Crash and Burn Holiday Plans

We're all a little "down in the mouth" around here today because J's leave request was denied for the Thanksgiving holiday. We were planning on being able to visit our families back home since Thanksgiving is my mother's favorite holiday and the day after is a family birthday.

I suppose it was a little naive of me to think we would have no trouble getting off but with the "real world" stuff going on there just not going to be able to spare him. That and all the guys that are on a deployment right now have already requested their leave for when they return and... you guessed it they'll be back for the holiday.

That is one of the things that's really rough about this job. For all the amazing benefits sometimes it's really hard not knowing what comes next and never being able to make any really concrete plans.

You wont find me complaining about military life very often. The truth is I feel very fortunate. Three years ago when we were first engaged and J was laid off for the winter for the fourth year in a row and we didn't know how we were going to make ends meet and he was fighting tooth and nail to enlist despite medical conditions we learned the definition of struggling to survive. We had to pick and choose which bills to pay and pay for groceries and gas with pennies. I was working full time and going to school full time and digging us even further in debt with student loans. It was brutal. Like we-can't-afford-dog-food-feed-them-rice brutal.

Living in England, not having to survive paycheck to paycheck, having reliable medical insurance, and a steady paycheck is a dream come true. We don't worry that J will be laid off for the winter or that his paycheck wont be enough to buy groceries. Being able to afford to have a baby was a amazing and the experience has been wonderful. We would never be where we are today or have what we have today if it weren't for the military.

Most days that is how I feel. Thankful. And fortunate.

Most days J's job is just a job. He gets up in the morning and gets dressed for work, he kisses me on the forehead and says goodbye to our son, he drives to base and puts in his 8 or 9 hours, and then he comes home.

Most days.

Some days it's harder than that. Some days when there is "real world" stuff going on we ask ourselves if it's worth it. Some days when we are feeling homesick and lonely we ask ourselves if it's worth it. We invariably come to the conclusion that it is eventually.

In the mean time, it's hard.

It's hard feeling like a single parent when I prepare for a deployment or feeling so completely alone and isolated because we literally can't visit our family.

It's hard to watch him put on that uniform and know that someday he might die in it.

It's hard to know that there are so many others just like us. Who feel just like we do.

It's hard today.

Here's the thing...

So I haven't really been gone.

No, really. I'm still here reading your posts and writing my own.

I've been writing drafts for the past year and not publishing them because after things started to get hectic I stopped writing about fun topics and just started writing about my life and all the problems that go with it.

Lately, I've been toying with the idea of publishing the past years posts because life with the Air Force has been anything but easy to get used to and I think maybe what I've gone through (and continue to go through) could help some other person whose spouse is making this transition.

I've even kept up on a lot of the Wordless Wednesday posts and Haiku Mondays.

I still haven't decided.

Maybe I'll post them all maybe I'll only post a few. We'll see how I feel tomorrow... or the next day.

So.... I'm pregnant.

YAY!!!!!!!

*jumping up and down in crazy excitment*

     -Although not really because right now it feels like my abdomen is folded in half and stuck to my pelvis... 

* weeping on the floor*

     -This is more accurate. 

DH and I went to the hospital today to get the blood test to confirm the news. Turns out I'm not on the right form of Tricare for one reason or another. So, they had to switch me from Tricare Standard to Tricare Prime which wont actually go into effect until Aug 1. That's awesome. Not only that but in a few months when the hubs and I move overseas for his new assignment I'll have to be switched to a whole new type of Tricare mid pregnancy. I'll also have to find a new doctor
                                                                    ...and try to decide on a birthing location
                                                                                                                                  ...and figure out the water birth situation I want to try.

*Imagine Timon saying, "Oh boy!"*

Fun. Super fun.

I am really excited about having a baby though. James is really excited too. He's been super cute the past week, taking care of me.

I JUST WANT TO DANCE!!! +Haiku Mondays

I'm so excited.

Wait until you hear the news.

My life is changing.

So, we heard back from the Air Force regarding James' enlistment.....

and (drum roll please...)

HE'S IN!!!!!

That's two good things in a row this week! :)

Now we just anxiously wait to here WHEN he leave for BMT.