Adjustments

We knew there'd be some adjustments to make when we felt the Lord calling Patrick to join the Army. The obvious ones of course, like being separated for the longest time in our marriage, me living with my mom, Patrick being under constant pressure, neither one of us being in control of anything, doing what the Army wants us to do...

Now that he's gone for training, I've become aware of some adjustments I didn't plan on. You know, the silly ones like learning how to spend the day when you are a teacher and school is out for summer. Not only is school out for the summer, but I have no job to return to in the fall. How weird is that? For the first time in our marriage, or in my life for that matter, I don't have to get nervous a few weeks before school starts. This problem has plagued me since childhood. Like clockwork, as a student and as a teacher, I have always become sick a few weeks before school. This summer, I don't have that to dread. I didn't look for a job for next year because I know I won't be able to fulfill the length of the contract and I wanted the flexibility to visit Patrick and other family during this time. What I didn't fully realize is that now I have nothing to anticipate. How am I going to spend my time? I've been told that the more busy I stay, the faster our time apart will go by.

So far, I've been LAZY. I'm cutting myself some slack, as this is really my first week to have time to do anything. It's the first week we've actually been settled long enough to waste time. To my credit, I have managed to do Mom's yard work and help her plant some new flowers. I also got an oil change and a car wash. I think that's pretty productive. Mom and I are making a trip to Arkansas to visit my grandparents. After that trip, I'll be living on a schedule. I've found that it's the only way I can be productive.

There are other adjustments to make, of course. I'll probably be letting you know about some of them as I go. For now, I'm just settling in to life as a bum. I'll keep you updated on that!

On another note - I did get to talk to Patrick Tuesday night after his plane had landed in Columbia, South Carolina. His group was waiting for the bus to take them to Fort Jackson. I haven't heard from him since, but I know that God is watching over him. I expect to hear from him next week or the next.

And He's Off...

I wasn't quite sure how I'd react today, but it has been an emotional one.

I woke up to a text message from Patrick at 7:10am saying that he'd be briefed at 10:15am and shipping at 10:30am. I quickly replied to say we would be there by 10:00. He responded that we should get there earlier just in case. So, I called Melody to see if she wanted to go and forfeit a few hours of her much needed sleep. She said yes, so Mom and I hurriedly got ready and headed to downtown by way of Melody's to pick her up.

At 9:09am I received a text from Patrick that said "Fixin 2 swear-in". We were still a few minutes away. At about 9:30, Mom dropped Melody and me off at the front door of the Federal building so that we could try to find Patrick. Mom tried to find a parking spot and finally found one. We had to park in Metered parking and she only had enough change for thirty minutes. Oh NO! I told her that I'd pay the ticket if we got one.

So, we proceeded through security, got our badges, and made it upstairs. We were just in time. We waited a few minutes while they prepped for the Swearing In ceremony. We got to be there with Patrick when he officially swore in. The pics and video are grainy, but here goes!




















We waited after the ceremony to see Patrick one last time and watch him get on the bus. He will travel by bus to the airport and then fly to Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Please pray for his safe travel and success in Basic. I will keep you posted as much as possible. Thank you for your love and support.

Last Night of Freedom

Not exactly sure of how to start this post, but here goes.

I just got home from spending the evening with my wonderful husband Patrick. We spent our last day together before he ships to Army Basic Combat Training tomorrow. It is hard for me to describe my feelings tonight. This is something we've been anticipating for several months and now the time has come.

After getting some last minute things done today, we headed into Dallas to meet his recruiter at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. We were supposed to meet him between 7 and 7:30. Little did we know that this would be the start of the "Hurry up and wait" element that we knew would be part of the Army experience. We arrived early, but the recruiter was late.







And WAITING,





Finally, at around 8:00 or so, the recruiter showed up. After a quick briefing and last instructions, he released Patrick to leave the hotel and get dinner. So, we left to grab a bite to eat and spend some time together. I dropped him off at 9:45 and he headed to bed.

Patrick will wake up at 3:45 am, get on a bus at 5:00 am and head to Military Enlistment Processing Station (Federal Building in Dallas). Mom and I and possibly Melody will be heading down in the morning to see him sworn in.

Until then...

Austin Trip Rap-up

We're back! Home together for three days before Patrick ships to basic training. I want to catch you up on our trip to Austin, so I'll refer you to Patrick's post on the subject. Have fun reading. We had a lot of fun exploring.

Quick Howdy and Check in!

I just wanted to check-in with you! I don't have time to get deep right now (I would really like to get settled and start writing better blogs someday). But, life is busy right now. School is out, we have hopefully just one more day of work to get done at the good ole' band hall. Officially, there are eleven days until the big move and 21 days until the big life change. Patrick leaves exactly three weeks from today.

I wish I could describe the emotions I have been experiencing these last few days, but I can't put a label on them. I am sure that eventually this huge change in our lives will hit me, but I am going on adrenaline at this moment. It was very sad to hug our students and say goodbye. Many of them cried and that really helped us feel loved. We will miss them.

As usual, I am procrastinating. I should have been cleaning and packing tonight, but I've squandered my time once again. Please pray for us in the weeks to come. Pray that I'll use my time wisely and get things done. Please pray for Patrick as he continues to prepare for the physical and emotional trials ahead.

Sorry for the short sentences... It is SO past my bedtime...