Sunday, October 3, 2010

Operation: Get Prepared

I have been neglecting my blog for the past couple of weeks. My husband has been on leave and I have been soaking up every minute of time I have with him.  He goes back to work tomorrow. Today we are just lounging and relaxing... and recuperating. Seems he and I both caught some kind of little sick bug going around.

As I sit here, I'm thinking about Deployment. I realize we have only 1 or 2 more short underways before the big "D". And so much is going to happen in the short time we have before then.

Does it scare me? Yes and No. I'm not scared of what will happen to us. I know that our relationship will only be strengthened by Deployment. I'm not scared of the time apart. Yes, I know I'm going to have bad days, but I'm going to have good days too. I know I'm strong enough as an individual to bring my own happiness and make the best of every day that comes. The part that scares me is the things that can happen on deployment. The risks he will face... the same risk every service member faces. But it's part of it.. this is his job- the job he and I both signed up for when he joined. Time to put on those "Big Girl Panties".

Before deployment comes, like I said earlier, there  is so much that will be happening.. and things that have to get done so I can say that I'm prepared to be on my own for a bit without the help of my husband.

We are moving.. yet again. But this next place we will be staying for the next 4 years. The place is absolutely perfect... and We can have Riley and actually say she is a Pit bull. We lucked up with a friend of his getting orders to Florida and the guy owns a house... Townhouse, 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms Living Room, Den, cute kitchen, dinning room, washer & dryer, BACK YARD! :), huge bathtub.. and an attic- OH, and a garage that we are converting to a studio for my photography! Heck yes. I can't wait to move. We are using deployment orders to break our lease to get out of this place we're in now.. I love the size of our place now, but we're having more and more trouble with this place and we don't feel safe with me being here alone during Deployment. The neighborhood we will be moving to is nice, quite and SAFE! We will have neighborhood watch. Awesome. But now.. the boxes that I seemed to just have unpacked, need to be packed again. We will be moving at the end of November toward the beginning of December. I cannot wait. I'm seriously IN LOVE with this place. Not to mention it's location. I actually saw barns in the area.. In the little over a year we have been in Hampton Roads, I have not seen a single barn until the other day. I seriously got "kid like" excited. For a split second.. I was reminded of our hometown in TN. Anyway.. enough about the new place.

There is a lot to do to get prepared for the big D... Some of which we have already done.
  • Power of Attorney- Check, We have 2 different types- I'm more than covered in this area. 
  • A will- Not real sure how much we need this.. we don't own much and everything we do is in both our names.. other than his car, and we don't have kids. But might be best to get it anyway.
  • Review life insurance Policies, gosh I hate thinking about this.. but it's part of being adult, not just military.
  • Get switched to TriCare Prime- I should have already done this forever ago.
  • Set up a second savings account for the 1973 Dodge Dart my husband wants to fix up.
  • Have the Car serviced, and any problems that need to be fixed.. fixed.
  • Sell my 2000 Cavalier- Less than 60K miles if you want it! ;)
I think that's it as far as the physical preparedness.. But Considering this Deployment will be my first.. I could be missing some "Must Do's".

As far as emotionally, and things to accomplish... I have several.. Here are some:
  • Have 3 friends (obviously I have more, but to me.. these are the musts)- 1 person that will tell you to "Get over it", "Put your big girl panties on".. Believe it or not- I think everyone needs this person to keep you thinking straight. 1 person to be your shoulder to cry on, the person you vent to.. your "Therapist" in my opinion. We all need someone to listen that doesn't judge you. and 1 person that is a wife from your husband's command, that is going through the same exact things your are for the same amount of time... because I believe that at some point you feel as if others not associated with your husband's deployment don't understand.. even if in all actuality.. everyone who is going through or has gone through a deployment definitely understands.
  • Write a list of goals to accomplish.. So far I have things like- Decorate our *new* place, Do training classes with Roo (our Pitty), Get on a set workout routine, make a list of carepackage ideas.. etc
  • Blog more about how the "PreDeployment" is affecting me.. or how it's not affecting me because I created this blog for things related to military life- and what I think.. and to hopefully give insite from my view of how things happen. 
  • Read more- because I realize how much I love learning new things. 
I have so much planned and what not.. just kind of drawing a blank right now.. might have something to do with the dayquil.. feeling a little "Medicine head".

9 comments:

  1. I just got one word of advice since you have pretty much covered everything. On those low days which there will be some just remember you are not alone and millions have gone through it before you. This one little thought helped me out on many of my bad days.

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  2. In terms of things you have to do, make sure you know how to access all the bank accounts and know which bills have to be paid. I always worry I'm forgetting one, so I keep a checklist. And make sure you know how to contact your ombudsman in case something happens.

    I'm glad you're moving somewhere you feel safe since you're going to be alone. I'm having major neighbor issues in our house and can't wait to get out of here!

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  3. Great Advice Nolie!

    Sespi- Already have it covered with banking and bills and the like. I'm in charge of all that already lol. Ombudsman numbers are covered as well as their email addys.. CMC as well.
    I'm so glad to be moving! I can't wait. It's going to feel weird living in a "Quiet" neighborhood! lol
    Hope you get to a better neighborhood soon!

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  4. that's really cute!! i've heard olive jice before, but not elephant shoe! and im definitely gonna use "i want to vacuum" hahaha!

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  5. "I want to Vacuum" is a classic. lol

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  6. I actually have a comment from the post you did on goodnight moons blog, but I wanted you to get it so I am leaving it on your last post. Comment on wedding rings. I also get annoyed when women many years into their marriage get 'new' 'fancier' 'bigger' 'more expensive' rings. I don't understand. Why do you want to replace the rings your hubby gave you on your wedding day? Now I am all for getting a new 'right hand' ring *heck* go all out!!! But I hate when women 'replace' their original rings. Mine are special to me and I always want to wear this same set that he gave me on our wedding day for the rest of my life.

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  7. Darling, I will gladly be 1, 2, and 3 of these friends,obviously we are in the same command, you can cry on my shoulder and vent to me anytime you need , but I will also be the one to tell you to suck it up and put your big girl panties on (even when u don't wanna hear it)! Cuz that's what good friends do! LOL

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  8. bride4life- I so agree! I will always value my rings I have now moreso than any other. Now.. I'll take a right hand ring any day ;)

    Tia- You definitely fit into all 3! Definitely if I EVER get to that point where I feel sorry for myself- I will need you to kick my ass and tell me to get over it! Hopefully I won't get to that point, but if I keep the negativity around that we talked about the other night.. I might need a pick me up every now and then!

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  9. Thanks for this post! My husband is in the Navy and will be deployed on a GSA to Afghanistan for a year in March. It'll be our first deployment together, since we just got married in August. I'm trying to read and learn all that I can from others.

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