Have you ever heard of Trevor Romain? I hadn't until I received an email to ask my unit families if they would like a Trevor Romain Deployment Coping Kit for school-age children. We didn't get quite the response that anyone was hoping for unfortunately. I think it was because no one really knew who he was or what these kits entailed. Now that i've seen them and have one in our possession, I don't see why anyone wouldn't want one!
He was at our USO last night to talk about and hand out his kits to the military kids. He's a funny guy with a British accent and he's very personable and connects with the kids on a level they can understand. He's also an amazing artist. He showed us his journal with all the cartoon type drawings that were great.
Inside the kits is a DVD called With You All the Way. There are also a set of dog tags that say 'With You All the Way'. The child is supposed to keep one and give the other to their military parent. There is also a cuddly bear named Cuzzie that comes with a little hat and goggles and a camo scarf. He has patches sewn all over him and you'll have to ask Trevor the story behind those. hehe A journal also comes in this kit and that was a big hit with my 8 year old son. He was inspired by seeing Trevor's drawings to start drawing himself.
It was a great night and really made my kids day to get these kits. Thank you to our wonderful USO and Trevor Romain!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Oh so tired
I think i'm still in a funk. I had a good day and now i'm back to just not being myself. It doesn't help that I was up half the night with Eli. He woke up and just refused to go back to sleep. Finally about 4:50 a.m. I brought him to my bed and he eventually fell back asleep for less than an hour. He's taken one nap today, not long enough, and the rest he's just been snuggling with me. He's got a fever and a runny nose.
I'm not feeling so hot either. I'm achy and may have a fever, I don't know. The kids have played with the thermometers and somehow they are in Celcius instead of Farenheit. I need to find the book and figure out how to change it back.
Tonight we're supposed to go to the USO to meet Trevor Romain and pick up a Deployment Coping Kit for Samuel. Addison will be upset because she doesn't get one, but they only give one per family.
I haven't heard from Chad today which sucks! I can't wait until they get where they are going and can settle in with laptops and internet and all that.
I've only eaten a bowl of Cheerios today. I so wasn't hungry this morning at all. No idea what we'll have for dinner, we'll probably just pick something up on the way home from the USO thing. It's a beautiful day outside but I just don't have the energy to take the kids out, plus Eli is sick.
The leaves are starting to change. Looks like we'll have mostly yellow ones at our house unless they change from that. Alot of them are just turning brown and falling off.
Okay, enough rambling. Later!
I'm not feeling so hot either. I'm achy and may have a fever, I don't know. The kids have played with the thermometers and somehow they are in Celcius instead of Farenheit. I need to find the book and figure out how to change it back.
Tonight we're supposed to go to the USO to meet Trevor Romain and pick up a Deployment Coping Kit for Samuel. Addison will be upset because she doesn't get one, but they only give one per family.
I haven't heard from Chad today which sucks! I can't wait until they get where they are going and can settle in with laptops and internet and all that.
I've only eaten a bowl of Cheerios today. I so wasn't hungry this morning at all. No idea what we'll have for dinner, we'll probably just pick something up on the way home from the USO thing. It's a beautiful day outside but I just don't have the energy to take the kids out, plus Eli is sick.
The leaves are starting to change. Looks like we'll have mostly yellow ones at our house unless they change from that. Alot of them are just turning brown and falling off.
Okay, enough rambling. Later!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Panic
Driving back from Manhattan today, I hit a mild panic again. I started thinking about all the What If's that could happen and then the newsreel started playing in my head of accidents and catching a glimpse of something in a scene on the news that I know is my husband's and knowing before notification ever gets made. I hate thinking like that but i'm sure I can't be the only one that dramatizes the worst situations possible in her head.
I got over it fairly quickly, but it's still there in the back of my mind waiting for the opportune time to rear its ugly head again.
The kids and I actually left the house today, obviously. We went to Hobby Lobby to look for nice paper to send love letters on but didn't find anything that fit the bill. Then on to Home Depot to buy some wire to put up on the crappy part of the fence in the backyard so hopefully Perry the puppy will stop getting out. I'm sure I didn't buy enough wire but it will do to fix the current hole for now.
I miss you baby!
I got over it fairly quickly, but it's still there in the back of my mind waiting for the opportune time to rear its ugly head again.
The kids and I actually left the house today, obviously. We went to Hobby Lobby to look for nice paper to send love letters on but didn't find anything that fit the bill. Then on to Home Depot to buy some wire to put up on the crappy part of the fence in the backyard so hopefully Perry the puppy will stop getting out. I'm sure I didn't buy enough wire but it will do to fix the current hole for now.
I miss you baby!
Monday, October 11, 2010
.........
A few days have passed since Chad left. I'm not as raw with emotion as I was over the weekend. I haven't shed a tear since Saturday. I feel stronger, better able to carry on. I know I have a great support system and I hope that others do as well and if they don't, I hope they take the initiative and create one.
I've spoken to Chad a couple times for the very short 10 minute conversations that pass by entirely too quickly. It's amazing how you know you have a very limited amount of time so you try to cram everything in and then still have moments of silence when you're not sure what to talk about.
Eli was standing at the dining room window calling for dada this morning because he saw the truck parked outside. He's only 18 months old so he doesn't really understand anything that's going on.
I find myself wondering around the house looking for something to satisfy the emptiness in my mind. I feel that if I stop for too long the sadness may creep in and rob me of my sanity. This morning I undertook the task of going through old magazines, ripping out pages I want to keep, then putting them into a pile to get rid of. I still have a stack to go but have grown bored with it already.
It's a beautifully overcast day outside and the temperature is great, a mere 61*. Samuel had school today or else we may have just gone to the zoo with our free passes that we've had forever.
Off to roam the homestead!
I've spoken to Chad a couple times for the very short 10 minute conversations that pass by entirely too quickly. It's amazing how you know you have a very limited amount of time so you try to cram everything in and then still have moments of silence when you're not sure what to talk about.
Eli was standing at the dining room window calling for dada this morning because he saw the truck parked outside. He's only 18 months old so he doesn't really understand anything that's going on.
I find myself wondering around the house looking for something to satisfy the emptiness in my mind. I feel that if I stop for too long the sadness may creep in and rob me of my sanity. This morning I undertook the task of going through old magazines, ripping out pages I want to keep, then putting them into a pile to get rid of. I still have a stack to go but have grown bored with it already.
It's a beautifully overcast day outside and the temperature is great, a mere 61*. Samuel had school today or else we may have just gone to the zoo with our free passes that we've had forever.
Off to roam the homestead!
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Deployment is under way......
I know I haven't posted in a while and I'm going to try to do better. I would like to use this as a tool to vent my frustrations, share my joys and grief about this deployment and life in general. I always think of things to write in my head and then when I finally get time to put them in print, I flake out. But maybe this will enlighten others to the real life of some military spouses and help those that are in my shoes or will be soon.
My husband, Chad, has deployed to Iraq for an indeterminate amount of time. "Until Mission Complete" is NOT what you want to see on a set of orders. I won't lie and tell you it's easier every time they leave, because it's not. It brings on the same fears and worries and stress that it does every time, sometimes more because you've already had that taste of them being gone for a year and knowing that you have to do it again and probably several more times throughout their military career just makes it worse.
The Day
We took him to the designated area, dropped his bags into an ever growing pile of camo green, and then sat in the van in another designated area until the clock said it was time to go. We kissed and hugged our soldier goodbye and drove off wondering what the next year will bring and if he'll return safely to us.
It was my husband's idea for us not to stay to see him board the bus. He said it would be easier to just leave him instead of staying, anxiously waiting for it to happen. I agreed, but the farther I got from the base the more I wanted to turn around and soak up every last second of him that I could. Luckily I had somewhere else that I had to be so I couldn't turn around and go back.
I won't lie and say I held it together for the kids, because I didn't. I was a wreck and I'm a crier! However, they didn't see much of my breakdown because they were engrossed in a movie while I was driving and listening to the radio and crying my poor little eyes out.
I'll tell you, the worst part for me after the leaving is walking back into my house knowing that my husband won't be here for a very long time. I see all the little reminders of his presence, smell his cologne, see the indentation on his side of the bed where his body last lay. It sucks plain and simple!
I fully support my husband and the life we lead. I love our life together, just this part not so much.
My husband, Chad, has deployed to Iraq for an indeterminate amount of time. "Until Mission Complete" is NOT what you want to see on a set of orders. I won't lie and tell you it's easier every time they leave, because it's not. It brings on the same fears and worries and stress that it does every time, sometimes more because you've already had that taste of them being gone for a year and knowing that you have to do it again and probably several more times throughout their military career just makes it worse.
The Day
We took him to the designated area, dropped his bags into an ever growing pile of camo green, and then sat in the van in another designated area until the clock said it was time to go. We kissed and hugged our soldier goodbye and drove off wondering what the next year will bring and if he'll return safely to us.
It was my husband's idea for us not to stay to see him board the bus. He said it would be easier to just leave him instead of staying, anxiously waiting for it to happen. I agreed, but the farther I got from the base the more I wanted to turn around and soak up every last second of him that I could. Luckily I had somewhere else that I had to be so I couldn't turn around and go back.
I won't lie and say I held it together for the kids, because I didn't. I was a wreck and I'm a crier! However, they didn't see much of my breakdown because they were engrossed in a movie while I was driving and listening to the radio and crying my poor little eyes out.
I'll tell you, the worst part for me after the leaving is walking back into my house knowing that my husband won't be here for a very long time. I see all the little reminders of his presence, smell his cologne, see the indentation on his side of the bed where his body last lay. It sucks plain and simple!
I fully support my husband and the life we lead. I love our life together, just this part not so much.
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