...and this trip on the Nile is weird! Phase one of deployment, "waiting for deployment" is complete. Thank goodness. SERIOUSLY, too much notice, too much time to think about it, too much trying to make every single day perfect. In case you can't tell, I did not like phase one. DH had one foot in deployment land, and one foot here in real time, that is always awesome... I was trying to get things on my list knocked out prior to him leaving so there would be no surprises upon his return ("curtains with peacock feathers on them? No? Well I consulted you.").
Let me add here, for some reason, even though he was gone as of yesterday not to return for a year, it has not sunk in yet. Like a year anticipating it was not enough, I had the extra bonus - a pre-mobilization trip complete with photos to make it more real. All of that preparation and I think he is just gone for a couple of weeks. 365 days will not sink in my thick skull. I even helped my daughter, age 7, make a 365-day paper chain. Nada.
Last deployment, when my children were toddlers and I did not work outside of the home, my big coping mechanism was avoiding the calendar. This deployment will be soooo different, because I have to consult my calendar daily. So much for tricking myself. I wonder if this cruise on The Nile has a more comfortable chair?
