A better day...

I am happy to say that today has been a better day. I'm very tired, but it's more from actually having a productive day than being emotionally worn out. The kiddles and I got the bedrooms and the den cleaned, I completed their July chore charts, and they got a play date with our neighbor's daughter when her mom and I went to dinner. Her husband is deployed as well, and it was so nice to sit down and talk to someone who just "got it". I got to talk to my dear husband, who was experiencing the worst sandstorm they've had there and ended the day reading to my sweet kiddles before bed.

More good days will follow this one, as will more difficult, trying days, but we can do this two and a half more months. We've done nearly five. How strange and bizarre it is to think that I haven't seen my husband, my best friend, in five months. How crazy is it to say that I have no idea of what my husband's living conditions are like? That's just nuts. It may be nuts, but it's our life. It's my life. As much as it's sucked, it has done several very key things for me and my family, and my marriage:

1. Mike and I appreciate each other (I believe) so much more than other couples might.
2. We have a level of communication that we might not have had if we didn't have the life we have.
3. We value the time we have together and with our children more than we might if we didn't spend substantial time apart.
4. We know, perhaps better than anyone what "alone time" actually is.
5. We know, perhaps better than anyone, that "alone time" is completely overrated.
6. I know that if everything I own on this earth disappeared this minute, as long as I still have Michael, Devyn, and Aiden (and yes, our kitty Tux), I would have everything I would ever need to make me fully content, and I wouldn't look back.

Here's to the next 2.5 months.