Saturday afternoon, I was again the victim of my own poor planning and time management skills. I hate waiting for anything, so I tend to wait to get ready to leave until nearly the last second I can start and be ready to leave on time, which with a child is just flat unrealistic. We had a party to get to and with curlers in my hair, a bottle in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other cutting wrapping paper, the phone rings. I didn't have to look at the caller ID to know.
If my husband didn't have crappy timing, he'd have none at all. He always calls right after I crawl into bed or hop in the shower or walk out the door for a run. I hadn't heard from him since he left, so I didn't want to scoot off the phone too quickly, but I didn't want to be late either.
We talked for a couple of minutes and he told me he had just landed in Kuwait. This was 48 hours after his plane left home. It had been a long, convoluted journey due to a sandstorm in Kuwait and he had three more legs to his journey before he got to his station.
He said he would try to call again on Sunday so we could really talk, but he didn't. Then I didn't hear from him Monday or Tuesday in an email. Tuesday morning, I checked my email immediately and frequently, but nothing. I got home a little late yesterday and by the time I took care of the dog and baby, it was nearly 6. I noticed a new message on the machine. When I hit play, I heard "I am calling for the wife . . . this is Rear D. . . "
I knew they wouldn't call me if he were killed, but they would if he were injured. My heart was racing. The dog was bouncing all over the kitchen; in the living room the baby wass shrieking just to hear herself shriek. I had to play the message three times to hear that it was about our adoption credit paper work.
Phew!! But I still didn't know where Chad was or if he was safe (a relative term in combat, but ya know). Then this morning I was racing to get Lil Bit to daycare early for picture day but got stopped at THE longest light ever. To keep me from getting impatient, I checked email. Scrolling down the list, checking off junk mail to delete, I see the subject line, "hey" and sigh.
He is safe, sick and lonely, but safe back at his post. He is not much safer if any than he was traveling, but just hearing from him, touching base, made me feel immensely better. Many wives get daily phone calls, but I prefer not to. I just need to live my own life and waiting for the phone makes that hard for me. Often soldiers manage daily emails home, but sometimes he can't do that, so I try not to count on them. Yet, when I haven't heard anything for three-four days, a wrinkle starts to tickle my brain. I start trying not to start worrying.
The relief was noticeable. Even my students noticed I was in a good mood. Of course some of that is because I have had unprecedented GOOD behavior for the past two days. He is still in danger and I have no idea what he faced today, but for my peace of mind, I was able to breath a sigh of relief and know for today he was OK. And I can tick off one more day . . .
If my husband didn't have crappy timing, he'd have none at all. He always calls right after I crawl into bed or hop in the shower or walk out the door for a run. I hadn't heard from him since he left, so I didn't want to scoot off the phone too quickly, but I didn't want to be late either.
We talked for a couple of minutes and he told me he had just landed in Kuwait. This was 48 hours after his plane left home. It had been a long, convoluted journey due to a sandstorm in Kuwait and he had three more legs to his journey before he got to his station.
He said he would try to call again on Sunday so we could really talk, but he didn't. Then I didn't hear from him Monday or Tuesday in an email. Tuesday morning, I checked my email immediately and frequently, but nothing. I got home a little late yesterday and by the time I took care of the dog and baby, it was nearly 6. I noticed a new message on the machine. When I hit play, I heard "I am calling for the wife . . . this is Rear D. . . "
I knew they wouldn't call me if he were killed, but they would if he were injured. My heart was racing. The dog was bouncing all over the kitchen; in the living room the baby wass shrieking just to hear herself shriek. I had to play the message three times to hear that it was about our adoption credit paper work.
Phew!! But I still didn't know where Chad was or if he was safe (a relative term in combat, but ya know). Then this morning I was racing to get Lil Bit to daycare early for picture day but got stopped at THE longest light ever. To keep me from getting impatient, I checked email. Scrolling down the list, checking off junk mail to delete, I see the subject line, "hey" and sigh.
He is safe, sick and lonely, but safe back at his post. He is not much safer if any than he was traveling, but just hearing from him, touching base, made me feel immensely better. Many wives get daily phone calls, but I prefer not to. I just need to live my own life and waiting for the phone makes that hard for me. Often soldiers manage daily emails home, but sometimes he can't do that, so I try not to count on them. Yet, when I haven't heard anything for three-four days, a wrinkle starts to tickle my brain. I start trying not to start worrying.
The relief was noticeable. Even my students noticed I was in a good mood. Of course some of that is because I have had unprecedented GOOD behavior for the past two days. He is still in danger and I have no idea what he faced today, but for my peace of mind, I was able to breath a sigh of relief and know for today he was OK. And I can tick off one more day . . .
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