For those of you who follow me on FB know that we have been on spring break this week. We did take our spring break a little early (taking advantage of their last days as home-schooled kids). So, Thursday and Friday we spent in Nashville to see my Grandmother (who is 88) and to take in a Predators hockey game. It was a great time! It is amazing that we have 4 generations!
Then, I gardened over the weekend and got the outside of the house ready for spring. Then, the full swing of spring break kicked in! Monday was spent with getting D her haircut, lunch, and 2 different playdates. Tuesday we got D's glasses to match her Kit (American Girl) Doll. We then went on another playdate. :) We spent the afternoon outside and chatting! Wednesday I met a girlfriend, Kristy, and spent the rest of the afternoon with my Dad. (And, Mom later in the day) On Thursday, we went to the Adventure Science Museum with my friend, Kendall, and kids. Later I went to my first ever art event at Artifacts (here in downtown Clarksville) and it was fun. Today, I added a kid and we went to see
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules . It was a cute movie. I really love the playdates that we have had this week since they were cheap and the Mommies and I had a good time!
My girls went to the counselor yesterday. I previously posted that I set it up through Military One Source. Their website,
www.militaryonesource.com, is a great resource for military families. It has a ton of information for the spouse and children as well as the active duty family member. And, if you haven't seen my previous blog, the Department of Defense offers (through Military One Source-MOS) 12 free counseling sessions (which is a better deal than Tricare). They are tracking how many deployments the active duty family member is on (or completed) for data. I can save them the money and time and tell them that as the number of deployments increase, the stress on the children increases. The children get older and have a better hold on what is happening. But, our counselor is wonderful. She is working around the girls' school schedule. She has worked in the Ft. Campbell and Clarksville-Montgomery County School Systems. The girls also responded well to her. What a relief for me and glad that they will get relief.
I finally had my first deployment meltdown today. I couldn't answer the phone (with E calling), take the back off of the cash register (which requires a tiny screwdriver) and make the girls stop arguing at the same time. That just was it. So, I answered the phone (#1 importance), put the cash register on the stairs in the basement---which later got kicked down the stairs because I could still hear the shrill!), and yelled at the girls! Then, I began crying. I have read in many sources that we are supposed to let our husbands believe that the homefront is ok and we are ok and life is ok and nothing is wrong. But, things are wrong! He is supposed to be here to go to the basement to get the tiny screwdriver while I yell at the girls! He is supposed to be here while I sleep, not my 6 y.o. who is having nightmares! He is supposed to mow the lawn-not me! He is supposed to arrange to get the mulch and lay it-not me!! I am supposed to keep the house clean (which isn't happening)! I am supposed to do the laundry! I am supposed to set up all the bills to be paid and decide what we can and can't afford with his support... We are not ok with out him! I married my husband because I didn't want to be without him. I married him because he is part of me and means the world to me. I married him because he calms me down, makes me laugh, and is the other 50% of the "parent" portion in our family. We are a family of 4, not a family of 3. So, to pretend that we are ok while running on 75% of our family (which is a D on the grading scale for our school system), is NOT OK! 75% is not satisfactory... 75% is not thriving... So, when we have our other 25% back, we will have a great balance in our family. 2 parents+2 kids=Johnston Family So, I don't go into all details with him but...I also can't fake it.
This is why tomorrow night, I will have a night alone. I think I will sit at home and watch TV and drink a beer. ;)
Yeah to spring break and YEAH to having spring break come to an end and a new era beginning for us.
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