Moving right along.

Besides the song, The Twelve Days of Christmas, there’s nothing significant about the Number 12. But, for us it’s a tiny milestone. It’s 12 days that I haven’t seen my husband; 12 days that my children haven’t seen their daddy; and 12 days that we’ve been 1,000’s of miles apart.

However, there is a bright side --it’s 12 days down and 12 days less to go on our deployment countdown. We’re settling into a life of our own --keeping with old schedules while forming new routines that work for us as a "single parent home" to function and thrive smoothly.

I was raised in a single parent home; my father left when I was seven and I haven’t seen him since. In many ways, my unfortunate childhood situation has prepared me for this military life, a life of continuous deployments and fully taking the reigns while they’re away, being 100% in charge of the family and household. It has taught me how to be the glue and to keep everything held together when there’s a constant missing piece. I’ve seen the struggles of my mother, I’ve seen her failures and successes, and as our deployments have come and gone I’ve learned and grown from them throughout the past ten years of being a military wife. Unlike the typical single parent, I have a light at the end of the tunnel --my husband will come back, and we will be a complete family again. And that alone is worth living day to day with my head held high.

I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe. --Dalai Lama

Since moving to Oklahoma, I’ve been trying to live by the saying, “You can’t move forward, if you keep looking back” …or something along those lines. It has really helped me to stay positive through the storm and to write our family's next chapter. And so in order to move forward and steer steadily and victoriously through until the fall, I’ve been reflecting on Ron’s last weekend with us -- trying to memorize the little moments and embraces, the smiles and laughter.

Here’s a happy moment…

let me tell you, Brother does not want Sister's lovings!


And here’s another one…

one of my favs from the weekend


If you’ll excuse me, I have a little girl dying to read her book in the hammock and an antsy little tot begging to play in his sand table.

Be the glue, hold it together, and look above for brighter days.

Em