Bruce and I have our 10 year anniversary coming up next month. He was already a Marine when I met him, so I have effectively been married to the Marine Corps for 10 years. We have said goodbye more times than I can count, and I know what to expect from myself. I get emotional. I cry when he leaves. I give myself the departure day to be sad and mopey. But, the next day...game on. Let's do this. He's gone, and I have to make the best of it.
So far I'm proud of how we're handling things. We've been going about our lives. We haven't stopped. In fact, we're even busier than normal. We can now accept invitations that we would normally turn down to have more Daddy time. We make dinner plans with our squadron friends because they don't have husbands at home to cook for either. I am more free to help other people. Have a doctor's appointment? Bring your baby. They can cuddle with me. We're okay.
But, I want to do more than just survive this deployment. Even though I know there will be bad days when I just want to cry, we're going to thrive in this deployment. As crazy at it sounds, I want to celebrate. Not celebrate that my husband is gone, but celebrate all the little things. Even though it sometimes feels like it, the world doesn't stop spinning. My kids don't stop growing while their Daddy is gone, and I don't want to wish away months of their childhood because he's not here. I want to enjoy it more because he's not here to experience it. I want us to live big so we have lots of fun things to tell him. He doesn't want to hear that we're sitting around being sad. Bruce wants us to enjoy the freedom that he's working to protect.
Here's to making the most out of this chapter of our lives. Working towards personal goals and finding joy in the little things. Dancing Girl just mentioned she wants to have a Halloween party. I say, let's do it! Let's celebrate! Bring out the pumpkins!
