Jason left for Iraq yesterday. I had been thinking that since this was our third deployment, that it might me a little easier to say goodbye. I was wrong. After Jason finished packing, we spent the day playing Monopoly and a little xbox. It was time to drop him off at the company area and neither of the kids wanted to go. We were all crying. I don't think they could bear driving off and leaving him there. I dropped him off, said my own goodbyes through the tears and drove the 2 miles back home.
When I got home Hunter was sitting in the chair with his face buried in Jason's pillow, just sobbing. I grabbed him up and we took Ashley to swim practice-her choice. She needed a 2 hour swim to get all those feelings out and said she felt much better by the end of practice. Hunter and I meanwhile drowned our sorrows in hot chocolate at the top of a beautiful mountain pass in the pouring rain. When we first got there all we could see was the clouds and tips of the mountains. Just as we were finishing the cocoa, it stopped raining and a ray of sunlight cut through the clouds and shined down on the ocean. The mountains were so green and the fog of the clouds was hovering around us. It was so beautiful. I really felt like God was letting me know that through this storm there is always hope and He will be there to comfort and care for us.
I haven't heard from Jason yet, but no news is good news. We do have one thing going for us from past experience and that is we know what routine to get into. We aren't fumbling around trying to figure out how to deal with life. Everyone seems to be doing alright today. We have cried out all the tears and are picking ourselves up by the boot straps and focusing on Jason's return. Hunter told me today "only 364 days to go Mom!"
