And So It Begins

Husband has deployed to the mideast for the year.

We were up at 6am so he could shower, shave and have breakfast before leaving for post at 7am. By 7:30, he'd picked up his weapon and I met him at the motor pool which was the waiting area. It was early but already a crowd of soldiers and family were there, doing the same as we were -- sitting, talking, staring at nothing and looking at everything. But mostly we were waiting. In a few short hours, he would get on a bus that would take him away from me for the year.

After an hour or so, he saw his supervisor walk into the building with her husband, so we joined them and talked. Actually, mostly they talked and I listened and observed the crowd. It was a cavernous building and eventually I heard announcements being shouted but no one could hear because of the noise. Finally, everyone quieted down enough so we could hear that the official orders for movement were being distributed. Husband went to get his and I got to see the paperwork, officially telling him to deploy.

It might have been another 30 minutes before they started calling names -- it was time to get on the bus. I held onto him for as long as I could before his name was called and we went outside into the bright cold sunshine. One last kiss, a hug, an I love you whispered in my ear. And then he got on the bus. I was able to wave at him but I turned away before he could see the tears start. And then I drove home to an empty house.

364 more days and counting.