7 Days and Counting

Well, it seems the closer I get to leaving, the faster time moves, not unlike watching the last few grains of sand slip thru the neck of an hourglass. In actuality, that's not an unrealistic analogy. My time here at home is quickly coming to a (temporary) end, and once I get to Iraq, the "hourglass" will be turned over, and once again I will begin a countdown. As I've said before, I hope it goes as quickly as this past year has. I guess we'll see.

This past two weeks has been mostly spent taking care of all the last minute nitnoid items the Army forgot to tell me about. I've updated my dental records, got a government passport, tried to figure out what kind of things I wanted/needed to bring, and then figured out how to fit those items in a small footlocker. One of the highlights last week was when two of the fine gentlemen I will be deploying with were kind enough to fly out here from Alabama to pick up my footlocker and take it to Atlanta. Jaislyn finally got to see "Dada's Air-payne" and sit in the cockpit. She was thrilled to say the least. Altho I am certain there is still more to be done, I can't for the life of me think of anything else, so as far as I'm concerned, I'm done until we leave.

Now comes the hard part. I/we have not yet had "the talk" with Jaislyn. Not because I don't think she'll understand that I'm leaving, but because I still have no clue how or what to tell her so that she understands that I will come back. In her short 2 years, she's come to understand that Dada "goes out of town" on a regular basis, but usually only for a few days at a time. This time, well... you know.

I know I'm not the first to deploy and leave a young child at home, and I know this is only my first deployment, but it is still the first time I've ever had to leave MY young child for such a long time, and let me tell you, that is by far the most difficult part of all of this. Being in Iraq, being gone for a year, etc etc, that's all easy in comparison. I am terrified to walk away from her (and Jamie, Mom, Dad and Shann for that matter) knowing that I will not see her or hold her or hug her again for another 6 months. I'm not sure I can do it in one try, but I know the longer I draw it out, the harder it will be. I'm open to suggestions if anyone happens to have any pearls of wisdom.

Ok, enough of that for now. Now for the fun stuff and good times. In the past few weeks, we've been blessed to have been able to spend lots of time together, just the 3 of us. We've gone to the train park, the duck park and Chuck E Cheese countless times, we've read LOTS of books (Ok, actually it's just been about 3 different books, each read 100 times...), we've memorized "The Jungle Book", which, in a period of two days became Jaislyn's new favorite movie, we've visited with friends, made new friends, danced, played music, had tea parties (in Jaislyn's room), and I've even learned the intricately complex hierarchy that is a 2 year old's doll house. ("No Dada! The pony goes in the BATH TUB!"). I am also now convinced that Arizona is to the kite world what the Bermuda Triangle is to aviation. Kites simply do not fly here. There is wind, but our kits have an unexplainable attraction to the ground. I know this because we've spent many hours attempting to fly a kite (well two kites now) that absolutely refuses to fly. Fortunately for me, Jaislyn doesn't know what a kite is supposed to do, so she's had fun just the same.

This past week, Jamie and Jais have both been sick, each with ear infections and upset stomachs. Thankfully, that hasn't stopped them from spending time with and taking care of me tho (I had 4 teeth pulled last Friday, and they took excellent care of me over the weekend). Jaislyn pretty much refuses to act sick during any portion of the day in which she might reasonably expect to: a) go to Chuck E Cheeses or one of the parks; b) watch a movie (or should I say "THE" movie); c) play with Mama and or Dada; d) take a walk down to the golf course, or e) eat candy. Once she is relatively certain that the above are no longer viable options, she "becomes" sick, and then wants to be "a baby".. her words.

Jamie... wow. Where do I begin? I don't know how she does it. Before I even know it's a new day, she's up, dressed, has Jaislyn fed, bathed and dressed and off to school. Whomever said that "the Army does more before 8am than most people do all day" hasn't met Jamie yet. She's also been actively looking for work, in addition to showing her artwork, making sure our house is spotless, attending to her ladies' groups' activities, and being Jaislyn's #1 full time playmate. I've got the easy part. I just hafta go to Iraq and fly. Ha ha.

In my last week here at home, we've got lots of together time planned. We're going to the AZ State Fair tomorrow, on Friday we're going to a Corn Maze/Halloween festival out in Queen Creek, on Saturday we're having dinner at Spicey's (and will probably find our way to the train park or the duck park at some point as well), on Sunday we're having a BBQ at Uncle Greg's house. Monday and Tuesday currently don't have any hardfast plans... yet. At that point, I'll be happy just to sit and talk, read stories, play tea party, or whatever my two girls want to do. They've been pampering me, I want to return the favor before I go.