On the Eve of the Middle

Today was beautiful. We’re in that weird part of Spring in the PNW when the rain stops and the sun comes out and everyone thinks that summer is here. We all know that the rain WILL come back, probably next week, but for now we are all enjoying the sunshine and warm temperatures. The kids went back to school today after a week of Spring Break, in which we drove down to California to see family. I finally had time to be still and write, and I got so much done, but still I felt annoyed, and irritated. It wasn’t until this evening that I realized what was wrong.

I miss my husband.

This deployment thing is hard. You try to be strong for your kids, and your spouse who is half a world away. You try to stay busy, and productive, and treat yourself, but damn. Sometimes it’s just really sad, and even though the sun is shinning and the kids are behaving and you get a lot done, it’s still sad.

Once I realized this I also realized what day it is: It is the eve of the middle, or the halfway point of the deployment. My husband left of REDACTED and will return on REDACTED, which means that tomorrow is the exact middle. After tomorrow it’s all downhill. Once I realized this I thought geez, well no wonder getting through today feels like wading through a pool full of tar. Today is the last, the very last teeny, tiny uphill climb until tomorrow where we reach the top and then start the glorious decent into homecoming.

Today was beautiful, and it was ducking hard. But we made it. And now the house is quiet, and the kids are asleep, and we’re just a few hours away from officially being halfway done with this giant climb. Time for sleep.

-Helen