Sunday, January 14, 2007

The "Big Chill", Day 3 . . .

I'm happy to report that MissDub and I are still doing fine. We still have lights, heat, running water and cable (whew!) I keep puttering around the house trying to do projects. I have a real problem just sitting down and doing nothing. Just ask Dub, I sit down to watch TV and I notice the curtain is crooked and I jump up to fix it and then get distracted and end up mowing the lawn or something like that. I like to think of myself as being fairly relaxed, but I guess those closest to me would disagree. This morning I decided to curl up on the couch and read a book. The book was a gift from my brother-in-law and sister-in-law entitled "E-Mail to the Front", One Wife's Correspondence with Her Husband Overseas. The book is written by Alesia Holliday and published by Andrews McMeel Publishing. My first thought was "why would I want to read someone else's emails", and then I thought "the same reason people are reading my blogs". Alesia is the mother of 2 small children, a dog named "PJ", and her husband "Judd" is in the Navy. Reading her emails made me laugh, cry and laugh some more. My heart goes out to the military spouses with young children. Deployments are hard on children (any age), but I think when they are older, they can at least understand the concept of time and what is going on. Regardless, they still miss mom or dad (or any relative). Our MissDub tries to be such a "tough girl". She doesn't let anyone see her cry. She cried when the dog had to be put down, but not when Dad left (at least not where anyone could see her). Why is that? It's okay to be sad, lonely, and mad while still being proud. As I sit here writing this blog, I am reminded of the toll this war is taking on my family. A poster hangs on the wall in SgtDub's office that is MissDub's winning Poster entitled "My Dad Police and Soilder" (actually spelled that way). The picture is a soldier standing in front of an American Flag, and I smile every time it catches my eye. Okay now, wiping tears -- Alesia's book is great and if you get time, check it out. I can relate to the lawnmower story, shopping at the Commissary on pay day, "Top Ten Things Not To Say To a Military Spouse", and last, but not least, "I never thought I'd appreciate the sound of your snoring". As I just said to SgtDub, if they ever published our correspondence, it would be a comic book. Hoorah!

2 comments:

The Sil said...

I'm so glad that you liked it! I had the same emotions that you had when I read it. It just helped me feel like I wasn't alone, that other wives had gone through the same thing and survived, and everything would be alright. :-)

I'm so glad that you haven't lost power yet. I'm going to have to call my parents and see how they are fairing. Last year during the ice storm, they lost power (and water too, since they are on well) and didn't get it back for three weeks!! I hope this one won't be that bad.

Miss Dub said...

Honey, if you haven't seen if I cry, don't assume. And Rowdy was a little puppy... I'm a "tough girl", because I have to be and because I choose to be.