Why the long face?

It’s been almost a month since I last posted.  Quite a few things have happened.  I had contacted a realtor before we left Maryland (he happened to be a former Coastie) and told him what type of house Patrick and I were looking for.  We went house hunting the weekend after we arrived in Texas.  Houses are definitely different than back home!  We found one we liked, three bedrooms, two baths, a garage for Patrick and a big backyard for Duke.

We signed the lease and on June 27^th we “officially” moved into the house.  Our stuff would not arrive until the following week.  Our realtor let us borrow two chairs and gave us a futon that he was getting rid of.  There was a table in the garage that we brought into the house.  Thank goodness for Goodwill, we went and got a TV for $10 and got our cable, internet and phone set up.  We also had to buy a washer, dryer and fridge.  We tried to get all that done quickly because on July 1^st Patrick left for work.  We both thought he was going to be gone a week and found out it was actually going to be for two.  (I was not happy about that one!)

Patrick’s truck was back in MD, so my parents drove it down, arriving July 4^th and were here to help me with the movers who arrived on July 5^th with all our stuff.  Unfortunately a few things were broken on their way to Texas, including two of my bookcases. In the blink of an eye, my parents were headed back home, I drove them to the airport that Sunday.

So there I was alone again, just me and the boys.  Mom helped me unpack most of the kitchen items while she was here and some bedroom items.  After they left, I continued with the unpacking and that’s what I’ve continued to do.  I still haven’t found my blender but I’m sure it will turn up.  After all, I opened a box labeled pillows and found a colander.  So I’m sure my blender is in some random box labeled something other than kitchen.  There was one tub that only had the couch pillows in it but one of the boxes (labeled girl stuff lol) was filled to the max.  It’s kinda like Christmas with unpacking because even though the box might be labeled with a particular item, you never know what you may find once you actually open the box.

It’s been fun setting up my first house.  I was very excited about the kitchen at first.  Then all our stuff got here and I realized I don’t have as much cabinet space as I did at the apartment.  I’ve taken a little break from the kitchen and using the dining room table for all items I have yet to find a home for lol.  

The hardest thing about this move is having Patrick be away for so long and being by myself.  He was gone for two weeks, came back for 3 days and is gone again for two weeks.  He will be back again for the weekend and then gone again.  

I’m used to him being gone for a few days, even a week when he left for training but all this occurred while I was in Salisbury, in my apartment, with my parents and friends in the same zip code. Not him being gone while I’m in a new place and know nobody. I’ve driven around the area to explore a bit and become familiar with the roads etc.  I’m looking forward to Patrick being home so we can explore the area together.

You’re probably thinking I’m feeling sorry for myself and you’re right.  I have been feeling sorry for myself and been sad and depressed where I have just sat on the couch all day doing nothing.  But then I received an email from my god sister that put it all into perspective.  She is an Air Force wife and her husband did 2 tours in Iraq.  She spent holidays and months without him.  It made me realize that I can survive 2 weeks without my husband.  There are women like my god sister who have gone months and months (and still are!) without their husbands.  And they didn’t just sit around moapping all day.  I have so much respect for all the military wives out there.  It truly is one of the hardest jobs out there!

I found a CG shirt with a quote on it that pretty much sums it up:

“When you love a Coastie, nothing can compare to the complete joy you feel when he’s home, the pain when he’s gone and the unconditional love and support you have for him”

P.S.  One of the things I’ve done is started gardening.  First day doing it I encountered a snake which I killed but was completely terrified the whole time!