Three days down, 32 to go.

I'm officially pathetic--in my mind, at least.  I have made it through five deployments, an 11-month separation, numerous field exercises, and several month-to-two-month-long schools.  I sailed through all of those with flying colors.  My sanity remained intact; I did not turn into one of those mushy wives who gush over every little thing they miss about their hubby.  Basically, I kept my dignity! 

This time, not so much.  I'm finding myself in a strange situation--I'm lonely.  I don't quite know what to do with that, to tell you the truth.  Believe it or not, it's new.

I'm certainly not lacking in the stuff-to-keep-me-busy department by any stretch of the imagination.  Between the girls' schooling, household tasks, church activities, and now bouncing back and forth between the real and the virtual in my communication both to my husband and my son...I'm definitely not bored. 

In case that wasn't enough, I've added two more projects to my plate--while Pete is gone, I'm going to get the office/guest room/playroom DONE.  Yes, DONE.  I am bound and determined to rid us of the cardboard boxes that have followed us around for, uh...way too long, and they're going to be out of here when he gets back.  Pete has a bit of a pet peeve about organization and everything being "in its place", but it's a love-hate relationship.  He loves to be organized, but hates to be the one to DO the organizing.  So...in the last eight months, as a direct result of his rather haphazard "filing" system, we've had to have not one but TWO copies of his birth certificate made and sent to us from Florida.  That expense has made me all too aware that the poor man really needs a secretary.  I guess that's me, huh? 

Thanks to a clearance sale at Wal-Mart (I have no idea why this stuff is going on clearance, other than maybe it's not selling?), I now have a bunch of nice matching boxes, magazine holders, and filing trays to put in the new metal shelf that I got for his office stuff.  I've got a LOOOOOONG way to go, and a huge part of getting this office space done is getting the 37-gallon fish tank moved from what is now Kelsey's room (where the office used to be) into the bonus room where the office is now.  That is no small task.  I don't look forward to it.  But alas, it still needs to be done.  The fish will be happier, the tank needs a little TLC and some fresh filters, and I might even pick up a few new fish once the job's done!

Ah yes, the *other* task.  The girls' room.  Right now, Morgan and Jamie's bunk beds are separated because I don't have the foggiest idea where the hardware is to stack them (thanks again to Pete's "filing" system), so even though she's sleeping through the night and on the same bedtime schedule as the rest of the girls, Kasey is still sleeping in our bedroom.  She will be evicted as soon as I can find that hardware!  The girls all have Tinkerbell bedding now--even the crib and the two toddler beds (it is SOOO cute, but I'm going to make you wait for pictures!), but they want to paint!  Guess what--we're going to PAINT before that crib goes in there.  Since they all wanted "their" color (Morgan--pink, Jamie--purple, Dani--blue, Shelby--green), I told them that I've decided that the walls need to be a soothing shade of aquamarine that is one of the pretty accent colors in all of their bedding.  They seem to think that's a pretty good idea now!  Yay for Mom and diplomacy!

At any rate, my clock (and the calendar too!) is ticking.  I'm going to do my level best to focus on the positive and remember that while yes, I am lonely and I do miss my hubby, life is just way too short to brood and wallow.  I've got teenagers all around me who are doing far too much of that already!

Oh yes, I just thought I'd include a couple of pictures I snapped (with my new camera) at the airport on Friday.  The one of Kelsey with Dad's carry-on has got to be one of my favorite pictures--I'm not even sure why, but the story it tells, the detail...it's just a great picture!