Yeah, I know – my title is dramatic, but what is life without a little bit of drama.
Long story short: my husband is a kennel master contractor for the State Department. He spends 9 months out of the year (non-consecutive) overseas. This is, I believe, his fifth tour. I should have started this blog sooner, but I didn’t think about it until a couple of days ago. One of my goals for 2023 is to start writing more (I know, I am early – that is a good start!) & I thought this would be a good way to hold myself accountable. I want to look back one day & remember what I went through & experienced while my husband – Bill – is away. A journal, if you will, without the cramped hands.
Day 0 – December 19: we just got home from vacation. We spent a couple of days in Texas, and then went on a 7 day cruise in the Caribbean. We had such a great time with family. We went to Honduras, Costa Maya, and Cozumel. We hadn’t been on a cruise since 2014, so this was a nice trip. We had to come home today, which is also Bill’s birthday, and the last day we are together before he goes back overseas. I am sad. On the airplane going home, I was listening to my favorite podcast Terrible, Thanks For Asking (TTFA). I am obsessed with this podcast. Little unknown fact: I listened to 6 years of old TTFA episodes in about 18 months. Call me an addict, I don’t care. I won’t spoil the whole podcast for you (listen, it is GOOD!), but in the episode I was listening to on the plane, Nora (the host) was talking about the upcoming holidays & said, “I hope wherever you are, or aren’t, and whatever you’re doing, or not doing, you find something beautiful no matter how broken things may be.” I friggin’ lost my mind. I was crying so hard the lady sitting next to me offered me a tissue. I don’t feel like anything is broken. I just feel sad. Washington has been a hard adjustment for me, and I still am not adjusted. Not to get too deep about that, but I struggle here. The weather sucks and I miss my friends in Virginia deeply. See this post to find out why my friends in Virginia were so so so incredible. Un-freaking-matched, but I digress. Washington would be so much more bearable if I weren’t alone all the time. I don’t say that to guilt-trip Bill; he knows I support him & we both know this is going to benefit our future. But it is the truth, and we both know it. I mean – he doesn’t even like it when he is here. Anyway, I am sad.
Vagabond Texan 