Introduction

May 19, 2009; it hardly seems possible I've made it this far so quickly. I guess that is good news. My husband was deployed January 3, 2009, 136 days ago. There were times, early on, I thought I could never make it this far. I felt so lost, scared for him, scared for me, not sure I could handle things alone. Taking care of the kids, running them to their activities, watching their activities, working full time, handling the bills and household chores (including yard work!), all while dealing with my often unnoticed symptoms of MS, it all seemed too impossible. There are days where I still feel that way. But now, 136 days into this deployment, I have learned a lot about myself, and about my family. We are stronger than we thought, for one. I have learned how to fix a leaky toilet, fixed our broken gate latch, checked the oil and put air in the tires on my car. I have dealt with family crisis, seen all of my kids baseball, basketball, soccer and football games, watched cheer practice, been to all of their plays, and even found time for my full time job in there. I know this is something every family member can relate to. We all do these things and we all make it through. I remind myself that this is our first deployment, many of you have been through this once or twice before and I applaud you for your strength. There are days I'm still not sure I can make it through this one without collapsing but I do. The one thing I relish about all of this, is that it has shown me how much I love my husband! It has shown me how much he does, and how important he is to our entire family! It has shown me that all the little things that bothered me before, were no big deal, and has opened my eyes to learn the reality of what a hero is. To make a long story short, I am proud to be the wife of a US soldier, and will make the best of this difficult situation. Thank you to each and every member of the military and their family members, who are the troops back home. I look forward to the future, and my husband's leave in 104 days, September 1, 2009. God Bless.