Hostage no more!

HOORAY! I am FREE!!!

I got the approval from my most fabulous employer BigHospital to start my leave on Monday thanks to an amazing supervisor and some creative thinking. Swiss leaves (in theory) tonight to come get me(!!!). I could not be happier or more excited to get on with this chapter of our lives. I am excited to see what living on post is like... have my own firsts at the commissary and meet other MilSpouses. I am excited to be with Swiss for the longest continual stretch we have ever had. (And I will be honest, I am thrilled to escape the ever tightening grip of the bitter winter that has descended upon us here in the Midwest). So, South I go... on to new adventures and time with my incredible husband.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone- I know I will!

Aaaaaarrrrrrrrggggggggh.

I have a confession to make: My life is being held hostage by the Army. I hear you laughing. I know you've all been here before and it isn't anything new. But it is new to me! Goodness gracious. Talk about not being in control of your own life.

As I mentioned before, my current employer is giving me a large chunk of FMLA time off to be with Swiss before he departs for the Sandbox. And Swiss warned me that everything would happen FAST when he got down to his new post. So I planned and prepared, made lists and packed up my clothes, most of my kitchen goods, and all of my art supplies... got things in order at work, delegated my duties, warned everyone. I was PREPARED! I am an Army wife for crying out loud!

And here I sit.

Luggage and laundry baskets filled with household good are all piled up neatly in the middle of the living room. Folks are already taking over my duties at work.

And still, I sit.

Why? Because there is one piece of paper that I need to get my FMLA leave going. Just one. And we don't have it. Swiss has been on post for over 2 weeks now. Still no paper. Maybe the paper is what is being held hostage?!? Do you think there is a ransom for it? WHATEVER IT IS... I WILL PAY IT!!!

Anyway, I am sitting and waiting, and waiting only somewhat patiently with everything packed up. Waiting for ONE piece of paper. And now the word is it may not come until next week. (And we all know how Holiday weeks go don't we?) Oh heavens. Funny how so much can hinge on one little piece of paper...

Okay. Vent over. Thank you for listening.

Project Valor-IT

Okay, dear readers, I am sure you all are already aware of Project Valor-IT. But, in case you aren't... go check it out and try to add a bit to their totals. It's such a good cause and it is so important... I knew nothing about it until I saw it over at Butterfly Wife's site (Thanks BW!) and I am so glad she posted about it... so now I am doing the same.

Donate under your appropriate "Team" (GO ARMY!) and every cent will go towards helping a wounded soldier stay connected and communicate with friends and family. It's a great cause!

Go check it out already!!!! Project Valor-IT. GO!

Ignorance.

They say ignorance is bliss. And while that may be true... it seems that more often than not, ignorance is hateful, ignorance is harmful, ignorance is the loudest kid in the crowd.

I was over at a favorite website today, The Big Picture, and in honor of Veteran's day the author posted pictures of troops entrenched in the mountains of Afghanistan. They were amazing photographs, action shots, images of the troops, pictures of the locals... all with captions and descriptions.

They were moving. They were incredible and they were sobering.

I scrolled down to read the comments folks had left. Most were about the photographs only, some were thankful of our troops, and a fair share were ignorant. Some of those were mean. Some were downright hateful. Most folks turned it into a discussion about politics or foreign policy. But some were attacking our men and women over there. Name calling even.

I couldn't help but wonder what made these people feel this way? What were they told to incite such strong emotions? How can people NOT separate their feeling about the politics & policies of the war from their feelings about our Troops and fellow Americans? Even when I wasn't a MilSpouse I was always able to separate my feelings about the war from my feelings about our Troops. I can't fathom how or why others cannot do this... it boggles my mind and it scares me how hateful and spiteful people can be towards the very folks who are protecting their right to speak loudly, speak openly and speak freely all from the comfort of their safe homes.

Absolutely mind boggling.

Anticipation.

Today is the day.
Today is the day we find everything out... the Army is going to stop keeping secrets from us for just a little while and the anticipation is killing me!
Am I anxious? Yes. Am I nervous? Heck yes. Am I scared? A little. Am I excited to get word so I can finally go see Swiss? Hell-to-the-yeah!

So, wish us luck... keep your fingers crossed, send a shout-out the to Man Upstairs and hope for a safe assignment (as safe as one could be) and for good news.

Happy Wednesday Internets!

UPDATE: We have housing! Hooray! We got us some on post housing and that is stellar. They totally came through for us and I am relieved that this portion of the equation is completed. Now we wait for the big stuff...

Thank you.

Thank you to all of those who serve, all of those who have served.

Bravely and honorably.

Thank you to those of you who have put your most precious commodity on the line for your country, your families, your neighbors, for strangers and for freedom.

Thank you to the families who have stood behind their soldiers and supported their missions.
And Thank You to Swiss, my husband, my soldier and my veteran. I am so proud of you, so proud of what you do and who you are. I love you.

Thank you.

Photos courtesy of Flickr.

Do better.

Just a weeeee bit of a vent.

The lodging folks down at Fort X gave Swiss only 2 days in the post's temporary lodging. He was supposed to have 10. Two! They only gave him TWO! So now he has to check out before he even in-processes(no vacancies to be sure...) and since tomorrow is a holiday the Housing Office isn't open to help find a solution. Which means finding last-minute accommodations in unfamiliar territory. Lovely. Oh yeah, and did I mention that he can't in-process until Wednesday? (But mind you he just HAD to be down there by Monday.) Brilliant. Ooh! I almost forgot... his commanding officer isn't around or even remotely available. And won't be until next week. So we won't even know what is assignment is until approximately Lord-knows-when.

I don't know how normative all of this is. I just expected a bit better I guess. And it is doubly frustrating because I am 1,000+ miles away and can do precisely SQUAT about it. Not even bake cookies... cookies make everything better.

Anyway, feel free to tell me to get over it... tell me this is normal... or, even better, tell me your stories! Either way I am sure it will make me feel better!

This concludes my vent. Thank you for listening.

UPDATE: Thankfully Swiss' temporary housing has been extended and the Housing Office IS open today. So we will see what there is available and hopefully get one more thing checked off the list. Fingers crossed! (PS- Did you know that even though I am in DEERS and have my military ID the Housing Office still want to see the official marriage license? Madness I tell you! Madness!!!!)

Temporary lodging.

Task: Find temporary lodging.

Sounds simple, no? So I started me search on-line. Got lots of numbers. Tried to look at lots of pictures... but then the little nagging voice in the back of my nugget got louder and louder... Are we going to get taken advantage of? What part of town to live in? What if we end up in a bad part? How big? How nice? Furnished house/apartment? Corporate lodging? Extended stay hotels? Or... is there an option on post? How much to spend? Who can we trust??????

Answer to all of the above: D. I don't know. (PS: I HATE not knowing. You can imagine how well this trait pairs with being a MilSpouse... ha!)

Frankly, the concept of furnished apartments creeps me out. I have no idea why. Maybe because it seems like other people's stuff? I don't know. Most are probably better than the average hotel. Swiss had a furnished apartment that was very nice when we first met. This unreasonable paranoia, coupled with my minorly anal retentive tendencies, and the fact that I don't really trust anyone trying to sell me anything is making this quite daunting.

Gaw... I sound like I have issues! I swear... I'm not this neurotic about everything. You are going to have to trust me on this one.

It's just that we have worked hard to have a nice home, to have that comfortable AO, and I'll be honest: I am insanely attached to my sofa. And my bed. So having to bid adieu to all the creature comforts of home just isn't all that thrilling. Now, being back with Swiss? BEYOND THRILLING!

So, have any of you had to jump into the pool of temporary lodging? Any tips? Any red flags to look for? Or is this just a case of $=nice? Help!!!

And Chapter 2 ends.

It snowed last night. First snow of the coming winter. I awoke to wet sidewalks and a white yard. It is still snowing now. A fitting beginning to a new chapter: Swiss is on his way to his new post as we speak. And I am at work with puffy eyes and a red nose. Curse those pesky tears.

I already miss him, but if all goes as we suspect it will, we should be back together in a few weeks. I am trying to be upbeat about it all, but as you know all too well, it is never easy to watch the one you love drive/fly away. And while I don't think I will ever get used to it, or get any better at it for that matter, leaving is a part of our military lives like it or not.

Thankfully I have one of many great friends who is taking me shopping and out to dinner tonight to keep my mind off the lonely and empty house waiting for me. And even better, my mom is coming up this weekend to hang out and keep me company. I hate empty houses.

My next task is getting the household ready for a leave of absence. Oh, and I have to find some furnished apartments for when we are both at the new post. I don't suspect I can live in the temporary quarters Swiss will be provided with. PS: does the idea of a furnished apartment creep anyone else out? I'm saying we go high on this one and avoid any potentially sketchy digs. Other task: keep myself together as much as I can. I am no good at goodbyes.

Anyway, that is all I have. Have a great weekend Internets!

T-1

Swiss leaves tomorrow. Off to the sun and dust of a state down south. I got my official Military ID (Wow- not a flattering photo AT ALL.) and got all registered and such. It's kind of surreal packing him up and emptying out drawers... I just pray that his trip down is safe and that I can rejoin him soon. I hope your week is going well Internets and take care!