T had orders to leave right away – moving to Sicily, Italy. I should have recognized the start of a very stressful pattern – absence & sacrifice. We were however, madly in love and no one could convince us to think rationally!

I moved my very naïve self across the world and joined my beloved in Sicily. As blissfully happy newlyweds, we had 3 male roommates. T & I us shared a twin bed! Yes, there was 1 communal bathroom for these 4 men & I; how romantic!? After 1 year in Sicily, we moved to FL for 7 years, then NE for 2 years, then SD for 8 years, now in GA for the past 3+ while T divides his time between FL and the Middle East.

We had 9 years of ‘DINKhood’ (dual-income-no-kids) that allowed us to mature, grow, travel, basically get to know each other, etc. I got my much-sought-after college degree(s.) T’s job turned into a 22 ½ year career in the USAF. Fast forward to today with our 3 wonderful kids and 1 albatross (thanks for the great word, KL) of a house that we can’t get rid of; life certainly has thrown us some curves.

We have spent countless numbers of years apart from one another within his career. T has consistently given huge portions of his life to his job – his country - in order to support his family and continues to steadfastly agree with me that one of us needs to be home to care for the family & the home. I’m so very thankful that God brought me a man so like-minded (at least on that subject:).

16 months is how long we’ve now been separated by T living in another state & country…. again, sacrificing for our well-being. Over 486 days that our children have not had the continuity that an intact family life brings. Approximately 11,000 hours have gone by that the kids haven’t been able to count on their Daddy being at home:(…. My heart continues to ache for them.

An infinite number of tears I’ve cried. Limitless numbers of wiping noses. Immeasurable numbers of conversations we’ve had. Endless numbers of prayers we’ve lifted up… ALL without T here. However, we know he loves us and he cares for us and he would change the situation in ONE minute – if he could.

So, even though today’s milestone – my wedding anniversary, finds me alone yet again, I’m choosing to be thankful… thankful that I have a terrific man to love & who loves me. Today, even though the absences and sacrifices have never been easy, my joy comes from knowing that we share a love that surpasses numbers whether they are time zones, zip codes, phone numbers, or addresses.

I love you, T – today & always.