Life is Good

It has been a couple of days since I last posted and things have been going very well. My life is not amazingly wonderful but it is also not horrifyingly terrible. :) Nick is doing well, I am so proud of all of the hard work he has done. I am also doing well, even though I miss my husband every day. I have been supported by my family and friends so much and they have kept me sane. (so far at least!)

Last week my mom and my sister came to see me and we went shopping at Kohl's. I was wandering through the store when my eye caught a cute little sign that stated quite simply, "life is good". My eyes teared as I thought about the simplistic truth in that statement. No matter how sad I was, how much I missed Nick, or how lonely I felt, life is still good. I am alive, my darling is alive and safe, I have a wonderful family and loving friends, life is good. That sign meant so much to me that my mom bought it for me! As she (my mom) and my sister packed some of the things in our living room I asked them to leave that sign out. We hung it in a prominent place on the living room wall so that any time I sit on my sofa I am reminded that "life is good" and that all of the sadness will come to pass.

One last thing before I collapse into bed, one of my friends taught me the beginnings of crochet tonight! I am really excited and I'm planning on getting some yarn and a crochet hook tomorrow so that I can start on a project! Anyway, I'm off to bed now, thank you for reading and please continue to keep Nick and me in your prayers!

Missing My Other Half

It is as if my heart breaks just a little when I hear his voice on the phone. I can't touch him, hug him, comfort him, or collapse into his loving embrace. I miss the strength of his arms around me and the sound of his heart beating by my ear. I know that it will all be worth it in the end but the pain is still there when I look at the empty half of my bed where he should be sleeping and realize that it will be a long time before that spot is filled again. But I am encouraged as well...

When I hear his voice I feel a surge of warmth rush through my chest. My heart pounds in my ears when my phone buzzes and it is my sweet husband calling me. I know that he is going through everything he is going through because he wants a good life for us and our future children. He is surviving all of this to train so that he can help give us the freedoms and pleasures we so readily enjoy and take for granted. He loves me and wants to give me the best that he can. I fall to sleep every night with tears in my eyes and sadness in my heart because my best friend is so many miles away training to give me a wonderful life.

It is bittersweet, bitter because I miss my sweetheart more than I could have imagined and sweet because he is doing it for us and our country. I know that in a few short months I will be with him again and I will be happier than ever! Until then, I hold on to the knowledge that day by day his graduation grows closer and it will never be further away than it is right now. Thank you for all of your support and prayers.

Two Minute Phone Calls

My phone has been glued to my side, really, I freaked out earlier when I realized that I went to the bathroom without it! I know that Nick can't call me during the day but it is like a safety blanket for me right now and I just feel comforted by having it near me.

Tonight, I began a movie at 9:00, knowing that if Nick could call, it would be sometime between 10:00 and 11:00. It was probably a good thing that I was watching a movie because watching those minutes ticking by probably would have driven me mad.

As the 10 o'clock hour began I found myself (no joke) ironing a sheet. Yes, a wrinkly old sheet that I have so that I can make a petticoat to go with my bloomers. I was ironing it! As if it needed to be ironed at 10:00 at night!

10:30 approached, no call yet and I was beginning to think that he probably didn't have time tonight to call.

10:45 rolled around and I resolved myself to going to bed without hearing from him, knowing that he was probably extremely busy and didn't have any time to spare.

10:50, still no call, apparently I hadn't resolved myself completely because I was still glancing at my phone to make sure it was working.

Finally, at 10:54 my phone rang! In my haste to answer it I accidently ignored the call. (Why is that even a option on phones? Really?)

Then, at 10:55 I heard the Stargate SG-1 ringtone and saw my sweetheart's face come up on my phone! I answered the call, very carefully this time, and got to hear his voice. We only spoke for two minutes but it was totally worth the wait! Hearing his voice, even just for a moment, made my eyes tear. I knew that he was stressed and that he didn't have much time to talk, but I got to hear his voice!

I'm sure that I will be doing this almost every night but I also know that it is worth every minute of staring at that phone, willing it to make a sound! I can't explain how soothing it is to hear, "I'm okay, I love you, sleep well". I am so very proud of my husband and I love him a little more every day. Hopefully I can get some sleep now, it is way past my bedtime! ;-)

(Maybe tomorrow I will get three minutes! But even if it is just one, it will be worth it!)

Today is the Big Day!

Today is the day that everything begins, everything changes, and the count down to graduation begins! Nick will be going to Maxwell Air Force Base today around 2:00 and begin his training and enrollment procedures. I can remember looking toward this date months and months ago thinking that it seemed so far away and now it's here! I am so proud of my husband, he has worked very hard and sacrificed a lot to get to this point. I know that it is going to be hard but I also know that Nick has a lot of motivation and drive to get through it.

I'm certainly not a big fan of sleeping alone and living in a mostly empty apartment with only my cats and me. Nevertheless, my classes begin soon and I will be busy with homework, family, friends, and crafts. Even though it is going to be hard, I know that everything will be alright and that God will give me the strength I need to go through this.

Yesterday, being the first day that Nick was gone, I did absolutely nothing productive. I suppose that isn't strange, I just didn't feel any motivation whatsoever. I have a huge pile of dishes and laundry that were begging for my attention but I quite effectively ignored their cries and spent the day in laziness. Eventually, I got out one of my older projects, the bloomers for my ragdoll costume, and did a bit of work on them. I didn't finish them but when I do I will post a picture, they will probably be super baggy and kinda cute! I also did a workout at my friends' house and had dinner with them afterwards so I wasn't totally closed up in my apartment all day.

Hopefully today will be different. I will do my best not to ignore my dishes and laundry and I will work to do the homework that I have to turn in tomorrow! Of course this couch is really comfy so we'll just see what happens! ;-)

Thanks for reading!

And So It Begins...

Okay, so to explain my slightly ominous title, today was the first day that everything really began to sink in.


Nick left today.


It is still hard to swallow, he is gone and I may not see him again for a full three months! I suppose that my brain really can't understand that and so I am trying to work my way through that little piece of information. Even though he left today he won't actually get to Montgomery until sometime on Monday. Even at that, his training won't begin until Tuesday so he will get a little bit of time to relax at his hotel.

Wow, it really is happening, the waiting time is finally up! I can't believe that my darling husband is really beginning his Air Force Officer Training in just a couple of days! I am so proud of him and everything he has accomplished. I know that this little bit of time will be hard on both of us but I also know that it will be worth it in the end. I would appreciate your prayers as we begin this new journey and especially during this time of separation.

I hope to keep myself focused with plenty of sewing projects and schoolwork so I will try to update with occasional pictures to let you all know what I'm up to!

Something Fun Every Day

I went to my night class in Lubbock yesterday and one of the things my teacher mentioned caught my attention, she said to do at least one fun thing with your students every day. That really made me think, it would probably relax the kids and make the day go by smoother if they weren't constantly concerned about schoolwork and could let themselves have a little bit of fun once in a while. I then started to think, if that does a lot of good for students in a classroom, how much good would it do for all of us? If we relaxed enough to do something fun every day then would we have less stress? Would we be more creative because we have given our brains a break from their constant workload? Would we finally be able to read that book that we want to read or play that game with our loved ones? I think that if we could let loose a little bit, we could enjoy life a lot more.

Since all of these thoughts last night, I decided to try to actually make myself do at least one fun thing every day. I got to ride in a plane with my father-in-law today and it was incredible! I had a blast and I think that I will count that for one of my fun things today. Of course, I don't plan on only limiting myself to one fun thing but that is the minimum! I will try to write down what I do so that I can keep track of them and see if it actually changes my mood or my attitude.

Hopefully this will take my mind off of Nick leaving and keep my attitude up! So, if any of you have suggestions for my "fun things" just let me know and I will give them a try!