I'm not a military wife but...

...this just says everything. Always get a little teary eyed when I read it.


When God Created a Military Wife

By: Erma Bombeck

When the good Lord was creating wives, he was into his sixth day of overtime.

An angel appeared and said, “You’re having a lot of trouble with this one. What’s wrong with the standard model?”

And the Lord replied, “Have you seen the specs on this order? She has to be completely independent, but must be sponsored to get on post; have the qualities of both father and mother during deployments; be a perfect hostess to 4 or 40; run on black coffee; handle emergencies without a manual; be able to handle flu, birthdays, and moves around the world; have a kiss that can cure anything from a child’s torn Valentine to a husband’s weary day; have the patience of a saint when waiting for the Unit to return home; and have six pairs of hands.”

The angel shook his hand slowly and said, “Six pairs of hands….No Way!”

And the Lord answered, “Don’t worry, we’ll make other military wives to help. Besides it’s not the hands that are causing the problem, it’s the heart. It must swell with pride in her husband, sustain the ache of separations, beat on soundly when it’s too tired to do so and be large enough to say, “I understand” when she doesn’t, and “I love you” regardless.”

“Lord,” said the angel, touching his sleeve gently. “Come to bed…finish this tomorrow.”

“I Can’t,” said the Lord. “I’m so close to creating something unique. Already I have one who heals herself when she’s sick, can feed three unexpected guests who are stuck in the area due to bad weather, and can wave good-bye to her husband, from a pier, off a runway and understand that it is important to his country that he leaves.”

The angel circled the model of the military wife very slowly “It’s too soft,” he sighed.

“But tough,” said the Lord excitedly. “You cannot imagine what this woman can do or endure.”

“Can it think?”

“Can it think? It can convert 1400 to 2 P.M.”

Finally, the angel bent over and ran his finger across the cheek. “There’s a leak,” He pronounced. “I told you that you were trying to put too much into this model.”

“It’s not a leak,” said the Lord. “It’s a tear.”

“What’s it for?” asked the angel.

“It’s for joy, sadness, disappointment, pain, loneliness, and pride!”

“You are a genius,” sighed the angel.

The Lord looked somber and replied, “I didn’t put it there.”

Looking back on the first week

DEPLOYMENT WEEK ONE IS OFFICIALLY OVER!!!!!!!

Reflecting on everything that happened this past week, if any of it is a sign of how the rest of the deployment will go, I think Parker and I will make it through just fine. There were a few times where I just didn't see how I could ever make it a year...that just seems so long...but then I quickly remembered why I'm here waiting out this year. It's because of Parker. He means everything to me and he needs me to be strong and brave through this for him.

I have some routines in place already that I'm hoping I can maintain throughout the rest of the deployment. It will help me keep busy and stay sane. June and July should be fairly busy with a couple of family reunions, teaching Sunday school, and teaching a VBS class. And the search for a fall internship is still going at this point. Hoping I can find some prospective companies soon. 

Shout out to all my new MIG friends. You are a huge reason why I'm confident and not completely overwhelmed right now. I don't know if I'll ever have the chance to meet any of you in person, I'm really hoping I can though, but you have all been awesome. You have amazing advice and ideas and your stories are inspiring.

I miss this crazy guy

Haven't had much to talk about lately...

Got to talk to Parker yesterday TWICE! Once in the morning and once last night. :) It's looking like we'll typically be able to talk right before I go to bed at night!!

Nothing super exciting happening in my crazy world the past few days and I'm a little bored so here is yet another survey. Hopefully I'll have something to talk about next week



1. What time did you get up this morning? 10:30

2. How do you like your steak? Medium
 
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Thor
 
4. What is your favorite TV show? Glee and Psych

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? It would be amazing to live in Hawaii

6. What did you have for breakfast? Nothing. I typically don't eat breakfast

7. What is your favorite cuisine? Mexican...I'm a true Texas girl :)

8. What foods do you dislike? Tomatoes. They are so nasty

9. Favorite Place to Eat? There are a lot of places I like to go to

10. Favorite dressing? Ranch

11.What kind of vehicle do you drive? '97 Ford Taurus

12. What are your favorite clothes? anything that's comfy...typically short and a long sleeve t-shirt

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? always 1/2 full

15. Where would you want to retire? no idea...guess it just depends on where I am in life when that happens

16. Favorite time of day? I'm definitely a night person

17. Where were you born? Houston, TX

18. What is your favorite sport to watch? football

19. How many siblings? 2

20. Favorite pastime/hobby? I really love to read and have a pile of books I'm hoping to get through this summer

21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this? I don't care if anyone responds/comments on this lol

22. Bird watcher? nope 

23. Are you a morning person or a night person? night

24. Do you have any pets? yes, Rosie our silly mutt

25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? not really

26. What did you want to be when you were little? I wanted to be a veterinarian

27. What is your best childhood memory? going to my Papa's ranch, playing with the dogs, looking at the cows, ranch stuff lol

28. Are you a cat or dog person? dog

29. Are you married? nope

30. Always wear your seat belt? sure do

31. Been in a car accident? yes...in high school. My dad was driving the van, it was raining, and another car hit our back bumper and sent us spinning

32. Any pet peeves? I have a few...

33. Favorite Pizza Toppings? pepperoni and pineapple

34. Favorite Flower? orchids and the roses that are white and pink

35. Favorite ice cream? cookie dough and most Ben and Jerry's flavors

36. Favorite fast food restaurant? hmmm...Freebirds is pretty awesome (if that's considered fast food)

37. How many times did you fail your driver's test? I didn't fail it :)

38. From whom did you get your last email? I can't remember

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Oh...there are so many places

40. Do anything spontaneous lately? ha not really

41. Like your job? teaching swimming lessons is really fun...I start in a week!

42. Broccoli? only if it's smothered in cheese!

43. What was your favorite vacation? England and Hawaii were my favorites!

44. Last person you went out to dinner with? parents

45. What are you listening to right now? watching Ever After right now

46. What is your favorite color? blue

47. How many tattoos do you have? none

48. Coffee drinker? only if it's Starbucks!!!

Doing a survey to pass the time

Did anyone watch you the last time you kissed someone? Pretty sure no one saw us kiss...pretty sure Parker waited until everyone had left the parking lot

When you're walking, do you stop to drink? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Depends on if I have a straw or not

Do you believe that if you want something bad enough you'll get it? If you really want it that bad you'll work extra hard for it.......or in my case, I just do the sad puppy dog eyes and someone gives in 

Have you ever kissed someone in a vehicle? Sure have

Ever snuck out of your house? Now that I have never done. Just never had a reason to

Kill or Be killed? lol neither? I guess be killed (as long as I don't see it coming). There is no way I could ever kill another person

Break someone’s heart or have your heart broken? Not planning on ever breaking Parker's heart and I know he doesn't want to break mine

What did you do today? Slept in, went for a run, lunch, helped with laundry, Bible study, shower, doing my nails now

Do you like someone right this second? It's more than like :)

Would you ever get a tattoo? NO WAY...can't stand needles :-/ and I just don't like the idea of tattoos

What was the last thing you ate? Baked tilapia, shrimp, and salad

Are you a morning person or a night person? Definitely a night person

Do you snore? I hope not lol

Do you know anyone who has gotten an abortion? Nope 

What would you do if you opened up your front door to a dead body? Scream and then probably faint

Do you like to spend time with people? I love being around people! I'm definitely a social butterfly

Are you hungry? A little bit

Are you a forgiving person? Depends on what happened...I try to be though

When was the last time you did the dishes? Since I'm at my parents house my mom does the dishes lol but I helped her load the dishwasher this afternoon 

Are you talking to anyone while doing this? On Yahoo chat with a friend right now

Do you want a relationship right now? I'm in an amazing relationship with Parker right now :D

What are you about to do? Put another coat of paint on my nails

Have you ever thought someone died, when they really didn't? Nope

If you could be a superhero what would you want to do? I really want to be able to fly and maybe make myself invisible

Your name plus "ness"? Katherineness 

Three feelings at the moment? Lonely, sad, bored

Done anything you regret so far in life? Yes and I will never do those things again

Are you listening to anything? For once no...no music or TV on right now 

Where are you right now? Bedroom at my parents house

What are you scared of? Scared for Parker being so far away

Last movie you watched? When in Rome on netflix but last movie I saw in theaters was Thor

Last song you sang out loud? Ridin' Solo lol...inside joke with Parker

Are you thinking of someone right now? Ha dumb question. Guess who I'm thinking about right now...

Who is the last person you talked to on the phone? Aunt Patsy yesterday

Last thing you downloaded on your computer? A picture

Have you changed much this year? I've changed so much...definitely a better person

Where was the last place you went besides where you are? Church building

Has anyone ever said you looked like a celebrity? I don't think anyone has ever said I looked like a celebrity

Do you speak any other language? I know a little Spanish, nothing that would be useful, and a few random German words

Do you dress for style or comfort? Comfort for sure

Ever had a drunken night in Mexico? That's a no

Favorite color(s)? Blue and pink...and brown when it's with either of those

What is your favorite Nickelback song? Far Away

What are you looking forward to this summer? Getting my tan back lol

Is this normal?

I know it's only been a few days since he left but so far I haven't really felt all that sad about him being gone. I think about him ALL the time but still...I haven't sat down and cried over this yet. Only thing that's made me tear up in anyway was when "This is Just a Dream" by Carrie Underwood came on the radio while I was in the car with mom yesterday. It was so hard trying not to cry. Stupid me didn't even try to change radio stations. That song is definitely going on my DON'T LISTEN list. I guess I teared up a little bit when I saw he was online Monday night. That definitely made me happy. We actually got to talk on FB chat for 5 minutes and even though neither of us said much of anything, it's better than nothing.

Maybe I'm more depressed than sad about him being gone...yes, there is a difference between the two of those things. I can tell you without a doubt I do not feel sad. I've completely lost my appetite since I go his last text Sunday afternoon. The whole day I am starving but as soon as there is food on a plate in front of me, I don't want to eat at all. I am making myself eat, so don't worry about me getting some food disorder, I just wish I actually wanted to eat. Everything has tasted disgusting...even the steak we had last night for dinner. I didn't even want to eat lunch after my long run this morning and usually I can't stop eating after a run.

Bleh...here's to me hopefully getting semi back to normal soon...............

Good news :D

Just found out that Parker's company made it to Iraq. VERY exciting news :) now I just have to play the waiting game and hope I hear from him sometime soon.

This weeks is devoted to...

This is the first week Parker is gone and I've heard that this week and next will probably be the hardest for me. I'm not expecting to hear from him either of these weeks and I'm hoping there is a chance that the third will bring a message from him but I've also told myself that it could easily be a month before I hear anything.

Until then, this week is completely devoted to me being mad about all of this. I am going to cry when I feel like it. I will be furious at the Army for making him go over there. I will be depressed that I'm not hearing from him. I will even be mad at Parker for telling me that he was excited to go over there. I will let all of my emotions out however I feel like because there is no use holding it all in. If I try to hold it in, that first Skype conversation with Parker is going to be a BAD one. 

I'm also trying to start a bit of a routine today. It's not much because every day is not planned out since I'm not working yet but at least I'll have a few things to do that will stay consistent every day. As I said in my post last night, I'm starting a picture-a-day project for every day that Parker is gone. I will constantly be looking around for something I can snap a shot of. I'm also going to start writing in a journal. I'm going to write down my first thought when I wake up in the morning and at night, right before I go to bed, I'm going to write down what happened that day, all my emotions, and just whatever else I feel like I need to get out of my system. I'm hoping this will help out when Parker and I are able to start having regular Skype dates. All the negatives emotions and thoughts will be put in the journal so that when I talk to him I will just be...happy. He's told me he doesn't want me to be sad while he's gone so I'm going to do my best to always be happy when we are able to talk. I haven't decided yet whether or not I'll show him the journal when he gets back.

Quick Post

Don't really feel like posting much right now but just wanted to say that I started a new blog that will feature a new picture taken by me each day. Hoping I will be able to have a picture up for every day that Parker has gone and at the end of his deployment, I will make a scrapbook out of it. Anyways...check it out please!!!

Tomorrow I'll try to post something more but for now, it's back to my movie and then bedtime.

3 days...

I'm doing my best to stay calm and focused on each day as it comes. This is kind of hard to do since Sunday is coming up pretty fast. I can't get over how fast time is passing by but I guess that is actually a good thing. If the days leading up to Parker leaving are going by fast then the days until he comes back should go by fast as well. Good thinking right?

Other than that, the search for a Fall internship is still going on. I'm also looking for new hobbies to try my hand at so that every moment of my life will be busy (I really don't want to have much downtime...I think it will make time go by faster). Any ideas of things I should try out let me know! I would really appreciate it :)

One week left...

One week until Parker leaves for Iraq. Had to say our last good-bye's to each other last night. I never knew it would be so hard to hug him and then have to watch him walk away. That was the last time I get to see him in person for at least 6 months. I'm surprised I didn't break down and cry right then but for some reason I couldn't do it. I wanted to but the tears just weren't there.

All I can do now is sit here wearing his jacket and smelling his scent on it and imagine he's holding me while looking at pictures from this weekend.

right before the Cinderella play

having a little bit of fun in Wal-Mart

boys being boys

trying to build up static to shock Parker

shocking him on the nose

someone was exhausted....

It's summer...now what?

Summer is officially here. Actually, it was here yesterday at 2pm when I walked out of my one and only final of this semester. I've received grades back for 2 of my classes so far and things are looking good.

I'm just having mixed feelings about this summer. Parker will be leaving for Iraq in less than 2 weeks, I'll be back home teaching swimming lessons, and I will be looking around for a Fall internship. It's definitely going to be a busy summer and there are other things going on besides just work and an internship search, but will there be enough going on to keep my mind off of Parker being gone? I know I can make it through this. I have amazing friends that will do anything and everything in their power to make sure I don't dwell on this too much. But will it be enough?