The Glitch...

There's now a glitch in the plan. The original plan was that Mike would be home in the early fall, putting this at a seven month deployment. Scratch that. I found out on Monday that the plan is now that Mike will be home closer to the holidays at the end of this year. Mike was the most upset I've heard him while we were on the phone talking about The Glitch. I, while not surprised was definitely sucker-punched by this news. It was something that I knew was a strong possibility, but I couldn't think about it. I had to get through the moment at hand, although an extension was always in the back of my head.

So. In all honesty, I've spent this week being slightly sick at my stomach. The kids took The Glitch remarkably well--they honestly taught me a lot about faith and grace in the moment. They were much more concerned that Daddy would come home safely rather than when he would come home. I thank God for those two every day--they are the sweet in what has been a very bitter week.

I am very blessed with wonderful friends. As soon as I sent out the "FYI email" to our close friends about The Glitch, I got a phone call from one of my dear friends--her husband is currently deployed also--and she was honestly sick at the stomach FOR me. She's just too sweet! My best friend was angry and just very clearly ticked off at the government and I love her for that. I know that I could call her in the middle of the night if I needed anything from her. She's amazing. Our families are just upset. There's no other way to describe it. My daddy told me the stories of him praying every day not to be extended during Vietnam, my mother-in-law was speechless, my brother-in-law was angry, and my aunt-in-law was just over it. It's so nice to have people who are sad for us, as well as for themselves.

So, the reason I refer to this majorly annoying moment in time as The Glitch is because it's just that and only that--it's a glitch and glitches get worked out. Mike will come home. Through all our deployments, we've now gone the longest amount of time without laying eyes on each other. I find myself waking up in the middle of the night thinking about him, wondering what he's doing. I'm a nightowl, so at 11:30 every night, I'm thinking of him waking up about then. The fact is, I will continue to think about him every minute for the next 120 (or thereabouts) days. I think I'm babbling now...as I've said to myself many times over the past five months, this too, shall pass...