Day Four

Well today was kind of interesting. This morning I decided we were staying put because the girls are snuffly and I'm still plugged up... so we were just chilling out. THEN, at 8:10 the phone rings and it's someone from hubby's work, needing paperwork, and needing it before noon. Um, okay, sure I can do that! Enter scramble mode - because the paperwork needed all had to be looked up and printed off the computer. Not to mention I was still in my pjs. But I got it all together and dropped off by 9:30 - well done, I think. :)

Then, since we were already out anyway, and the kids seemed to be shaking off most of the morning snuffles, we went ahead and dropped in to storytime at the Deployment Support Centre. It was nice - once a week they have a drop-in program where they read a story, do a related craft, share a snack, and have some time to mingle. I thought it would be good to go to some of their activities so that C can relate to other kids whose Dads are away. And A, well she just likes other kids regardless. So we went. And it was a good time... although I am always a little disappointed by how some parents control their kids (or don't, more specifically) in a group setting. However aside from a couple of live wires, it was a good group of kids and parents. And they had a good time, which is what I was hoping for. There wasn't anyone there I knew, which led to me being a tad slow to find anyone to talk to, but I did make some good contact with the ladies who organize it so that was nice.

It's going to be helpful being in a base community while he's away - when we were back home and he was away, the nearest base was 2.5 hours away and that's a bit far to go for drop-in playgroups and the like. (Of course I still had family around, so it wasn't really required anyway.)

Still awaiting word from my love about the whens and wheres and successes of his travels... hopefully sometime tonight if I'm lucky. Having some twelve hours between us will make arranging communications rather interesting.

Day Three

A funny thing happens when the mister goes away. Suddenly I get overtaken with this urge to clean. And I don't mean just washing the dishes, either... it's like everything around me needs to be tidied and reorganized. Yesterday I did our bedroom, the girl's rooms and the playroom - tidying, vacuuming, throwing away stuff. Today I have a smaller goal of just cleaning the bathroom and the upstairs hall floor, because we're going to be out for part of the day.

Just for a few minutes I wondered about this, because it's not just me. It seems to be a nearly-universal thing among the wives I know - as soon as he leaves town, the house must be cleaned. It's compulsive. I wonder if it is, as people say, just a need to keep busy... or whether there's actually something a little deeper at work. Like a need for control. Life as we know it just got turned on its head, but by jove there is something we can do, and that is to clean and organize and put things just so all around us. I'm thinking that is in there, albeit in a sort of unconscious way. Of course, "keeping busy" is a part of it, too. Not to mention that it's just a really good opportunity to do things in your own way and not worry about stepping on anyone else's toes in the process. But I don't think we're all that simple. ;)

Day Three today. And so far, so good. We've had a few "I miss Daddy" moments and the occasional "What if he doesn't come home?" - have I mentioned that Miss is a bit melodramatic from time to time?

... and here we go again ...

Hubby left yesterday for a six-month deployment overseas. This will be his first trip so far away, and it's admittedly a tad surreal to think about us having half the world between us. So we just don't think about that too much. Thankfully he's not in combat, but rather in a rear support role where he's in more danger from heatstroke and spiders than enemy fire. Not that we want to be totally complacent, either, but that line of thought keeps the stress level pretty low.

We spent Sunday as a fun family day, took the kids to the West Edmonton Mall to check out the theme park and see a sea lion show, and spent the night at a hotel with a pool. Then Monday morning we brought him to the airport to see him off, which was rough for a few minutes but then I bought off the kids with some dinosaur-shaped mint chocolate pops and headed for the highway. I'll tell you, those steps and each kilometer down the road were just as brutal as the times we left the Halifax airport or left Ontario... but we made it. We spent the afternoon at a McDonald's playplace with some friends to play with, then got home a little past supper time.

So far the tears have been pretty few. Tempers are a tad short in the littles, but we're working on keeping the minds occupied so there are fewer opportunities for confrontation. I'm trying to think of things to keep their focus on happy things like making stuff to send to Daddy, watching fun movies, and planning some playdates. And we'll be headed back home at some point for visits with family and friends, so that will be a nice distraction.

And me? Well, I guess you could say I've hauled out the toolkit from last time. Some might think it's unhealthy, but I have kind of mastered the art of compartmentalizing this part of life, and I have shelved the box containing the negatives. I'm sure at some point it will try to open itself or fall off the shelf, but for now it's good. I'll buy some extra-strength duct tape just in case. ;)

April 5, 2010 - He is Risen!

The Hill of Calvary and the empty tomb... He is Risen!

Some thoughts on the project...

The combination of seeds has led to something of an interesting growth pattern... LOL Wheat grass or regular grass seed would have been much more uniform.

If doing this next year, perhaps starting it a week earlier would be good, so that it is already a grassy hill before Easter? Although there was some cool symbolism going on there with the grass breaking out over the weekend.

In case you missed the earlier posts, you can find this project here!

April 3, 2010 - The Tomb is Sealed

It's Saturday. The tomb is sealed, but underneath the dark dirt, new life is starting...

April 2, 2010 - Good Friday

Good Friday blessings to you and yours.

April 1, 2010 - Fun with Cuisenaire Rods

Math today was C playing with and trying out her new Cuisenaire Rods.   Learning how they add up to match each other, and solving puzzles like "How many different ways can you add up to five?"