Yep, those were the first words from my 10 yr. old son this morning. Before breakfast was even made, he realized there were bags being packed. The house is full of activity as my soldier scrambles to find the items on his packing list, not at the last minute, but very near still.
With more than 10 years experience at this, it amazes me that each and every trip is packed at the last minute. You would think we would have this down to a finely tuned and oiled machine by now... I guess the scramble makes it all exciting and busy... busy enough to keep our minds off the fact that we will once again be seperated by distance and the call of duty.
A friend of mine put it best yesterday when we were talking about being back in the deployment cycle. As we discussed how we are both finding ourselves feeling at odds with it all, she said she recognized this dance. That is EXACTLY what it is like being an Army family. We do this "dance", several times a year.
You learn the steps (if you don't, you fall apart and lose it), you start to see the "dance" coming, and you do your best to try to learn a new step here and there. The new steps are the ones that make life easier and the goodbye smoother. The old steps (the FIRST ones you learn as an Army family) are the ones where you bicker a month out because you and your soldier are both pissed off that another goodbye is coming. (and pushing each other away will make it EASIER right?) The old steps cost you time that could have been spent loving each other, and reassuring each other that you have each other. They STEAL YOUR WIND!
Regardless of how you say your goodbyes you will have to say goodbye. That is this life. That is the "dance".
Now, back to my son. In our life, we have never sheltered him from knowing what daddy does. We have always talked openly about the Army and the way of life with him. At 10 he has decided that he will NEVER be in the Army because they are always leaving. They are aren't they... but I am quick to remind him that other jobs, civilian even, leave. Right now, he wants to be an oceanographer. They NEVER leave...right? This is the point I make and he is stunned a bit. He hadn't given thought to the fact that other people, other jobs, leave. Be it this life, or any other, there are no guarantees of time and togetherness. Even if you live a life of 9-5 and see your spouse on a daily basis, that drive home can be a wreck waiting to happen. The point?
LIVE YOUR LIFE TO THE FULLEST EVERY DAY! Don't wait for retirement. Don't wait until the next duty station, or the next homecoming. LIVE FOR TODAY! LOVE YOUR SOLDIER TODAY! Yes, they always have one foot out the door, but that is only one foot. The rest of them is there and the time you have together is short. Make the most of it.
Not just Army strong... Army Wife strong!
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