I cried and cried and cried last night as Dylan loaded his bags in the back of his suburban and drove me to my house to drop me off. The anticipation of him leaving has been tense and last night it was all becoming real. He is at "drill" right now and had to have his packed bags there so that they could be checked. He leaves in July… I don't think I'm supposed to say exactly when because of safety reasons, but it is soon (obviously.. his bags are packed.)
I started this blog because I want to document daily things that happen here, for Dylan. I want to document how I feel, upload pictures, and keep track of how we stay connected while he is gone. MOSTLY because I just want to remember all of these things, but also, I think other deployed military couples will be able to gain something from this blog in the future. It is good to share ideas :) I haven't decided yet, but I might even share this blog with family and friends to keep everyone updated. I'll have to work up some courage on that one…
My goal is to write daily. I don't want Dyl to miss a beat. As manly and tough as he is… I know he'll be missing home.
We've been packing his up for three days now. We have this little routine going where we drink coffee, eat, pack, then nap. He's an "over-packer" and when you ask him about this deployment and if he is worried his response is always, "my biggest worry is forgetting to pack something." :) He'll be fine though. I woke up to a text this morning with a list of things he's forgotten that I'll have to get to him. I'm such a trusty girlfriend :)
So last night after a trip to Wal-Mart for things such as batteries, deodorant, and a headlamp, we went back to his house so he could load everything up and head to Fort Smith. I think it was seeing his room so empty that got to me. The tears started flowing and I couldn't stop. He put his hand behind my neck and played with my hair while he was driving and just reconfirmed that we were going to be stronger because of this deployment. He's right.
The next few days are going to be exciting and fun, but hard. While he's in Fort Smith today I have a lot to accomplish.
And just because a post isn't fun without pictures… here are some of our short trip to Branson last week. (Dylan's personality really shines through with that first one :)
We LOOOOVE food, so there will be lots of food pictures. In Branson, there was a new Indian place (one of our very faves, but the only other one we've eaten at is in Fort Smith) The other picture is of a chocolate covered jalapeno. We also love spicy food (Dyl more than me) so that was what he chose at the chocolate shop! He was getting ready to head down to the pool at the hotel in that first picture. My sister works at Old Navy and bought Dyl that tank top because he is obsessed with the American flag and being "an American" in general :) He wears it ALL the time and just embarrasses the crap out of me. Silly boy.
