When Daddy Left

On November 14th the kids and I drove Rich to the Naha airport and shipped him off to Alabama for a 5 week TDY. It was a rough goodbye.

I love the picture on the right because you can see Arabella scratching Rich’s head because she knows he loves it.

This moment broke my heart. After saying their goodbyes and getting back in the van, Maya started sobbing. He came back to give her a hug and all the kids jumped out of their seats to hug him one last time.

As soon as we drove away from the airport the car filled with sniffling noses and quiet whimpers. The big kids started crying which in turn made me cry! The only thing I could think of to get them to not feel so sad was to talk about throwing Rich a party when he got home. They loved that idea and they all stopped crying and started throwing out party ideas. So far it seems that we will be having a party at the beach with lots of friends from church(that we don’t really know well yet), with a pirate theme, cake and ice cream and so many other details that I can’t remember. Arabella works on something for the party every single day. So far she’s made a sign for Rich to hold up, lots of decorations and a telescope for every family member, haha!

As soon as we got home we got busy making a chain countdown.

I love that focus!

Last week was parent/teacher conferences. I was a little nervous like I think most parents are. You always wonder how your kids behave in school. It was such a great day! None of the teachers had a single concern. Arabella’s teacher said she is one of the best behaved students in her class and she is really impressed with how much she has progressed with writing, counting and her sight words. I was so proud of them that we went out for donuts and then I let them each pick out a beanie boo at the BX.

Something I’ve been wanting to start for a long time is a weekly family selfie. We started on Sunday, the day after Rich left. 2 Sunday’s down!

It has been 12 days since Rich left and I’m hurting. Week 1 was pretty good. I was focused and determined to make the best of it and the kids and I had a lot of fun. Week 2 was still ok, although I was definitely starting to feel the emptiness. We are still in week 2 but today is especially hard. It’s Thanksgiving. Tomorrow will be better!

Rich is in Marshfield and he is so excited to be able to spend Thanksgiving with his family! I’m so happy for him even though I miss him so much. I’m grateful that he will be home just in time for Christmas!