Deployment Blog- Take One!

After taking a break for some much-needed relaxation from the taxing world of blogging, I am back at it and ready to go! Since the last post, which I think was way back in October of last year, there has been a ton of life, living, and other fun things going on around the Northwest. Here's what all you missed in the "gap months:" Dereck's parents came out for Thanksgiving, we went home for Christmas, I quit my old job and got a new job- woot, woot!, we went home and to Key West for two weeks in May, and Dereck is now deployed halfway around the world. See? Not too much has been missed when you look at it in these terms!

In all honesty, I have been wanting to get back to the blog for quite a while now, but couldn't justify doing it while Dereck was still home, especially in these last two months. Now that he's gone though, I am a free woman! Next thing you know, I will be hitting up the casinos and buying flashy sport cars, simply because no one can stop me :) For those of you that are wondering where the deployment thing came from, we've known about it for a while, but thanks to Army rules like Operational Security, or OpSec, it wasn't in our best interest to broadcast that he was going anywhere until right before he left. So, my apologies if it was a surprise in any way. Dereck is now on a grand tour of a country in the Middle East for twelve months, and has had to acclimate to a literal doubling of temperature. The Northwest has been having a less-than-stellar summer, and while the rest of the country is broiling, we have stayed at a cool/cold 50 and 60 something with rain. Now before you start to think that this sounds heavenly and become jealous, remind yourself that you most likely had beautiful warm months called March, April, and May to enjoy while we soaked in a consistent drizzle of coldness. A girl could use some heat here!

But I digress.....Dereck left earlier this week, and I was able to talk to him for a good ten minutes on Wednesday morning, so I have no complaints. He survived a 42 hour flight to get there- that's right- 42 hours on one stinking plane. We found out after the fact that his group was in a smaller plane that needed to refuel every so often, and so landed four times during the journey from Seattle to the desert. One highlight for Dereck was eating schnitzel in Germany, so all was not lost. And he got ample time to read his new Kindle (e-reader) that we purchased for the deployment. I don't think Dereck has ever been that excited about a purchase. It was glued to his hands most of the hours before he left, and for that reason, I am thankful he bought one small thing to make the long days ahead more fun. He even got a cool case that has a reading lamp attached for the dark nights when he will be sleeping in trucks and tents.

In order to gear myself up for this next year, I have been thinking on positive aspects of the separation and here's what I have so far: I get to sleep anywhere on the bed I like, I can buy skim milk without any objections, TLC is the channel of choice when the TV is on, girl time is guilt-free since no one is waiting at home, the house is immaculately clean, I rock the Tacoma whenever I need to drive somewhere (the Civic was totaled in February thanks to evil black ice, and the NW's refusal to salt icy roads- thanks salmon, thanks a lot), no one goes hungry when I refuse to shop for groceries out of pure laziness, Ritter suddenly finds me much cooler since his favorite person is gone, Army gear doesn't litter every free corner of the house, I suddenly have time to ponder life's mysteries, I have had great phone chats with friends, and God loves on me every time someone prays for us. See- there is a lot of good to be had given the situation.

One other highlight is my "happy deployment" present to myself. Instead of going to the casino or buying that sportscar I thought about earlier, I am now the proud owner of a Keurig Coffee Machine- one of those cool machines that takes a pod and gives you hot coffee, tea, or cocoa in less than a minute. It's perfect for someone who only needs to make coffee for one (or a small group), and only wants to make coffee every now and then. What really sealed the deal is that the PX (like the Army version of Wal-Mart) finally has some in stock, and you don't have to pay sales tax at the PX! That's a big deal when sales tax is near 10% in the state thanks to the lack of income tax- so, with a big purchase like a Keurig, that's a difference of roughly $13. After standing and debating whether I needed it or if I was being crazy for twenty minutes, finding a random couple to debate with in the coffee aisle, and then a quick conversation with the lady ringing up my purchases, I found myself the proud owner. Two days later I am still happy, have no regrets, and can brew a mean cup of coffee in less than a minute. Shazaam!

And there you have it. Life without Dereck for 12 months is underway, I am working on finding small joys in daily life, and the Kennedy house is host to one cool coffee machine! Now start booking your flights to come visit! No seriously....we have a guest room, and Ritter likes to cuddle......