A little over two weeks ago I said a tearful goodbye to my husband as he headed off to the Middle East for a year. Then my sister and I loaded my kiddos into my over-packed Durango to make the long trek from Washington to Wisconsin.
Day One saw us make our way through the beautiful mountain of Washington, part of Idaho and into Montana all to the tune of Curious George and my poor son's cries. By 2200 hours (that's 10 PM) we were all ready to stop for the night. I pulled off the exit into Missoula, Montana, where there were multitudes of hotels, assuming that I'd have my pick of places. Boy was I wrong!
The first stop, right off the exit, informed me they were all booked up. I thought it was strange but figured it was just some sort of conference or rally as there were several motorcycles sitting in the parking lot. Then the second place I stopped at was also completely booked - I started getting a little concerned. When the desk clerk at the third hotel informed me that they had booked their last room about an hour earlier I was about ready to cry. He very kindly informed me that, as far as he knew, it was just early 4th of July holiday traffic and, feeling a little pity for me, called around to find somewhere with a room.
Armed with my new information I headed back out to the Durango to get our room at the fourth hotel that was approximately five minutes away. Only, I took a wrong turn and five minutes turned into nearly an hour. We finally made it to our hotel, checked in, and started unloading luggage and babies. By this time it was after 2300 hours and my poor little diva, who had barely slept in the Durango, was beyond tired and having a melt down so I had my sister give her a bath while I carried things in.
Which would have been a great idea if the little diva hadn't decided to excrete the pint of strawberries that she had consumed earlier that day...in the tub! I tried to clean it up as best I could but the loose floaties plugged up the already excruciatingly slow drain. It was late enough that we decided to skip showers and just crashed for the night. The next morning a rather embarrassed me told the very understanding desk clerk about our tub mishap as I checked out.
It took us a total of four days cooped up in the cramped vehicle logging in over 30 hours of drive time to cover the nearly 2000 miles to my parents house. I'm honestly not sure who was the most excited to finally pull in that driveway but I strongly suspect it was our sore tired tooshies!!!
With all our travels the full impact of my husband's deployment wasn't really setting in. This has been helped by the fact that we have been able to talk nearly every day and even Skype a few times since my husband has internet in his room. Slowly the realization that my husband is gone is becoming a reality. Especially as I am on what was supposed to be our family vacation and I just wish he could be here with us. Already I am ready to be done with this year long journey...but I have an awesome support group in my family and I am absolutely determined to make it through this becoming a stronger and better wife. And I am so thankful for modern technology. I just can't imagine how difficult it must have been for those that went months without hearing anything from their loved ones and having only letters which crossed in the mail.
This is just the beginning of a very long journey...
Day One saw us make our way through the beautiful mountain of Washington, part of Idaho and into Montana all to the tune of Curious George and my poor son's cries. By 2200 hours (that's 10 PM) we were all ready to stop for the night. I pulled off the exit into Missoula, Montana, where there were multitudes of hotels, assuming that I'd have my pick of places. Boy was I wrong!
The first stop, right off the exit, informed me they were all booked up. I thought it was strange but figured it was just some sort of conference or rally as there were several motorcycles sitting in the parking lot. Then the second place I stopped at was also completely booked - I started getting a little concerned. When the desk clerk at the third hotel informed me that they had booked their last room about an hour earlier I was about ready to cry. He very kindly informed me that, as far as he knew, it was just early 4th of July holiday traffic and, feeling a little pity for me, called around to find somewhere with a room.
Armed with my new information I headed back out to the Durango to get our room at the fourth hotel that was approximately five minutes away. Only, I took a wrong turn and five minutes turned into nearly an hour. We finally made it to our hotel, checked in, and started unloading luggage and babies. By this time it was after 2300 hours and my poor little diva, who had barely slept in the Durango, was beyond tired and having a melt down so I had my sister give her a bath while I carried things in.
Which would have been a great idea if the little diva hadn't decided to excrete the pint of strawberries that she had consumed earlier that day...in the tub! I tried to clean it up as best I could but the loose floaties plugged up the already excruciatingly slow drain. It was late enough that we decided to skip showers and just crashed for the night. The next morning a rather embarrassed me told the very understanding desk clerk about our tub mishap as I checked out.
It took us a total of four days cooped up in the cramped vehicle logging in over 30 hours of drive time to cover the nearly 2000 miles to my parents house. I'm honestly not sure who was the most excited to finally pull in that driveway but I strongly suspect it was our sore tired tooshies!!!
With all our travels the full impact of my husband's deployment wasn't really setting in. This has been helped by the fact that we have been able to talk nearly every day and even Skype a few times since my husband has internet in his room. Slowly the realization that my husband is gone is becoming a reality. Especially as I am on what was supposed to be our family vacation and I just wish he could be here with us. Already I am ready to be done with this year long journey...but I have an awesome support group in my family and I am absolutely determined to make it through this becoming a stronger and better wife. And I am so thankful for modern technology. I just can't imagine how difficult it must have been for those that went months without hearing anything from their loved ones and having only letters which crossed in the mail.
This is just the beginning of a very long journey...
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| A Little Skype Fun with my Husband!!! |
((HUGS)) I am sorry I missed the day - I feel bad now. You are so strong, I am so proud of you already. Your outlook on it is amazing. If you need to talk I'm here.
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