7

Liar, Liar. Pants on Fire.

August 14, 2007, in Military Life by

My DH is in the National Guard, and has been at an extended school. 

DH arrived home Thursday night. 

Breathe. 

DH has let me sleep in, has encouraged naps.  (I must look a bit tired).  I am feeling more refreshed, and less scattered. 

We have been sitting in the backyard for the last couple of evenings, (after the temperature drops to a mere 100 degrees) letting the children run through the sprinkler and watching them play in the kiddie pool.   It has been glorious, and I am reminded that most military wives, do not take these small moments for granted.   We really do cherish  them.   I am thankful to have an adult to chat and drink iced tea with while watching our children.  And we can talk, between the playful giggles, and the
accusatory wails of who splashed who first.

My friend is home. 

Ahhhh…we are normal.

Well, we are normal for a moment. 

You see my children who are currently 3 and 5, think Daddy is only home for a
"visit".  Despite my best efforts to explain otherwise.  But frankly, I do not blame them.  We are currently in a limbo situation.  It does appear that most of the state will be mobilizing, however DH was moved to a different position, while he was away at school.  The bonus part is, DH did send a letter, requesting another deployment with this unit.(which is part of the reason, I married this man) I guess we will wait and see. 

But for now, I cannot give my children a definitive answer, which I am guessing is pretty commonplace during war-time. 

It does look like DH could be here for a while.  However, I am almost afraid to promise anything at this point.  I guess I will stick to my current reply of "Daddy isn’t here visiting, he will be here for a while."

I am wondering how our mil-spouse readers handle this very delicate situation….

Related posts:

About Rachelle

Rachelle began her Military Spouse career when her future husband proposed to her in a letter during Desert Shield. Mail took over a month to arrive back then, and they only had three phone calls with each other in the ten months they were separated. They were married at a small ceremony a week after he returned home. Rachelle's husband moved her to Ft. Bragg, NC, all of their combined possessions filling her small, two-door car. In 1992, they left active duty and moved back to their home state where she went to nursing school and he joined the Army National Guard as a traditional Soldier as he went to school. In 1999, Rachelle's husband was offered a full-time National Guard position in Arkansas, where they lived for eight years.

In 2002, their son was born (MFO Deployment) and in 2003, their daughter was born (OIF2). In 2008, they moved back to their home state to live close to family. Rachelle has been an active contributor with SpouseBUZZ since 2005. She currently works full-time at a physician’s office, and is active with her church and school's PTO. Her son has recently been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, a subject that she is exhaustingly studying and learning to work with day-by-day. In 2010, Rachelle's mother-in-law moved in with the family, and they added a German shorthaired pointer named "Poncho" to the tribe as well. Rachelle enjoys spending as much "down time" with her family as possible - usually something outdoors or movie nights. Her favorite foods are sushi, steak, chocolate, and coffee. Her special skills include being an awesome cook, identifying odd accents by state or country, having an incredible sense of smell (almost bloodhound-like), and watching people at airports during long, unexpected layovers.

Comments

  1. USMC SSGT Wife says:
    August 14, 2007 at 2:27 am

    My kids are 6 and 19 months. The hubby is coming to visit in 17 days just for a weekend, then gone for another six wks in training and then a week home and then to Iraq. It is so hard to explain it for my six year old. She knows he's leaving until next summer soon and he will be back after she turns 7 so she doesn't understand the whole back and forth issue she just wants him to come and stay. I am definately truly greatful though.

  2. Andi says:
    August 14, 2007 at 4:49 am

    Can't offer any advice on the kiddo front, but I can certainly relate to cherishing the precious moments. Our lives are so filled with uncertainty that I do think milspouses understand the need to make the most of the time we have with our families.

  3. Jewel says:
    August 14, 2007 at 5:20 am

    You know something, maybe your kids thinking that dad is home for a "visit" isn't such a bad thing. Maybe in their own way they are performing a little self-preservation; not getting their hopes up that dad will be home for a while.
    Oh how I envy your evenings with your husband! My husband and I love summertime and will spend nearly every evening outside grilling out, eating dinner or just relaxing and talking over a glass of wine. This is the one thing I've missed the most since he deployed. My evenings are very lonesome without my friend to share them with.

  4. MO says:
    August 14, 2007 at 8:05 am

    My girls never know if my husband is home for good, or just a little while, ack! It can break your heart sometimes.

  5. Reasa says:
    August 14, 2007 at 10:05 am

    This time when Hubby came home all the Kiddos thought it was for R&R. We have told them that Dad is home for good til Uncle Sam calls him again. Til then we are back to the regular job and one weekend a month drills. I know of no other way to explain it to them.

  6. Erin says:
    August 14, 2007 at 11:30 am

    I can't help much on the advice for the kids from a parent perspective because I dont have any. However, I know when my dad was gone (he's retired Army) and he came home that it helped me when I was really little to pretend that he was just there for a visit because then it didn't hurt as much when they leave. Funny the things you remember about being little :-P But that may be what your kids are doing. It could just be their own way of coping and maybe that isn't terrible. They might let it go on their own over time without any explanation.

  7. Marine Wife says:
    August 15, 2007 at 11:34 am

    That's a hard one. In a way, the kids are right, because at some point, he IS going to go away again. Maybe you could come up with a new name for the time when Dad is home for longer period: it's more than a visit but none of these guys is home "for good" either. Wouldn't that be typical mil-brat speak: "Dad's here for his dwell time."