1:46 a.m.
The "Husband" ringtone went off. I was in a deep sleep and it didn't occur to me what the time was. I looked and saw that Scott was actually calling. It wasn't a FT call either. (same tone for both calls and FT) First thought was, "He's really delayed if he's actually CALLING from Germany again"...
When I answered, Scott said, "Hey, sorry to wake you, but I wanted to let you know we just landed at Andrews in DC." Whoa, what?
Apparently they flew out late in the evening in Germany. He didn't even have a chance to let me know they were leaving!
I slept better after that call than I have in several days, as I'm sure you can imagine!
When 6:30 a.m. came, he texted to say he was taking a shower. After that, he called on FT. He said he was at Ft. Belvoir instead of Walter Reed, and was seeing the retinal specialist at 8:30...then he had other appointments in the afternoon.
I took the kids to school and went on with my daily routine, happier to know he had actually made it to the U.S. finally! Headed to the church to do my volunteer stuff, setting up the orchestra for rehearsal, etc.
He called again around 11 or so. Told me that he had NOT actually seen the retinal specialist, just a regular ophthalmologist who ran the same tests. The retinal specialist "conferred" on the exam, and both came to the same conclusion/diagnosis as before. They told him he would have 3 weeks of convalescence leave and then another follow-up appointment. This left us wondering...WHERE?
I told him to advocate for his healthcare...if he didn't stand up for himself, they would do what was easiest for them.
Later, he called me, after having his appointment with his PCM. Seems that when you're assigned to a WTU, you're THERE...but you do have the option to sign yourself out. Except...no one had ever requested that. Basically, when you're in the WTU, all you do is go to your appointments. You go to formations for accountability, then you're free to do whatever you want till your next appointment! Uh...wow. Scott got the PCM, a retired LTC, to agree that he could go back to full duty, with a profile. The wheels were turning now. He was being reassigned back to his command at Ft. Campbell!!! This was the best case scenario. If he was in a WTU, he wouldn't be in command of the 101st. Better for him, and since he can STILL do his daily duties in a non-war environment, he's good to go.
Talk was of flying him straight to Campbell, but he talked them into letting him rent a car. He's heading HOME!!!! His commander at 101st HHB gave him a week of leave to come home, get his car, and get his affairs in order.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
12FEB13
So, now it's Tuesday, and Scott is still in Germany. Delayed yet again. We've Skyped several times today, but there's nothing new, really. They are not giving him any answers regarding exactly WHEN they'll ship him. Meanwhile, they are still on lock-down, unable to leave the airport at all. Yes, they can go to the USO, watch TV, use the computers, etc...and sleep in the cots...but all these delays.
Now of course, there's no way he'll see a doc on Wednesday. I had hoped that IF he had to stay stateside, he would be released to come home in time for the weekend. Still praying for miraculous healing, and if not, for the doc to say he can go back downrange.
Sounds silly, doesn't it? For a wife to pray that her husband will go back into a dangerous territory...to war...
But you need to go back and read my first post. This has been what Scott has planned for and wanted for a LONG time. No, I DON'T want to be separated from my husband anymore. NO, I don't want him in harm's way, in danger. But I do want him to succeed in what he has set as a goal. Too many times, he has had his hopes dashed. This was the one sure thing. And it's not so sure anymore.
But see, here's the thing. He's still part of the 101st. So...if he's cleared for light duty, he'll likely have to go back to Ft. Campbell. Do I want THAT? Heck no. But if it will enable him to deploy as soon as his eye heals, then that's what we'll need to do. We'll take advantage of his being stateside and go visit like we'd done before deployment. And then, his eye will heal, he'll be cleared to go, and he'll go and accomplish what he set out to do. I am an Army Wife...I am resilient, I can handle this. Military Families go through this and so much more.
I don't even want to think about what else could happen. Scott's worn out. He's feeling down. And sometimes he wants to give up. He's got 20 years in, he can retire. But I know he's not ready to do that yet, even if he feels defeated and thinks it best. But in the end, I'm praying for God's will in all of this, as I have been doing since the crazy deployment began.
It's only 4:40 p.m. here, so I don't know if I'll hear back from Scott tonight or not. I'm hoping I will soon, but if not, I'm sure I'll hear something tomorrow. If I get any updates about his flight, I'll post again.
ILY24752
Now of course, there's no way he'll see a doc on Wednesday. I had hoped that IF he had to stay stateside, he would be released to come home in time for the weekend. Still praying for miraculous healing, and if not, for the doc to say he can go back downrange.
Sounds silly, doesn't it? For a wife to pray that her husband will go back into a dangerous territory...to war...
But you need to go back and read my first post. This has been what Scott has planned for and wanted for a LONG time. No, I DON'T want to be separated from my husband anymore. NO, I don't want him in harm's way, in danger. But I do want him to succeed in what he has set as a goal. Too many times, he has had his hopes dashed. This was the one sure thing. And it's not so sure anymore.
But see, here's the thing. He's still part of the 101st. So...if he's cleared for light duty, he'll likely have to go back to Ft. Campbell. Do I want THAT? Heck no. But if it will enable him to deploy as soon as his eye heals, then that's what we'll need to do. We'll take advantage of his being stateside and go visit like we'd done before deployment. And then, his eye will heal, he'll be cleared to go, and he'll go and accomplish what he set out to do. I am an Army Wife...I am resilient, I can handle this. Military Families go through this and so much more.
I don't even want to think about what else could happen. Scott's worn out. He's feeling down. And sometimes he wants to give up. He's got 20 years in, he can retire. But I know he's not ready to do that yet, even if he feels defeated and thinks it best. But in the end, I'm praying for God's will in all of this, as I have been doing since the crazy deployment began.
It's only 4:40 p.m. here, so I don't know if I'll hear back from Scott tonight or not. I'm hoping I will soon, but if not, I'm sure I'll hear something tomorrow. If I get any updates about his flight, I'll post again.
ILY24752
11FEB13
Scott's flight was delayed. He was supposed to fly out at 1:00 p.m. (7:00 a.m. EST), but now has been pushed back to 7:00 p.m. They are supposed to get into Andrews (based on flight time, it would be around 7 or 8 p.m. EST), they'll be picked up and brought to Walter Reed, given housing, and we'll know from there. Scott is hoping to get in to see the doctor on Wednesday sometime. Still praying for a miraculous healing, and if not, for the doc to say yeah, go back downrange, it'll heal.
As for me, seems like I did a bunch of nothing all day. Worrying, praying, crying....
I did manage to get the laundry going, and went out to get a new backpack for Hannah. That's about it.
ILY24752
As for me, seems like I did a bunch of nothing all day. Worrying, praying, crying....
I did manage to get the laundry going, and went out to get a new backpack for Hannah. That's about it.
ILY24752
10FEB13
2:24 a.m. Text tone...ugh, I'm tired. Not sleeping well and worried...
There are a lot of concerns right now. The talk is that he'll got to Walter Reed/Bethesda for the specialist. He wants to come home...or to Ft. Gordon. He DEFINITELY doesn't want to go to Ft. Campbell (there's nothing there...no home, no car!). We have to be realistic about what may happen. He is STILL assigned to the 101st, so unless he gets convalescent leave, he may be sent back there. All the unknowns will be filled in as we go.
Ideally, he can come here for his care and convalescence. Better yet, they can just tell him that since there's nothing they can do, he can go back downrange. Seriously. He CAN see out of the eye...it's just not clear. I don't know about anyone else, but I know that even with BLURRY VISION, I can shoot a target. It may not be dead center, but I'll hit the target. The likelihood of him even having to shoot at all is slim, so I don't see why they can't sent him back. There are issues with who will take leadership if can't go back. I won't get into it here.
Scott has worked hard for this. We've been separated for 16 months in order for him to be in a deploying unit. I don't want him to give up, and he definitely doesn't want to NOT be deployed.
Went back to sleep after our text conversation, but again, I had a hard time sleeping and so many dreams...not many were good, either. Lots of prayers running through my head all the time. Praying for miracles right now.
10:15 a.m.
FT with Scott, at church (thankful for the wifi there!). He said that he was going to push to be sent back downrange.
All the rest of this day, we went back and forth. He was told that he wouldn't be able to go back downrange. He was manifested on a med-evac flight to leave Monday at 7:00 a.m. (Germany time). They came to get him around 5:30 p.m. He was going to have to spend the night at Ramstein, but they had beds available.
While he was at the airport, he was able to go to the USO. No wifi, but they had skype loaded, so we skyped for a while. He's still waiting to go.
ILY24752
There are a lot of concerns right now. The talk is that he'll got to Walter Reed/Bethesda for the specialist. He wants to come home...or to Ft. Gordon. He DEFINITELY doesn't want to go to Ft. Campbell (there's nothing there...no home, no car!). We have to be realistic about what may happen. He is STILL assigned to the 101st, so unless he gets convalescent leave, he may be sent back there. All the unknowns will be filled in as we go.
Ideally, he can come here for his care and convalescence. Better yet, they can just tell him that since there's nothing they can do, he can go back downrange. Seriously. He CAN see out of the eye...it's just not clear. I don't know about anyone else, but I know that even with BLURRY VISION, I can shoot a target. It may not be dead center, but I'll hit the target. The likelihood of him even having to shoot at all is slim, so I don't see why they can't sent him back. There are issues with who will take leadership if can't go back. I won't get into it here.
Scott has worked hard for this. We've been separated for 16 months in order for him to be in a deploying unit. I don't want him to give up, and he definitely doesn't want to NOT be deployed.
Went back to sleep after our text conversation, but again, I had a hard time sleeping and so many dreams...not many were good, either. Lots of prayers running through my head all the time. Praying for miracles right now.
10:15 a.m.
FT with Scott, at church (thankful for the wifi there!). He said that he was going to push to be sent back downrange.
All the rest of this day, we went back and forth. He was told that he wouldn't be able to go back downrange. He was manifested on a med-evac flight to leave Monday at 7:00 a.m. (Germany time). They came to get him around 5:30 p.m. He was going to have to spend the night at Ramstein, but they had beds available.
While he was at the airport, he was able to go to the USO. No wifi, but they had skype loaded, so we skyped for a while. He's still waiting to go.
ILY24752
9FEB13
Woke early...for CST, anyway...I was still in my timezone. I just dozed and hoped I'd hear from Scott. After taking a shower, I sat with Niki for a bit, but then decided to head out. I had 8 hours of driving time ahead of me, and left Clarksville around 8:15 a.m. I stopped for coffee and donuts (Dunkin' Donuts!), then hit the road.
I checked my phone periodically...saw a text had come in around 10 a.m. Darn, I missed it!!! I was just west of Nickajack lake/dam (outside Chattanooga) when my phone rang and it was Scott. He was calling from Germany...wanted me to find a wifi hotspot asap. As soon as I could, I pulled off to a McD's...but for some reason, the FT wasn't going through, neither were texts. That meant he wasn't on his end.
I got back on the highway and drove again. My messages got thru, because he texted back to tell me to try again. I did, once I crossed into Georgia. STILL no luck. I called him instead. We'll pay for the call.
Well, the news wasn't the best. He'd seen a doctor (even though we thought he wouldn't see anyone till Monday, apparently if it's "life, limb, or eyesight" you can be seen right away. So on Saturday a.m. he had been seen. The doc there told him pretty much the same thing...added a few terms: Acute Central Serous Chorioretinopathy with Epithelial Detachment. The full explanation: The layers of the iris have separated, and this tear is allowing fluid, which contains pigment from the iris, to leak into his retina, causing a blurry/distorted vision in the eye. It's common in men 20-50 years old...in Type-A personalities (never considered Scott a Type-A!)...there are other contributing factors which Scott has as well, unfortunately. There's no cure, no medicine, no surgery to fix this, but it will heal on its own...in 2-6 months. OUCH.
The decision was made to send him to the states to see a retinal specialist to see if anything else can be done. Now we wait to find out where he will go, and what happens after that.
I checked my phone periodically...saw a text had come in around 10 a.m. Darn, I missed it!!! I was just west of Nickajack lake/dam (outside Chattanooga) when my phone rang and it was Scott. He was calling from Germany...wanted me to find a wifi hotspot asap. As soon as I could, I pulled off to a McD's...but for some reason, the FT wasn't going through, neither were texts. That meant he wasn't on his end.
I got back on the highway and drove again. My messages got thru, because he texted back to tell me to try again. I did, once I crossed into Georgia. STILL no luck. I called him instead. We'll pay for the call.
Well, the news wasn't the best. He'd seen a doctor (even though we thought he wouldn't see anyone till Monday, apparently if it's "life, limb, or eyesight" you can be seen right away. So on Saturday a.m. he had been seen. The doc there told him pretty much the same thing...added a few terms: Acute Central Serous Chorioretinopathy with Epithelial Detachment. The full explanation: The layers of the iris have separated, and this tear is allowing fluid, which contains pigment from the iris, to leak into his retina, causing a blurry/distorted vision in the eye. It's common in men 20-50 years old...in Type-A personalities (never considered Scott a Type-A!)...there are other contributing factors which Scott has as well, unfortunately. There's no cure, no medicine, no surgery to fix this, but it will heal on its own...in 2-6 months. OUCH.
The decision was made to send him to the states to see a retinal specialist to see if anything else can be done. Now we wait to find out where he will go, and what happens after that.
8FEB13
Okay...so yesterday's vague post is due to a lot of unexpected events that began on this day.
2:22 a.m. I hear my text tone go off. That means that Scott is in a wifi area, since I don't technically have texting on my phone, but iMessage. Since Scott brought his iPhone with him, we can use iMessage as long as he is in a wifi area.
He told me he had arrived in Afghanistan, had been assigned a B-hut (quarters, if you want to call them that) and had gotten his wifi/internet going. I was mostly asleep, though sleep has been really hard to come by, with all the deployment nerves and emotions. He told me it was noon there, and he had some stuff to take care of...I hoped to FaceTime (from this point forward, I will refer to this as FT) around the kids' wake-up time. I went back to sleep, knowing he'd finally made it to where he's been trying to be for all this time. It's finally happening. Scott expressed his feelings about actually coming into Afghanistan in full "battle rattle". I can't even begin to imagine.
6:20 a.m.
My FT tone rings...it's Scott. Yes! He was able to finish what he needed to do so that he could talk with us. I get the kids up and we chat. The kids head up to get dressed...then Scott tells me some very unexpected news. While flying on Tuesday evening, he had been sleeping...when he woke he noticed his vision was blurry in his right eye. He attributed it to lack of sleep. (because how well can you really sleep on planes, wearing military uniforms and crammed in with so many others???) It didn't seem to go away, even after landing in Manas. When he got to Afghanistan, he went to see a doctor.
Central Serous Retinopathy. It means, loosely, that there's a tear in his eye and it's causing fluid to leak into his retina, causing the blurred vision.
When he called, he was packing up his gear to be medi-vac'd to Landstuhl. Where he had JUST been a few days ago...the ophthalmologist at BAF was confident that he'd return in no time. That was all I knew.
Of course, I had a plane ticket to fly to Nashville and head to Clarksville to pick up Scott's car. Should I go, I asked? Scott told me to get his car, that he was sure he'd be back at BAF soon. So...I did.
I got the kids off to school...made sure everything was taken care of in the house (had already arranged for the kids to stay at friends' houses for the night and all day Saturday). I went to lunch with a friend, and while there, I got a call from Scott's commander. He wanted to know what I knew and if I needed anything, to let them know. Of course, he himself is headed out soon, so I wouldn't have access to him for too long. Ugh. Of course, I was texting with Scott by then. He hadn't flown out yet, so he was checking on me.
My friend dropped me off at the Columbia Airport. I boarded without issue, having a great seat (bulkhead, aisle!). Got to Charlotte for my connection, and we landed 15 minutes early. Never had THAT happen before! As I landed, Scott texted again. He was now at the hospital, waiting to go to the plane to head to Landstuhl. We texted back and forth, I think to keep our minds off everything. Once again, I had a decent seat from Charlotte to Nashville...exit row. No seat next to me!
When I landed, I let him know I was there...I was waiting for my friend Niki to pick me up. She got me, brought me to her house, and we went out to eat sushi. I worried and worried about when he would get to Germany. Not much I could do. After we ate, we headed back to her house. Both of us crashed early.
ILY24752
2:22 a.m. I hear my text tone go off. That means that Scott is in a wifi area, since I don't technically have texting on my phone, but iMessage. Since Scott brought his iPhone with him, we can use iMessage as long as he is in a wifi area.
He told me he had arrived in Afghanistan, had been assigned a B-hut (quarters, if you want to call them that) and had gotten his wifi/internet going. I was mostly asleep, though sleep has been really hard to come by, with all the deployment nerves and emotions. He told me it was noon there, and he had some stuff to take care of...I hoped to FaceTime (from this point forward, I will refer to this as FT) around the kids' wake-up time. I went back to sleep, knowing he'd finally made it to where he's been trying to be for all this time. It's finally happening. Scott expressed his feelings about actually coming into Afghanistan in full "battle rattle". I can't even begin to imagine.
6:20 a.m.
My FT tone rings...it's Scott. Yes! He was able to finish what he needed to do so that he could talk with us. I get the kids up and we chat. The kids head up to get dressed...then Scott tells me some very unexpected news. While flying on Tuesday evening, he had been sleeping...when he woke he noticed his vision was blurry in his right eye. He attributed it to lack of sleep. (because how well can you really sleep on planes, wearing military uniforms and crammed in with so many others???) It didn't seem to go away, even after landing in Manas. When he got to Afghanistan, he went to see a doctor.
Central Serous Retinopathy. It means, loosely, that there's a tear in his eye and it's causing fluid to leak into his retina, causing the blurred vision.
When he called, he was packing up his gear to be medi-vac'd to Landstuhl. Where he had JUST been a few days ago...the ophthalmologist at BAF was confident that he'd return in no time. That was all I knew.
Of course, I had a plane ticket to fly to Nashville and head to Clarksville to pick up Scott's car. Should I go, I asked? Scott told me to get his car, that he was sure he'd be back at BAF soon. So...I did.
I got the kids off to school...made sure everything was taken care of in the house (had already arranged for the kids to stay at friends' houses for the night and all day Saturday). I went to lunch with a friend, and while there, I got a call from Scott's commander. He wanted to know what I knew and if I needed anything, to let them know. Of course, he himself is headed out soon, so I wouldn't have access to him for too long. Ugh. Of course, I was texting with Scott by then. He hadn't flown out yet, so he was checking on me.
My friend dropped me off at the Columbia Airport. I boarded without issue, having a great seat (bulkhead, aisle!). Got to Charlotte for my connection, and we landed 15 minutes early. Never had THAT happen before! As I landed, Scott texted again. He was now at the hospital, waiting to go to the plane to head to Landstuhl. We texted back and forth, I think to keep our minds off everything. Once again, I had a decent seat from Charlotte to Nashville...exit row. No seat next to me!
When I landed, I let him know I was there...I was waiting for my friend Niki to pick me up. She got me, brought me to her house, and we went out to eat sushi. I worried and worried about when he would get to Germany. Not much I could do. After we ate, we headed back to her house. Both of us crashed early.
ILY24752
Monday, February 11, 2013
Sigh...
I'd hoped to keep this blog up, but as luck would have it, life has been too stressful to continue anything right now.
The deployment situation has changed, and as such, until I can tell more, I won't post here.
The deployment situation has changed, and as such, until I can tell more, I won't post here.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
7FEB
I got messages from Keith this morning. Apparently, he works night shift, so he's on "my" schedule, ha! He said he was out of the loop, but he messaged a friend to find out if they were tracking the band.
A little bit later, Keith messaged again to tell me that the 1ID guys were tracking Scott and his team. That was a relief to me. Keith let me know that they (the 1ID guys) would be giving up their billeting huts directly to the 101st, so they already had accommodations lined up. Another relief, knowing that Scott would be able to get settled in quickly and help establish a routine for us.
I dropped the kids off to school and headed to the dentist to get those fillings drilled out and replaced. Took a good while to get my mouth numbed (3 rounds of shots, yikes!). I felt a bit of it on a tender nerve (I'd had concerns about needing a root canal on that tooth years ago), but the doctor said I didn't need one, thankfully!! An hour later, I left, with my left side so numb that I bit my cheek way too many times! I headed to Kohl's to pick up some things, then headed home. I was excited to receive another message from Keith!
He told me he had been able to get away from work for a bit and met up with Scott and the other 101st guys at the airstrip. The 1ID folks were taking them to the huts, and then to chow. That was some good news.
Of course, now, we are in the waiting game. I know that until Scott can get internet, or find a wifi hotspot, I won't hear from him. I'm hoping he can get that all taken care of quickly. I miss seeing his face, hearing his voice.
The rest of the day has moved remarkably slow. Got the kids from school, helped with homework. RCE had Family Math Night at Publix, so we headed out there for Scotty to do some fun math/grocery stuff. I picked up a few things we needed, and Scotty got to scan all the items when we checked out (they put aside 2 registers just for our school to do this!). We picked up some Chinese food for dinner since it was late. After we ate, the kids showered and are now in bed. I'm just trying to finish this blog post, so I can hit the sack too. I am tired. I won't sleep well until I know we have a routine of talk time set up.
It's not going to be easy. I'm not going to lie. I'm strong, but this is a hard hit to the gut. Sometimes, I just cry. I get angry when people tell me, "oh, it'll go fast, keep busy, don't worry". I get angry at the weekend whiners...those whose husbands are gone for a few days and they act like their world has fallen apart. I've been doing this for SIXTEEN MONTHS...and have probably that much to go. But then, *I* feel selfish, when I think about some of my friends who are single parents by NO CHOICE of their own. Those whose husbands passed away...and I get angry at ME.
In the end, I will be okay...I'll have my bad days, I'll have my good days. I've set a few goals for myself for the year. I pray that I will make them.
ILY24752
A little bit later, Keith messaged again to tell me that the 1ID guys were tracking Scott and his team. That was a relief to me. Keith let me know that they (the 1ID guys) would be giving up their billeting huts directly to the 101st, so they already had accommodations lined up. Another relief, knowing that Scott would be able to get settled in quickly and help establish a routine for us.
I dropped the kids off to school and headed to the dentist to get those fillings drilled out and replaced. Took a good while to get my mouth numbed (3 rounds of shots, yikes!). I felt a bit of it on a tender nerve (I'd had concerns about needing a root canal on that tooth years ago), but the doctor said I didn't need one, thankfully!! An hour later, I left, with my left side so numb that I bit my cheek way too many times! I headed to Kohl's to pick up some things, then headed home. I was excited to receive another message from Keith!
He told me he had been able to get away from work for a bit and met up with Scott and the other 101st guys at the airstrip. The 1ID folks were taking them to the huts, and then to chow. That was some good news.
Of course, now, we are in the waiting game. I know that until Scott can get internet, or find a wifi hotspot, I won't hear from him. I'm hoping he can get that all taken care of quickly. I miss seeing his face, hearing his voice.
The rest of the day has moved remarkably slow. Got the kids from school, helped with homework. RCE had Family Math Night at Publix, so we headed out there for Scotty to do some fun math/grocery stuff. I picked up a few things we needed, and Scotty got to scan all the items when we checked out (they put aside 2 registers just for our school to do this!). We picked up some Chinese food for dinner since it was late. After we ate, the kids showered and are now in bed. I'm just trying to finish this blog post, so I can hit the sack too. I am tired. I won't sleep well until I know we have a routine of talk time set up.
It's not going to be easy. I'm not going to lie. I'm strong, but this is a hard hit to the gut. Sometimes, I just cry. I get angry when people tell me, "oh, it'll go fast, keep busy, don't worry". I get angry at the weekend whiners...those whose husbands are gone for a few days and they act like their world has fallen apart. I've been doing this for SIXTEEN MONTHS...and have probably that much to go. But then, *I* feel selfish, when I think about some of my friends who are single parents by NO CHOICE of their own. Those whose husbands passed away...and I get angry at ME.
In the end, I will be okay...I'll have my bad days, I'll have my good days. I've set a few goals for myself for the year. I pray that I will make them.
ILY24752
Catching up...
In an effort to try to blog every day while Scott is deployed, I'm going to post a "catch up" post.
December 2012:
Scott came home on block leave. This was back-to-back with his pre-deployment leave, so he was able to spend an entire month home with us. It was WONDERFUL! We spent time just being a family again. Doing the regular, every day family things...including arguing here and there. But because we've been married for 14 years, we both know how to deal with the arguments a bit better.
January 2013:
Scott left on January 13 to head back to Ft. Campbell. There were rumors that the deployment was being pushed back and this worried both of us. Thankfully, when he got there, he discovered it wasn't true (at least not for him). He is scheduled to be part of the ADVON (advanced party) so he'll be one of the first to go. Scheduled deployment is tentatively 1FEB, but that date is subject to change. On January 17, the kids had a half day, so I picked them up from school and we headed out to Ft. Campbell for a long weekend. This will be the last time we see Scott before he deploys. I didn't care what we did, as long as we did it as a family. It was quality time and I am blessed and thankful that we were able to go and be with him. The rest of this month ends up quite busy for Scott, with training, meetings, packing, repacking, packing one more time. On our end, we come home and try to start establishing the routine we had before the holidays. Scott lets me know he's got a definite deployment date, 4FEB. Now I KNOW it's real.
4FEB:
Scott called me from the motor pool, where they gathered for family time. I am wistful and wishing I was there to say goodbye, but it would have been hard on both of us. I'm thankful he's ready to go, since it seems like we've been preparing for this since the day he left home to go to Ft. Campbell, back in 2011. I got phone calls throughout the day. Scott let me know when they were about to leave, at about 3:00. They were flying to Cherry Point to pick up Marines. He called me again from Cherry Point, around 8:00 and they were flying out to Germany.
5FEB:
I didn't hear from him early when he landed in Germany, as it was around 4 or 5 EST, but he did call just as they were prepping to fly out from Frankfurt. He called on his cell....OUCH. That's gonna be a hefty call! It was less than a minute, though, and I'm glad I knew when he was headed out! They left Germany around 7:00 a.m. EST...about noon Germany time. I didn't know where they were headed, or how long it would be before I heard from him again. I can honestly say, I was in tears. It's hard NOT to worry about the man you have loved for well over 16 years!
I have a special ringtone for when Scott calls me. It's one of those weird, digital voices that says, "your husband is attempting to reach you on your cellular device"...it's always nice to hear that go off randomly in my day. After his last call before he left Germany, I realized I won't be hearing that again for a long time. Wow. That hit hard. The random and unexpected tears flowed.
The kids and I had dentist appointments, so I got them out of school a bit early. Dentist went well for both of them: no cavities! 12 years for Hannah, almost 9 for Scotty. Great teeth, those two. For me...well, some of my fillings are needing replaced. Not looking forward to that, ugh!
Around 7:00, I heard the ringtone. I was finishing my supper...reading the paper. It was a FaceTime contact! I was terribly excited, and when we connected I exuberantly exclaimed, "Hello, my darling!!!" Apparently, all the folks around him heard that! He was in Manas, Kyrgyzstan. They had a wifi hotspot in the chow hall. What a blessing that was! It was loud, jerky, and a poor connection, but I still got to see him and know he was safe!
6FEB:
9:00 a.m., I got a FaceTime request from Scott. It's now night time in Kyrgyzstan. He and his guys slept for several hours and were getting a late dinner. I'm glad I got to talk to him. He doesn't know how long he'll be there...could be several days. For his sake, I hope it's not too long. He said he would try to let me know when they're headed out. We made tentative plans to chat in the evening (a.m. for him).
The kids and I had a busy Wednesday. I did my regular Wednesday volunteer work at church (First Baptist Church of Lexington) where I print all the music for the orchestra, clean and reset the pit, then usually put the songs up into ProPresenter for the big screens on Sunday. Because it was an early release day, I couldn't get it all done before I went to get Scotty from the bus stop. He and I went to Moe's for the RCE fundraiser day, then we headed to the neighborhood clubhouse for a "Half Day Party" that my friend Amy Jo always organizes. Hannah and her friends met us there when they got home from school. The kids played and had a good time, till about 3:30.
We headed home, and no sooner did we get there, then we turned around and headed back out for Hannah's 4:30 flute lesson at FBC. While she was having her lesson, I finished off the last of my work putting the music up in ProPresenter. We ate at church for Wednesday Night Supper, then headed off to our activities: Scotty to DiscipleZone, Hannah to The Fallout, and me to orchestra rehearsal. As we were getting ready to leave at 8:00, I got an iMessage from Scott asking if I was ready to chat. We headed home, and got in a nice FaceTime session. Both kids got to talk for several minutes. Scott let me know he thought they'd be leaving that same day (while it was 8:30 p.m. for me, it was 7:30 a.m. the next day for him!). He said he'd let me know more if he knew.
Around 11:30 p.m. he sent me a text telling me they were getting ready to head out. I sent a message to our friend Keith, who is currently in Afghanistan (the 101st is replacing the 1ID) to let him know the 101st guys were heading out, and to ask him to let me know when they got there. Then I went to bed, though I didn't sleep well; the not knowing is hard on me!
December 2012:
Scott came home on block leave. This was back-to-back with his pre-deployment leave, so he was able to spend an entire month home with us. It was WONDERFUL! We spent time just being a family again. Doing the regular, every day family things...including arguing here and there. But because we've been married for 14 years, we both know how to deal with the arguments a bit better.
January 2013:
Scott left on January 13 to head back to Ft. Campbell. There were rumors that the deployment was being pushed back and this worried both of us. Thankfully, when he got there, he discovered it wasn't true (at least not for him). He is scheduled to be part of the ADVON (advanced party) so he'll be one of the first to go. Scheduled deployment is tentatively 1FEB, but that date is subject to change. On January 17, the kids had a half day, so I picked them up from school and we headed out to Ft. Campbell for a long weekend. This will be the last time we see Scott before he deploys. I didn't care what we did, as long as we did it as a family. It was quality time and I am blessed and thankful that we were able to go and be with him. The rest of this month ends up quite busy for Scott, with training, meetings, packing, repacking, packing one more time. On our end, we come home and try to start establishing the routine we had before the holidays. Scott lets me know he's got a definite deployment date, 4FEB. Now I KNOW it's real.
4FEB:
Scott called me from the motor pool, where they gathered for family time. I am wistful and wishing I was there to say goodbye, but it would have been hard on both of us. I'm thankful he's ready to go, since it seems like we've been preparing for this since the day he left home to go to Ft. Campbell, back in 2011. I got phone calls throughout the day. Scott let me know when they were about to leave, at about 3:00. They were flying to Cherry Point to pick up Marines. He called me again from Cherry Point, around 8:00 and they were flying out to Germany.
5FEB:
I didn't hear from him early when he landed in Germany, as it was around 4 or 5 EST, but he did call just as they were prepping to fly out from Frankfurt. He called on his cell....OUCH. That's gonna be a hefty call! It was less than a minute, though, and I'm glad I knew when he was headed out! They left Germany around 7:00 a.m. EST...about noon Germany time. I didn't know where they were headed, or how long it would be before I heard from him again. I can honestly say, I was in tears. It's hard NOT to worry about the man you have loved for well over 16 years!
I have a special ringtone for when Scott calls me. It's one of those weird, digital voices that says, "your husband is attempting to reach you on your cellular device"...it's always nice to hear that go off randomly in my day. After his last call before he left Germany, I realized I won't be hearing that again for a long time. Wow. That hit hard. The random and unexpected tears flowed.
The kids and I had dentist appointments, so I got them out of school a bit early. Dentist went well for both of them: no cavities! 12 years for Hannah, almost 9 for Scotty. Great teeth, those two. For me...well, some of my fillings are needing replaced. Not looking forward to that, ugh!
Around 7:00, I heard the ringtone. I was finishing my supper...reading the paper. It was a FaceTime contact! I was terribly excited, and when we connected I exuberantly exclaimed, "Hello, my darling!!!" Apparently, all the folks around him heard that! He was in Manas, Kyrgyzstan. They had a wifi hotspot in the chow hall. What a blessing that was! It was loud, jerky, and a poor connection, but I still got to see him and know he was safe!
6FEB:
9:00 a.m., I got a FaceTime request from Scott. It's now night time in Kyrgyzstan. He and his guys slept for several hours and were getting a late dinner. I'm glad I got to talk to him. He doesn't know how long he'll be there...could be several days. For his sake, I hope it's not too long. He said he would try to let me know when they're headed out. We made tentative plans to chat in the evening (a.m. for him).
The kids and I had a busy Wednesday. I did my regular Wednesday volunteer work at church (First Baptist Church of Lexington) where I print all the music for the orchestra, clean and reset the pit, then usually put the songs up into ProPresenter for the big screens on Sunday. Because it was an early release day, I couldn't get it all done before I went to get Scotty from the bus stop. He and I went to Moe's for the RCE fundraiser day, then we headed to the neighborhood clubhouse for a "Half Day Party" that my friend Amy Jo always organizes. Hannah and her friends met us there when they got home from school. The kids played and had a good time, till about 3:30.
We headed home, and no sooner did we get there, then we turned around and headed back out for Hannah's 4:30 flute lesson at FBC. While she was having her lesson, I finished off the last of my work putting the music up in ProPresenter. We ate at church for Wednesday Night Supper, then headed off to our activities: Scotty to DiscipleZone, Hannah to The Fallout, and me to orchestra rehearsal. As we were getting ready to leave at 8:00, I got an iMessage from Scott asking if I was ready to chat. We headed home, and got in a nice FaceTime session. Both kids got to talk for several minutes. Scott let me know he thought they'd be leaving that same day (while it was 8:30 p.m. for me, it was 7:30 a.m. the next day for him!). He said he'd let me know more if he knew.
Around 11:30 p.m. he sent me a text telling me they were getting ready to head out. I sent a message to our friend Keith, who is currently in Afghanistan (the 101st is replacing the 1ID) to let him know the 101st guys were heading out, and to ask him to let me know when they got there. Then I went to bed, though I didn't sleep well; the not knowing is hard on me!
Weclome!
I've titled this blog 24/7/52. Because it's about a deployment. And how I miss my husband 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks of the year. I know most folks would put 24/7/365, but that is technically incorrect, and I know my husband wouldn't like it...and I don't either!
I've been a blogger for a long time, but I've never had to blog about a deployment. There's a lot of backstory, though.
My husband is CW4 Scott MacDonald. He has been in the US Army for 20+ years. He started out as a trumpet player. He did that for 10 years. (we met somewhere around his 4th year in). 12 years ago, he decided to become a Warrant Officer, and is now a Bandmaster for the US Army Band field. He loves his job. I love what he does too.
A few years ago, after living in Lexington, SC for almost 3 years, he discovered he was due for reassignment. (sadly, in the band field, they don't offer the "family stability" like they do in the other fields...nowadays, you can stay at a post for 5 or more years!) After a lot of discussion, we decided that it would be best if he took an assignment to Ft. Campbell. The kicker was that the kids and I would stay in Lexington. We had a home we loved, a church home and family, and the kids loved their school. There were financial concerns, and we also knew that a deployment was most likely to happen. So...in August 2012, we became a geographically separated family.
It hasn't been easy. Scott's visits home were usually monthly, though, from time to time, there were "long stretches"...and those were usually 6 weeks or more. His visits home were usually only 4 days. It's hard to cram "being a family" into 4 days. We did our best to maintain normalcy. We did have block leave time in the summer and at Christmas. 15 days of blissful family. Together.
Separation can be hard on a family. It's hard for the spouse "at home" who is trying to hold the family together and maintain some sense of normalcy, routine, rhythm of life. It's hard for the spouse "away" who misses out on so much of the family. Kids grow, teeth fall out, report cards are issued. So many little things that we take for granted...these are all missed by the spouse who isn't there to see it all happen.
And separation can wreak havoc on your relationship. If there were any cracks, any fissures, any doubts, or lack of trust...a separation can make that even worse! But if your relationship is strong, grounded, and filled with love and trust, nothing will shake it.
So...this begins my deployment blog. After a 16 months of "stateside deployment", Scott prepared to go to a God-forsaken country to protect OUR country.
I've been a blogger for a long time, but I've never had to blog about a deployment. There's a lot of backstory, though.
My husband is CW4 Scott MacDonald. He has been in the US Army for 20+ years. He started out as a trumpet player. He did that for 10 years. (we met somewhere around his 4th year in). 12 years ago, he decided to become a Warrant Officer, and is now a Bandmaster for the US Army Band field. He loves his job. I love what he does too.
A few years ago, after living in Lexington, SC for almost 3 years, he discovered he was due for reassignment. (sadly, in the band field, they don't offer the "family stability" like they do in the other fields...nowadays, you can stay at a post for 5 or more years!) After a lot of discussion, we decided that it would be best if he took an assignment to Ft. Campbell. The kicker was that the kids and I would stay in Lexington. We had a home we loved, a church home and family, and the kids loved their school. There were financial concerns, and we also knew that a deployment was most likely to happen. So...in August 2012, we became a geographically separated family.
It hasn't been easy. Scott's visits home were usually monthly, though, from time to time, there were "long stretches"...and those were usually 6 weeks or more. His visits home were usually only 4 days. It's hard to cram "being a family" into 4 days. We did our best to maintain normalcy. We did have block leave time in the summer and at Christmas. 15 days of blissful family. Together.
Separation can be hard on a family. It's hard for the spouse "at home" who is trying to hold the family together and maintain some sense of normalcy, routine, rhythm of life. It's hard for the spouse "away" who misses out on so much of the family. Kids grow, teeth fall out, report cards are issued. So many little things that we take for granted...these are all missed by the spouse who isn't there to see it all happen.
And separation can wreak havoc on your relationship. If there were any cracks, any fissures, any doubts, or lack of trust...a separation can make that even worse! But if your relationship is strong, grounded, and filled with love and trust, nothing will shake it.
So...this begins my deployment blog. After a 16 months of "stateside deployment", Scott prepared to go to a God-forsaken country to protect OUR country.
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