Life As We Know It

Will be totally different in about 6 weeks. Jason will be mobilizing to TX for a year, and the boys and I will stay in Memphis to hold down the fort. We only have 6 weeks to be as family and get a lot of things done. He will miss birthdays, holidays, vacations,baseball games, and our anniversary. A bit of background: Jason has been in the United States ARMY Reserves since 2002. He has been through 1 deployment already in 2004. He was gone for 15 months. At that time we were just dating, but preparing for our future together. 3 months after he came home from Iraq, he proposed to me. I guess I showed my faithfulness and loyalty during those trying months! When he left I was in my 3rd year of college, and I can remember sitting outside many of my classes writing him letters, and then actually getting up in a lecture class to take his phone calls from Iraq. I even had to reschedule a history test one time because the test coincided with the 2 weeks he came home for R&R. As a married couple, the ARMY has kept apart for bit and pieces of time. Whether its his 2 weeks, or a school he has to go to. The longest we have been apart as a family has been 3 months, and that was last year. 12 months seem like a life time compared to that. When Jason went to Iraq the first time he was in a transportation unit. He drove the huge tanker trucks all across Iraq to different bases; it was a very dangerous job, and luckily he and his unit all came home. Jason is now a Drill Sgt., so this mission will be a bit different; he will not go overseas, but he will train soldiers who are. We heard earlier this year that he may have to go to GA for this mission. We were not thrilled with this news, but the base they were going to be at was only 30 minutes from my sister and brother in law. I thought, "well, if he has to go, it's only 6 hours away and we could see each other at least once a month, and visit family." In March we got a phone call that he would not be going because he was on a temporary medical profile. Jason had knee surgery back in October,and because of the restrictions of exercise, his Orthopedic put him on a profile for both MPD and ARMY. There a sense of relief that he wouldn't have to go. However, just a month later, he hears that there's still a chance he has to go. Last week he went to KY with his unit to prepare for the mobilization, and he was told that since his profile ends at the end of May, he will be leaving in June. When I got that phone call, I will be honest, I was mad, pissed even. I took 2 days to pout and cry. I have a bit of anxiety, so things started to set in and I had a hard time wrapping my brain around it all. Being in Memphis, we are by ourselves, meaning, our families all still in Louisiana. We have wonderful and great friends here, don't get me wrong, but they all have their own families and lives. I realized that we should be thankful that he is staying state side, and that we will be able to come home a few times that year. I've always thought that Jason and I had a special relationship; he truly is my best friend and we have great communication. With this knowledge, I know we can get through this, but it's not going to be easy. My main concerns are the boys. Jay will totally understand what's happening. The other 2 will not know exactly what's going on, but when Jason is at work now, they say they miss him. I can only imagine how much their hearts will ache for him this coming year. All 3 of the boys are so close with their Daddy, so this year will be rough. I am just hoping that we can get a routine going, and that the time passes by fast. We are hoping he can come home every 4 months or so, so we will be looking at this in sections. I have ordered a countdown for us to use to help countdown the days he comes home. I have also realized that they ( and me ), will have to stay busy. He will miss Jackson's 4th birthday, Jacob's 3rd birthday,and Jason's 7th birthday. We won't be with him for his 31st, or my 31st. And he and I won't be able to celebrate our 8th anniversary together. It's weird because I acknowledge myself as a Police Wife, not an Army Wife. I have so much respect for military wives who's husbands are Active Duty. Jason's brother is active Marines and has been deploy multiple times, each time leaving his wife and kids. Liz is such a strong military wife, so I will be turning to her for advice on how not to go crazy. Jason and I are lucky that he will not be in a combat zone, and that our main problem is just being apart. But, for this year, I will embrace the role as a full time ARMY wife. This summer the boys and I will be going to NC for a family trip. Jason's Dad, step mom and step sisters will all be heading NC to Jimmy and Liz's house. We planned this months before Jason found out he could leave, but I will still be going. The boys are looking forward to seeing their cousins, and I haven't seen our NC people for over a year now. Also, my sister has been bugging me about coming to visit her. She and Justin have been in Atlanta for almost a year, and we have not made a trip down there. I am hoping we can get down there before school starts back up. Throughout the school year, Jason will work hard on trying to get home during our breaks. I would HATE if he came home for 10 days and I had to go to work. No Bueno! So, that's what's going on. Never a dull moment in this house. With 3 boys, a dog, and a husband who has a terrifying civilian job and military career,you never know what's going to happen next. I ask for prayers during this time, not for me; I've got this. But, for my boys. They will struggle with the fact that their Daddy, their best friend, their hero, is gone. Also, pray for Jason's safe travels. It will take him 18 hours to get to TX, and he will be driving it!! We have 6 more weeks with him, but for most of that we will both be working. We will be taking about 8 days off prior to leaving, which is great because that will be my first week off for the summer!!