The Second Week is the Hardest (so far)

Let me preface this all by saying that I am fine.  I understand why our military deploys. I stand behind it. I even can manage alone for awhile. *gasp* I'm an independent girl and have always been.  I cried my few tears at sendoff, and I'm good. I get to talk to my husband pretty much daily. I can cope.  However...Moose cannot even begin to comprehend why Daddy can't come home at night like he usually does, or that we can't just call Daddy at work whenever we need to.  And THAT, my friends, has been the challenge of this week.

Do you like pina coladas? I do. In fact, I'm enjoying one right now.  I'd probably set myself up with an IV drip of rum and pineapple juice, if I had any idea how to run a blender while tethered to an IV pole.  (I bet you think I'm kidding right now.) It's just been that kind of week.

I wish I could explain why it's been so bad, but I really can't. It's a culmination of things: me not sleeping well at all (I think I've had 10 hours of sleep in the last 3 nights), Moose just NOT understanding why her world has to be tipped upside down, leading to an increase in whining and a decrease in listening, and just general chaos here.  In other words, it has been the perfect storm for me to want to throw both hands in the air and say, "I quit!"

Except we can't quit. And as a military spouse, we know it will get better, and that eventually - this, too, shall pass.  It is definitely tough on us, but moreso on our little ones. They don't understand why everything has to change all the time. They say kids are resilient, and they are. To an extent. You start screwing with their foundations (i.e. home and parents), then things are going to be off kilter for awhile.  I just hope that this phase will pass quickly. This is uncharted territory for me: deployment with a small child.

But for tonight, I will be ignoring the dog whining to go out every 10 minutes (he thinks he needs to secure the perimeter), and I'm just going to let Moose pass out on the couch then put her in bed. I am enjoying a dinner of pina coladas and samoa cookies. (Did I mention I am allergic to coconut? This could get interesting, but I dosed myself with antihistamines, because I desperately need my coconut comfort food right now.)  And I'm going to spend the rest of my evening imagining I am somewhere like this: