Here I Am

Okay, I'm sorry. Sorry for not reporting in and letting my throngs of fans know that all is fine. All is well and good. Well, it's not like fairytale perfect, I'm still not rich, I still haven't finished my degree and I'm still changing poopy diapers and dealing with a non-talking, screaming and all too cute toddler, but other than all that (except the cute part) I'm fabulous.
Nick deployed on June 17 and it surprisingly went very well. My boys were more upset than they've ever been at his leaving, but they're older and understand more about it. The good part is now that he's in aviation he doesn't have to leave the FOB (forward operations base) while he's there. So no more combat scares for me and no more kicking in doors for him. I was pretty relaxed the day he left. I didn't get upset until the next day when I was putting away some of his leftover laundry and I opened his drawer to find it completely empty. That's when it hit me. I didn't cry or sob uncontrollably, I just sat and stared at the empty drawer for a bit - it took my breath away. I quickly proceeded to rearrange the drawers so that none of them were empty. Why waste the space, right? So now my clothes have more room to breathe and I won't have to shove them all down to get them shut for the next 15 months. I look forward to the day, however, when they are spilling over again. This deployment is going to be different for sure. I kind of hope I get all stressed out at some point because that always brings on weight loss, but so far I've been pretty calm with things.
Anyhow, I've gotta lay Olivia down for a nap before it gets too late. Sorry for the lapse in communication and I promise to be better. Hugs, kisses and good, smelly flowers for you all.