Goodbye for a Year

Things have changed drastically in the past few weeks.  I have been very busy, and failed to take the time to update my blog.  Now I guess I will give you the shorter version of what has transpired.  The last entry was about us going on vacation.  I can't say this entry will be about anything quite that fun.

Jonny and I spent the few days before he left preparing for him to leave.  It took longer than expected to pack and move things into storage.  We worked really hard up until the night he left, and still we ended up with more to be done.  We made sure to eat at the best places (Las Margaritas, Fatboy and Skinny's, Ranch House, Wendy's) before leaving the state.  The day he was scheduled to leave came as fast as the alarm clock on a Monday morning.  We were thinking, "It's here already?"  I mean, we knew it was coming...we were fully aware of when this was all going down.  But still, it hit us hard.  We spent the day packing and moving things into storage.  Jonny put Baby J to bed that night, so he could hold on to him a little longer.  Afterwards, we continued packing. 

He was scheduled to drop of his first bags at 11pm, then draw his weapon at 1:30am.  A friend from Fort Polk, Tracy, came over to stay with Jacob so we didn't have to bring him with us.  We dropped off his bag, then went to get some fourth meal (Taco Bell that is).  We were both hungry, and knew we would be staying up for a while, so why not?  It reminded me of being in college :)  Then we went to get milk (a necessary evil) and brought it back to the house.  Since Tracy was sleeping on our blow-up mattress, we went for a walk around our neighborhood and did some good old-fashioned swinging at the park.  The time came for Jonny to draw his weapon, so we headed back.  After drawing his weapon, we knew Jonny would not be able to leave.  The scheduled time for families to say goodbye was at 3:20 in the morning.  Really considerate huh?  Now is when it started getting very real, very quickly.  We didn't do much besides cry and comment that we both couldn't believe this was happening so fast.  We knew there was no perfect goodbye...  In the end, Jonny's commander was searching for him, so it was a quick hug and kiss, and a fleeting glimpse of Jonny running towards the building.

After that, I drove away, sobbing, and thinking about how much different life was going to be without Jonny.  Before dropping Jonny off, we saw 3 deer and a wild horse running through post.  Jonny warned me prior to driving home to watch out for all the wild animals.  Ironically enough, four deer ran right in front of me on my way home. 

The following day my mom and dad flew in to LA to help me finish packing and make the long drive home.  It is a good thing, too, because I needed all the help I could get.  When it came time for my check-out we had things piled on the curb, not yet loaded in the vehicles.  We cut it a little close.  Jacob was a perfect angel on the way home.  He didn't do much crying at all, and seemed to enjoy watching Finding Nemo on the portable DVD player.

I have been in GB for a week and a half, and still have things to unpack and organize.  I am working slowly, sometimes on purpose.  It will be a little too real if I unpack everything.  And, plus it gives me something to do each day.  I have heard from Jonny a few times, but he works long hours and communication opportunities are limited so far.  I miss him very much.