Don't worry. No OPSEC violations. I'm not telling you when he left or when he's coming back; granted, as usual, I don't actually know when he's coming back. I'm not even going to tell you what boat he's on. None of that matters. All that matters is that he is gone and it didn't take very long for Deployment Karma to start rearing her ugly little head.
As for PERSEC, well, here's my PERSEC:
They don't like strangers.
Here's a picture to tug on your heartstrings:
This is the 3rd time Chris has had to leave us since Klaw was born March 2010. Yeah. 3rd time. He's been home since November and
I've grown accustomed to his face.
He almost makes the day begin.
I've grown accustomed to the tune that
He whistles night and noon.
His smiles, his frowns,
His ups, his downs
Are second nature to me now;
Like breathing out and breathing in.
I was serenely independent and content before we met;
Surely I could always be that way again-
And yet
I've grown accustomed to his look;
Accustomed to his voice;
Accustomed to his face.*
So, Monday morning, I woke up at 4:30am. I knew this was going to be a bad start to the day. I was so right! About 5 hours later, I got my first speeding ticket. MY VERY FIRST SPEEDING TICKET! I'm not happy about this at all. I have no idea if I will just pay it or go to court. I can't imagine one speeding ticket in 34+ years is going to really hurt my insurance rate that badly. Do you? Chris gets at least one ticket in every state we live in (some we've merely been passing through). Do they even allow crazy toddlers in traffic court? Will the judge be lenient if he learns that I was rocking out to the musical stylings of Yo Gabba Gabba? I am so embarrassed.
We got home later than I expected since I was now driving exactly the speed limit, normal activities ensued (knocking down blocks, reading/eating board books, slamming cupboards, naptime, etc). It finally cooled down to about 81° and I knew Klaw, the dogs & I needed to get out of the house. Badly.
What's a girl with a toddler and three huge beasts to do? Why, I strapped Klaw on my back & took those dogs for a walk! Other than one minor incident due to an idiot with a retractable leash (future blog rant, FYI), the walk was nice. We all enjoyed it. I got a lot of "what is she thinking?" stares. Seriously, babywearing is a lifesaver. There's no way I could manage a stroller with these dogs. Plus, Klaw has gotten used to the view from the top.
Things are great. We get home & I put the dogs inside. Klaw proceeds to puke on my back. Awesome. He wasn't sick - he sometimes does this when I lean forward while wearing him. I think the motion performs some sort of mini-Heimlich on him. I still had things to do outside, so I had to deal with the stink. Sour formula stinks really, really badly, in case you are wondering. I was also pretty sweaty but my sweat doesn't stink so that wasn't an issue. ;-)
Anyways, the animals got fed about 3 hours after they usually get fed (Hey, Klaw was fed on time - everyone else can wait). Klaw managed to have a perpetual meltdown until I put him the bathtub & we went to bed. I wasn't in the mood to stay up by myself. Plus, I was just plain exhausted. What almost made me cry was that Klaw, in his almost asleep delirium, army-crawled over me twice to sleep in Chris's spot. It's like he just wanted to smell him.
Me, too, sweet baby boy. Me, too.
*"I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" from My Fair Lady
