My sweet baby was in such good spirits, even though he is living in the crappiest of 3rd world conditions. I could almost feel him smile over the phone as he just chocked it up to as "just like being back in boyscouts".
I really shouldn't even complain at all. My husband is healthy and alive.
I just miss him so much, it sometimes is hard to make it through the day without sitting down for a second to smell his shirts and get teary eyed over every cheesy military forward I get.
One month down....11 left to go.
Meanwhile, I have been occupying myself with being an ebay whore. Makin killer deals on baby things and whatever else I think might make me, or the boys feel better. Like a distorted troop beverly hills shelly long armed with paypal. Yeah...it has the potential to get ugly. Hehe...
Still no extra military pay for the deployment, but I am hearing through the grape vine that we may be getting a raise in January. In my opinion they don't pay military personel nearly enough. Not that I want to grub for more money, but I think for the job and sacrifices my husband does, he deserves more. Heck I think he, and all of them who have to shit in holes over there and eat nasty MRE's, don their 50 pound gear (that isn't even bullet proof) to protect them from some crazy religion or politically distorted iraqi so they don't blow themselves up in front of them or shoot at them. To work from 5am to 9pm at night, never getting a chance to think a thought for their own, or take a shower, or see their new baby's face, or sleep beside their wives, or hug their parents. All this for the whopping price tag of less than 1,500 dollars a month and sometimes even lower than that.
Yeah, they deserve so much more. Because they live off of the sense of duty and love of their country, while people with signs protest the reason they are over there, and unless you live near a military base, most people don't give them much of a thought. I am sad to have to report to Heather that her husband was sent to a different camp...which not only doesnt have electricity, but phones either and itmay be a whopping 2 months before he will get to call her again. Cliff's camp doesn't have electricity either but at least they have working phones. I don't look forward to having to call her and tell her this.
*sigh* I just miss my husband. I'm so proud of him. My heart breaks for him.
Anyway....
Christmas is slowly crawling after me. I have about 1/4 of my shopping duties completed, but am stressing over the rest of the people I need to buy for. Some people are just impossible to buy for. In actuality its probably just my fear of getting them something they would hate, than anything else. I in all actuality should probably go shopping again today, but I just don't think I want to face the crowds again. It's lonely walking around by yourself with your screaming kids who just want to rip things open and grab toys off the shelf, and if you don't get them for them, you are satan and deserve to be screamed at until their little faces turn blue.
Oh yes, I am quite done with Christmas!
Normally tradition prevails on my mother's motivation to maintain the Christmas eve dinner and opening of presents, as we have done every year since I was born. I just assume that I am going to her house, and so I leave that night open for her. For some reason I am worried it's not going to happen...for the first time ever. It has been ingrained into my head that Christmas eve is sacred time with my mother, and I get the feeling that this year mom is giving it up. I can even tolderate her boyfriend for this. I just wish I had a sense of normality. With no real traditions for myself other than which day I spend with which set of family...a rift in the mother-christmas-dinner-tradition is absolutely disorientating.
I think I need to either scrap traditions or figure out some of my own. I don't even have a freakin tree up. My house is cluttered and messy, my yard outside growing longer and longer under the soggy Washington rain, while my neighbors are lit up like the Disneyland parade of lights, complete with head bowing reindeer and manger scene. Gar....
This is a rather somber entry isn't it?
I promise I will write something much more upbeat as soon as I get the gumption to. Meanwhile, happy cookie baking, happy light stringing, tree decorating and present wrapping to you!