I have been so blessed this summer <3 My husband returned home from a year long tour in Afghanistan and our family has become whole again. Aside from that his battle buddy, one of his best friends, and my sister’s boyfriend came home as well. I was blessed to be able to spend the entire summer with my sister as she came down here to reconnect with her boyfriend. I’d grown to love him as a brother, the boys became very attached to him, and we are happy to call him family.
Two days ago we sent my sister back to Washington as she’s gearing up for her second year of college. It was a very emotional time. My sister is one of my best friends, and after being apart for so long we were able to reconnect on a deeper level. It was so hard to say goodbye. Tears flowed from both of our eyes, knowing that the next time we would be able to see each other again is unknown. That’s the joys of a military lifestyle, along with the economy. You can’t just up and take vacation whenever you want. I miss her terribly. The boys are confused and sad.
Today we said goodbye to Kilby. I had only just met him when they returned from Afghanistan. Although my sister had already been able to spend R&R with him. But over the short time of summer, I had grown to love him like a brother. He truly is one of the best things that has ever happen to my sister. We were blessed enough to be able to house them for several weeks while he was ETS’ing from the Army (for you civilians that means he was getting out). I was able to keep composed enough to say my goodbyes, can’t say that Wyatt was able to do the same. But I completely lost it after he closed the door and we watched him get in the car and pull away, surprisingly so. I hadn’t expected to be filled with such emotion.
My family is my life. They mean more to me than anything. It’s been a really rough few years as we’ve raised our family 19 hours away from “home”. I often find myself envious of those you have their families so close. I long for that. I’ve often found myself hating this military lifestyle for those said reasons. We’ve toyed with idea’s of future Army Posts we’d like to be stationed at, but after this last week, I think we are going to follow through and request Fort Lewis after all. It won’t be for a few years yet, and the move wouldn’t happen until some time in 2013, but I think that all in all it will be the best decision we can make for our family right now. We will be only a few hours from our families. It’s so hard to watch my son cry because he’s sad that his Auntie, Uncle, or Grandparent has to leave. It’s as if they really have this awesome chance to get to know each other better, and bond closely and then it’s ripped away from them when they leave, or our time visiting is up. It truly breaks my heart. I remember growing up and going to all sorts of birthdays and family events and it saddens me that my boys miss out on those special memories. At least if we are close to home we can visit often and vice versa, be home for all holidays, and multiple weekends a year. We dreamed of traveling around with the Army, but deep in my heart I think that these years are some of the most important in our children’s lives, and I think that being near family would be the best decision in order to build a strong foundation for them. Once they are older and fully understand, have built great relationships with their grandparents, aunts, and uncles, then I will feel more comfortable traveling farther away.
This life is no joke, I don’t take anything for granted anymore. Hold those close to you tightly! Appreciate the time you have and make it worthwhile
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