World Champs!

Last night the Phillies won Game 5 to Clinch the series, 4-3! We can now say that a Philly team has won a world championship (in the last 28 years!!). It is so exciting - I briefly thought about going to the parade, and then thought that was just crazy! Too many people....it will be fun to watch on T.V. though!

We also had our LAST hockey game tonight :( Varsity lost which makes getting into the tournament questionable, but my girls crushed the other team 4 - 0! It was a great end to a great season!

I also found out Michael will be home a day earlier then expected, which means only 12 days to go! His flight is coming in around 10:30 the night before, which is great because that gives us a whole extra day. I can't wait...

Crazy Day!

At first, when the Phillies game was postponed last night, I was very upset. It was rescheduled fr 8 pm tonight, and tonight was my first night of my last class! Needless to say, I would have missed it - but luckily, the weather is still crappy, and it was postponed another day! I have some good luck today!

I am also losing it apparently. I swear I signed up for a class that was 20 minutes south of me. So after my hockey game, I hauled a** down there because I was already an hour late. I get there, and run to the board to check which classroom it is being held in - needless to say it wasn't, I drove to the wrong campus! Instead, I had signed up for a class that was 25 minutes NORTH of me. So I had to drive 45 minutes to class, and instead was an hour and forty five minutes late! Oh well, one class down, six to go!!

I also heard from Michael that he completed his ABS interview and is official eligible for promotion. In three weeks I can't call him LT anymore, and somehow CPT just doesn't sound as good. I guess I will have to actually say the full rank, Captain. Congratulations! I love you and am so proud of you.

Chain Letters

Now I know the person who sent this to me meant well. I received in my inbox today, a chain letter whose title was "Very Sobering." As I opened it, I knew it was going to be hard to read because she started the letter with : This is isn't meant to offend anyone or drudge up politics, it is meant to support the troops. As you scroll down through the letter, there are pictures of soldiers and then comparisons to selfish people in everyday life, and the life of a soldier. For example, "You are angry because your class ran five minutes over; He is told he will be over an extra two months." or "You hug and kiss your girlfriend, like you do everyday, He holds his letter close and smells his love's perfume." I mean really?

I think this is a great example for people who don't have loved ones serving. They can truly think about their own life and what they take for granted. Unfortunately, for those who have loved ones serving - we don't need reminders. I think about what I have with my husband everyday and I miss him every single minute he is gone. Although this letter was well intended, I instead cried like a baby (Yes, I am emotional, and everyone knows that! Michael tells me constantly!)

Jealous

This will be a two part post tonight, because there are two VERY different things I would like to talk about. FIRST, and most importantly - it is Game 5 of the World Series tonight, and my Pop called to inform me that he had tickets. Needless to say, I am insanely jealous! He was lucky enough to attend the World Series in 1980 the same night they clinched it with his friend. Now, 28 years later, he is attending with the same friend. He has decided it is destiny since tonight is also the night the Phillies can clinch the series. He is so excited, and told me to look for him - He would be the guy in red waving a white towel!

GO PHILS!!!!! Philadelphia has been waiting 28 years for this, and I have been patiently waiting for 24 of them!!

Stormy Saturday

I love rainy days. They make me just want to bundle up and stay in bed all day. Since my husband isn't home and I don't have anyone to cuddle with (although Rocky is a big baby), and I am still in hockey season, my stormy Saturday was started at 6:30 when my alarm went off for practice. You may be wondering how we can practice in the rain - well it's possible thanks to our wonderful turf field! Although I love it, this fact kills me sometimes! I also had the opportunity to eat lunch with my mother in law, father in law and aunt in law (?) at a VFW lunch that was offered for the families of Michael's unit. We had a great time, and am sorry to say that I didn't see many families there. This organization is going out of our way to help us during a deployment and families don't respond! This bothers me...oh well, I can't control what others do!

I am also happy. elated, overjoyed, to report that my BIG PAPER is FINISHED! Words cannot describe how I feel! It is like a huge weight off my back, and now that's one less thing I have to have in the back of my mind when Michael comes home!

On a side note, my Phils are 1-1 in the series but are on again tonight, baring a rain delay! Go Philly!

Ice Cube

This is what I am right now. Our hockey game just got over, and even though it is only October, it is COLD in the North!!! I am trying to de-thaw before round 2 of the Phillies! I am proud to report they were victorious as of 12:03 last night (or should I say, this morning!) I have been having problems falling asleep since Michael left, so staying up this late wasn't as hard as I thought it would be! Now on two Game 2, hopefully I can do it again tonight. I am not really teaching this week anyway since my kids have the state test. A little bit of coffee and I should be good to go. Besides, it's the WORLD SERIES!!!

I am also proud to report that as of today, I have successfully completed 30 credits towards my Master's! (This is a pay raise, so I am stoked) I also have a 4.0 average, better than my husbands 3.67 HA. I have one class to go that starts on Tuesday, and to finish my BIG paper. I am happy to report that on my BIG paper I only have to write a conclusion, make a few graphs, and do a table of contents. I plan on being finished by Sunday! WOW. I will graduate in December, and even though Michael has also graduated and likes to say he did it first - our diploma's will have the same date. Nice try Hon. Exciting times around here. I am happy to say it's been a good week!

Phillies!!!

With my crazy schedule, I can't believe I forgot to write about this! I have been a Philly fan since I can remember. It didn't matter what team it was from Philly, I was cheering for them. I have had to deal with the Eagles getting to the BIG game, but choking among others such as the Flyers. But I have always had a favorite - The Phillies. And now, they are at the BIG GAME. I am so excited words cannot describe it. I have a Phillies flag hanging in my classroom, and I even broke dress code and wore a Phillies shirt with jeans today. It's our year this time! I can feel it. Poor Michael doesn't have a TV, so hopefully he can find one tonight! Game 1 is about to start - I have a cold beer, HD thanks to Michael and I am ready to go! Go Phils!!!!!

Three Weeks

Unfortunately we haven't even reached the three week milestone in our long separation, but three weeks is when I will get to see Michael! His brigade will have pass for four days before they leave for Kuwait and then on to Iraq. I cannot wait to see him! I love talking to him everyday and seeing him on our video cam, but it just isn't the same has hugging him. I know, too mushy but sorry! At first I was going to fly down to see him, because I was worried about the stress traveling would have on him and honestly, I really just wanted to spend time alone with him and I. I was afraid (and still am) that if he came home, it would turn into a crazy circus of trying to see everyone again.

When push came to shove, I know he really did want to come home, and we do get to save a lot of money and best of all I don't have to fly by myself! (If you know anything about me, you know I HATE to fly and even had a panic attack on the way home from our honeymoon! ) Lovely. Even though I am going to love having him home, and so will our 'kids', I am still afraid of the whirlwind those four days could turn into. I know I am being completely selfish, but I really want him to myself. Isn't that awful? I love his family and mine, but I want it to be just him and I. I really do feel bad saying that, but it is true. I can't help it. He did tell his mom that he wasn't going out of his way to see everyone. If they wanted to see him, they would have to come to him, but we will see.

Either way, I have at least a short term goal in mind, and because of that I can get through the next month. After that, he won't have leave until June probably, so goodness knows how I am going to get through that. I guess we will cross that bridge when we come to it. Until then, I can't wait to see my LT in three....

Just not the Same

Well, it's been another crazy week! Two hockey games, with one player who received a broken nose :(, meeting with my professor about a paper I haven't written yet (yeah, the BIG paper that lets me graduate in two months), crazy school with my students as always. The good news is, another week down. That brings the count up to two! Only 50 more to go! I must say the last two weeks have flown by. I can't believe it's been two weeks already....On a sad note, it's only been two weeks. There is so much more still left. I just need to give myself something to look forward to - in four weeks I may get to see him in Texas! But more on that later.

Tonight I got to go out to eat and to the slots with Michael's parents! We went out with them a lot while Michael was still here. We always had a routine of going out to the casino. You could say Michael may be addicted. Even if we lose money (which, I must say, is most of the time) we still have a lot of fun. Even though I was happy to get out of the house and spend time with his parents, I have to say it just wasn't the same. I think about him all the time regardless, but I miss him even more when I am around things that we used to do together. I know we did everything together, but I guess I miss the traditions, if that's what you would call them. I know he will be home before I know it, but I still miss him terrible. I know this year will definitely make us much closer. How can it not? If someone doesn't appreciate their spouse after a separation like this, then I don't think they ever will. Until that day, I will patiently wait for November and what is to come next!

Imagine wanting him to leave....

I was able to talk with the wife of an officer that Michael has become good friends with last Friday. It was so nice to talk to someone who is going through the same thing. She called just to see how I was doing, which was so nice of her. Even though she lives an hour away, it would be nice to get together at some point. I love all of my friends, and they have been so great through everything, but it is also nice to talk to someone who just knows how it is, and if you have had a crappy day can truly relate.

During our conversation, she mentioned the FRG meeting that I had to miss on Thursday (someday my schedule will calm down, I swear!) The topic was the emotional cycle of a deployment. I was kind of glad I missed, because I had already been through this briefing once! Anyway, she said that some wives actually talked about how they were ready and wanted their husbands to go because they were starting to 'get on their nerves.' Both Major's wife and myself were shocked to say the least. How can someone say that? I prayed and prayed the day would never come and here these wives wanted their husbands to go? How can you want to send someone you love away to war for a year? I keep putting it into italics because I just don't understand it. It makes me so mad and upset for the soldier to hear that their wives would say that. I told her it was a good thing I wasn't there because I probably would have said something they wouldn't have liked to hear! Who says something like that? If I go to a FRG event, I hope Major's wife is there so we can keep each other calm when these wives are so....what word do I want? Stupid...Insensitive...Ignorant? All of the above?

Meanwhile, I know I cursed technology a few days ago, but that technology allowed me to see my husband last night! Our video cameras worked, and although a little blurry, I could still see him. He looked fantastic, and hasn't changed! Still multi-tasking on the web while talking. God, I love and miss him! I used to get on him about being on his laptop all night instead of watching TV, but now I don't care if he didn't TALK to me all night, as long as he was in the house! Those wives can take it and shove it. We will see who has the stronger relationship at the end of this year.

I am a Genius

I have fixed the Internet!!! A small triumph for me....As you may know, Michael is the technological genius. He can fix almost anything related to the computer. I am pretty good when it comes to PC's, but Michael is an Apple boy. I have also been switched to loving Apple's but I have no idea how to troubleshoot them. Whenever our internet goes loopy, which isn't uncommon, Michael can always fix it. Well, Lord only knows what I did tonight, but it came back on and now I can write one of my papers tomorrow. The problem is, I hauled the computer out to the loft to try to troubleshoot there because Michael convinced me he had done it before, and now I am afraid to move it back. What if the internet goes out again? I couldn't tell you what I did to fix it, but I am afraid to move it. If I post again by tomorrow, then you know it was a success! Maybe I actually can survive this deployment now!

I hate Technology

Normally, I love it. It helps me keep in touch with Michael, do papers for school and blog on here. As of right now, I have no internet at home. Fun. Michael has taught me how to unplug the modem, let it sit and then plug it all back in. Normally that does the trick. After that didn't work, I called Comcast. This back up ALWAYS works! Well, needless to say, the signal to the modem was fantastic and I think it's a computer problem. They tried to talk me through it, but they were talking in PC language, and we have a Mac. An hour later, it still didn't work and I was in tears because this is something Michael can always fix. I talked to him on the phone and he was upset for me. I feel bad because I don't want to bother him with us, but without it I can't get work done for school or talk to him (besides on the phone). Ahhhh, very annoying to say the least. If you have any suggestions let me know!

Keeping Busy

So I was convinced, that since I was so busy this falls, between field hockey, school and finishing my Master's, when Michael left I would be fine. And I am busy - today I got up at 5:45 (I have to now let the dog's out and feed them, which use to be Michael's job), then got ready for my day. I had a staff meeting after school, running to the bank at lunch because after school I had hockey, and then had to run thirty minutes up north to have a meeting with my professor. Well, she didn't show up until six due to traffic, so of course, I didn't get home until around 7. Then I took Rocky for a run, fed the animals, took a shower and finally ate dinner around 8. Whew...now that is busy (and I am exhausted...if only I could sleep). Now one would think that this would keep my mind off of Michael - I was wrong again. Instead, during all of this craziness, I found myself thinking about him every single minute of the day, and I am not exaggerating. I literally don't think there was a minute that I didn't think about him - wondering what he was doing, if he was alright, if he was missing me as much I was missing him. I was apart from him during my four years at college, but I never felt like this during our time apart. Maybe it's because I know where he is going, or because I don't really know when I will see him again. In college I always had an end date...it was never more than a month away. I know I should see him again next month at some point (hopefully), but after that it could be six months. Talk about depressing. Here is my advice to everyone out there - hug your husband, fiance, boyfriend as much as humanly possible, and don't fight about stupid things - in the end it doesn't matter.

On a side note, I have started counting weeks instead of days due to the depressing factor of a number over 100. Instead of 360 days to go, we have 52 weeks. A little bit better!

362

The deployment technically started on October 2nd, so if you think about it, three days have passed already. Michael already told me I should count weeks and not days, it can be too depressing. Last night, or should I say this morning, at 2:15, the soldiers were rounded up and put on the bus. I have to say, besides having family members pass away, saying good-bye to him was the worst moment of my life. It took all my energy not to get in my car and drive after the bus that was taking my husband away. At the moment, he is on a plane to Chicago and then to Texas. Every minute, getting farther and farther away from me. Let's hope the year flies by because right now, it seems almost impossible to go without him for that long.

The Morning Came

Last night, as we were laying in bed, I told Michael I couldn't sleep, and he asked why, I said because I didn't want to. I figured it would take longer for today to get here. Michael's response, "As much as I don't want it to come, the morning is coming." And here we are. I am just 2 hours and 45 minutes away from taking him to the unit. I have held it together pretty good - until today that is. He bought me roses, which of course made me cry, then he gave me three of my favorite movies and the new Nicholas Sparks book I wanted. The card I can't even talk about without tearing up. I read in a deployment handbook that no matter how long you prepare for it, the moment of departure will always be filled with emotion. I am dreading this moment. He has to report by 12 am, with the buses leaving at 3 am. It is going to be a long night.