All because the dreaded d-word... Deployment... has almost reached its much-sought after, blessedly inevitable conclusion.
Can I just take a moment to express how much I detest that word? Deployment. It should not be possible to deploy a human being. It should not be necessary to use and distribute human beings systematically and strategically. This world should not feel the need to fight and war and hate and discriminate. I am convinced that true world peace is still possible if only mankind learned how to love one another without condition. Surely that can't be so difficult? I love my husband without condition. I love my beautiful little nephew without condition. I love my family and my husband's family... you guessed it, without condition. Sure, it's not always easy and I understand that people quarrel. But why can't people quarrel without an arsenal of nuclear weapons on hand just in case other sides get too unruly? Why can't people just love and respect each other on an individual, personal level? Because honestly, it would be a whole lot easier on a whole lot of people if deployments stopped being this definite forgone necessity of life.
In completely unrelated news, the author of this blog post is a bit naive when it comes to the nature of her fellow human beings.
But yes, our first deployment is winding down. We have spent the past several months apart, him in another country, me back in my hometown and my home state, spending time with family and filling the void with Buffy the Vampire Slayer television marathons and countless Glee fanfictions. We have gone through the typical emotional cycle of a deployment: the beginning, which sucked, the middle, which sucked, and the end, which...
IS GOING TO BE AWESOME.
I would so type in all caps for this entire thing if I didn't think it'd get annoying fast. I am that excited. I am so relieved that we're getting through this and finally envisioning that beautiful bright light at the end of this dark, dank tunnel that smells like elephants and expired cream cheese. It has been a joy and a treasure to be home for a little while and have time with family. I've loved going to the movies with my grandparents and watching my nephew learn to walk. I've laughed, I've cried, I've looked to the future and sighed. I'm so thankful for my mother, who has given me the opportunity to stay with her and have this time. It's been fun swimming and getting my laptops fixed a billion times by my awesome brother-in-law and watching all the best and worst summer television shows. And make no mistake about it: I will miss my family again when the time comes to leave this state and meet my husband on his base.
But still.
I AM SO EXCITED.
In fact, I'm far too excited to keep typing away and sitting here. I need to bounce. And get up and dance. And maybe sing some corny love songs really loudly and off-key. Oh, and I guess I should quickly make a list of everything that's been accomplished these past several months of deployment, just because that was my intent when I created this thing in the first place. Goals have been met! It must be documented! I should probably cut back on the sugar!
- I've started graduate school.
- We've met our monetary savings goal.
- Dustin learned a new language.
- He also grew a beard.
- I've written about a third of a new novel-in-progress.
- I've lost ten pounds!
- It is now a habit to run every day.
- Our plant has grown into a fine young lad.
- We've grown EVEN MORE IN LOVE.
- This deployment is being TKO'd!
Peace, love, and general merriment for all!
