My husband has only been gone for four days, but I've already come up with a few silver linings that I'm focusing on. There are some things that I've decided I like about deployment.
1) I sleep better when he's gone.
I've heard some wives say that they don't sleep as well when they're alone in the house or the only one responsible for the kids, but for me, I have had some great sleep these past few days. I go to bed when I want to, when I'm tired, so there's less tossing and turning. I don't wake up in the middle of the night when my husband gets up, and then again when he slams a door, and then again when he drops something. And there's no Alarm Clock Hell, as Sis B and CaliValleyGirl so lovingly described. I sleep so soundly now that the covers have barely moved when I get up in the morning.
2) I eat less when he's gone.
I've been on a sort of diet over the past four days too, the Nothing To Compare It To diet. Usually, when I put food on my husband's plate, I don't think it's fair that he gets to eat so much. His plate looks full and mine looks sparse, which means I put another spoonful on my plate to even things out. Often this means I am eating nearly as much as he is, and he weighs 50 lbs more than I do and exercises a whole lot more often. But now that I don't have his plate to look at, I am not eating as much. Also, cooking dinner is typcially our socializing; we make a big dinner together and enjoy taking our time cooking. But with him gone, eating just isn't as much fun. I am still cooking for myself, but I don't savor it like I do when he's home. Sitting alone at the table is lame, so I eat less to make the meal go faster. It's a pretty good diet so far.
3) I watch the movies I like when he's gone.
And no, it's not what you think. I am a weird girl: my idea of guilty pleasure is crappy action movies. I like to watch things blow up and go boom. My husband doesn't like those movies as much as I do, so I try not to bore him with my low-budget explosions. But now that he's gone, I've taken over the Netflix. Tonight I'm watching Rambo. Also on the list: all the Die Hards and several martial arts flicks.
It's nice to find these silver linings to keep me happy while my husband is gone. What are your deployment silver linings?
