Friday, April 3, 2009

Deployment Begins


Today Dan left on deployment. Before I write about that, I'll give a quick update on all we've been doing. I finished my training in Cincinnati on March 20, and we drove back to Virginia and then visited family out in Colorado and Washington (where Dan was part of the wedding party of one of his college friends). On the way back to Colorado we also took along our German shepard, Liesl. And last but not least, I reported in to Langely AFB on Wednesday to beging my job as a nurse working in the base's urgent care clinic. My supervisor was more than happy, however, to give me today (Friday) off so I could be there when Dan left.
This past week has been crazy trying to get him ready to go (buying supplies, doing last minute legal documents). We've had some moments where the stress and sadness got to us and we were rather short with each other. Those moments, thankfully, quickly passed and we were able to enjoy our last moments together as much as possible. Today on the pier I was doing pretty good, making silly faces at him as he manned the rails, until the ship actually started to move and that was when I really broke out in tears. It was an interesting experience, as I cried and other wives and family cried around me, both a very personal and a communal grief.
This will be Dan's first deployment, and I've never felt so much like a Navy wife. I've got a wonderful church family, a job to keep me busy, and two pets (Liesl and Cookie) to keep me company; however, I will have to make a conscious effort not to let sadness and isolation wear me down. Please keep Dan and I in your prayers, especially Dan that he will actually get a little sleep and freetime once in a while.
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1 comment:

chaniemom said...

Many prayers go out for you as I'm sure it wasn't easy to wave "goodbye".

April 3, 2009 at 10:38 PM

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