Skip to main content

It's Like Being Deployed.....Kind of


Every month thousands of husbands and wives say goodbye to each other to do what needs to be done – serve their country. Children hug their mother or father one last time as they are deployed. Thank God neither Tony nor I are heading off to war. We are the fortunate ones. Our lives are not in danger. We will be able to see each other on a regular basis. Even so, we are choosing to look at our situation as a ‘deployment’ of sorts. Our separation is a temporary one.

As those couples have made an informed decision about joining the military, Tony and I took a long time before we made a choice about what we need to do to pay our bills. We have always said we would rather be happy in our jobs than make a lot of money. However, after doing that for the last 17 years, we are done living paycheck to paycheck. We are worth more than that - as is our family.  It is time for us to find both jobs we love and a salary we deserve so that we can support our family.

Our decision was not made lightly.  It comes at a cost. A couple pieces of me are missing. It is not easy being without Tony and Sana. Living in someone else’s home. Not being there with Sana when she says goodbye to her dog for the last time. Knowing they are packing up the house and I cannot help. Feeling helpless being so far away. Yet, within all the loneliness and helplessness is hope and the reminder that we made this decision together. Husband and wife. Doing what needs to be done. Where that job will be for me and where it will take me, I do not know. What I do know is that I am very much in love with my husband and that we will make this work.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fiery Passion

It is 10:44am on Wednesday morning. I sit here in a darkened classroom with no power. During the last 24 hours I have walked a student down to the office with a big knot on her head as the result of a fight; counseled the other half of the fight on different choices she could have made; been an object of a discussion between two teachers; backed my car into a ditch; and restrained a girl. Oh, yeah, and I taught about Civil Rights a bit also. My life continues to be an adventure! Fast forward nine hours. My day at school has come to a close giving me a few moments to sit and reflect on the adventure of the last day and a half. I continue to contemplate what could be done to teach the girls how to embrace the fiery passion they have within rather than to let it out through fighting. Let’s take a walk back through time….. In every other school I have taught in, teachers have a lunch break. This is not the case at BMS. Teachers eat with the students, albeit at a separate table. We...
Post a Comment
Read more

Aging sucks.....or does it?

Upon first thought, watching a parent age sucks. Unnoticeable at first. A bit of a stoop, some creaking in the knees, whitening of the hair. The doctor’s visits begin, as do the pills One for high blood pressure, another to thin the blood, and a handful of vitamins to top it off. The signs are there, but it is easier to see him as he has always been. My father, a pillar of strength. Until my pillar was knocked off-kilter. A simple surgery and the mortality of my father looked me square in the eye when the drugs took hold of his brain. Amidst his fidgeting and confusion, I realized…AGING SUCKS! And then….enlightenment dawned upon me….AGING IS BEAUTIFUL Wrinkles tell of smiles while silver hair speaks a life of memories. Knees creaky after years of kneeling in prayer, offering up a lap, and climbing up the stairs for one more kiss goodnight. Almost forty-eight years of memories nestled in my heart. Memories of my father. Taking us to church each Sunday Building and fixing ...
2 comments
Read more

An Easter Lesson

I decided that this break I was going to stay home and spend the week doing things I have not done or haven't done in awhile. It all began Thursday night with Ballroom Dancing, which will continue on Monday and Thursday with lessons. Saturday, I bought a couple of new outfits. Today brought both something I hadn't done in awhile and something new. Today, I went to church which was pretty cool in itself. I went with someone I just met the day before. (I am sure that is no surprise to any of you who know me.) We made plans to meet up at church. It was different from any church I had been in before. The chairs were set up "in the round." There was no piano or organ to accompany our singing. People were in and out throughout the 90 minute service. No surprise, the place was packed. The service was your typical protestant service, minus the organ, of course. It had been awhile since my friend had been to church. Many in the congregation flocked to him at the end to gi...
Post a Comment
Read more