Also, peoples' comments I included are in italics with the person's name in parenthesis
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July 9, 2006(one of the many reasons I love him)
here's an excerpt from an email I got from dh. yes, he is referring to our children as "nasties" and "monsters" but he had just spoken to me on the phone and heard first hand the craziness that was occurring (the boys really were acting like nasty little monsters!) and he also heard how I was getting frazzled with them and the day had barely started (it was around 7am when he called me). so this is the email he sent me after we got off the phone.
"Anyways just wanted to tell you that I love you and Im glad that I have you as a wife. I couldnt ask for a better woman,wife, lover and mother of my children even though you just kicked the little nasties out of bed for fighting.hehehehehehe. I love you and have a good day with the monsters."
Somehow that changed my mood for the day and even from another country I fell in love with him all over again. I am so lucky to be married to a man like him. I just can't wait until he comes home.
Kate
"Anyways just wanted to tell you that I love you and Im glad that I have you as a wife. I couldnt ask for a better woman,wife, lover and mother of my children even though you just kicked the little nasties out of bed for fighting.hehehehehehe. I love you and have a good day with the monsters."
Somehow that changed my mood for the day and even from another country I fell in love with him all over again. I am so lucky to be married to a man like him. I just can't wait until he comes home.
Kate
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July 20, 2006it’s going to be one of those days…
I can already tell. Today is going to be not so good. I know, I know, I need to do the attitude adjustment thing, but seriously. I was up until 11:30 waiting for dh to call. Sure enough he waited until I shut the light off and went to bed. That was at 11:45. Then we could only talk for 4-5 minutes because he forgot his phone card. So most of the conversation was an explanation of what he was doing that made him forget his phone card.
So ds1 slept with me last night because it was "sleepover night." That's all well and good except ds2 comes down to my room around 5:30 or 6:00 this morning and starts picking fights with ds1. While I'm dealing with all the racket and trying to eek out another few minutes of sleep, the phone rings. It's dh. At 6:45am. So our conversation this morning revolved around an inquisition about money, "why our children act the way they do?" and how he can't hear anything.
First, if he put me in charge of the money situation even before he left for Iraq, why on earth does he feel the need to give me the third degree about it? Especially at 6:45am. Especially when I've laready told him that I HATE talking about money with him on the phone when we only have a limited time to talk. Second, why does he have to ask about the kids' behavior as though it's a big mystery that I have the answer to. Don't you think that if I knew why the kids were being rotten this morning I would have done something about it? Finally, like I could hear anything either. Good grief.
I am so tired of not being able to talk to him when he calls during the day because of the kids and I don't know what to do about it. The boys are 4 and almost 3. I don't have a doorknob on my bedroom so locking them out isn't an option right now.
Okay, breathe. Just breathe. I can do it. I just need to go snuggle with dd for a little while and remind myself that at least I'm not completely surrounded by kids who love to push my buttons. At least my baby girl is still mostly sweet and innocent.
Okay, I feel better now. Time to go face the day. (and release the boys from their rooms where they've been sitting on time-out while I got myself back together). Man, I wish this deployment were over already.
Kate
So ds1 slept with me last night because it was "sleepover night." That's all well and good except ds2 comes down to my room around 5:30 or 6:00 this morning and starts picking fights with ds1. While I'm dealing with all the racket and trying to eek out another few minutes of sleep, the phone rings. It's dh. At 6:45am. So our conversation this morning revolved around an inquisition about money, "why our children act the way they do?" and how he can't hear anything.
First, if he put me in charge of the money situation even before he left for Iraq, why on earth does he feel the need to give me the third degree about it? Especially at 6:45am. Especially when I've laready told him that I HATE talking about money with him on the phone when we only have a limited time to talk. Second, why does he have to ask about the kids' behavior as though it's a big mystery that I have the answer to. Don't you think that if I knew why the kids were being rotten this morning I would have done something about it? Finally, like I could hear anything either. Good grief.
I am so tired of not being able to talk to him when he calls during the day because of the kids and I don't know what to do about it. The boys are 4 and almost 3. I don't have a doorknob on my bedroom so locking them out isn't an option right now.
Okay, breathe. Just breathe. I can do it. I just need to go snuggle with dd for a little while and remind myself that at least I'm not completely surrounded by kids who love to push my buttons. At least my baby girl is still mostly sweet and innocent.
Okay, I feel better now. Time to go face the day. (and release the boys from their rooms where they've been sitting on time-out while I got myself back together). Man, I wish this deployment were over already.
Kate
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July 20, 2006dd knows daddy! (at least kind of)
So we were looking at photos today and dd was babbling as usual. I pointed to myself and said "mama" and she copied me. Then I pointed to dh and said "dada" and she copied me. We did that with a few pictures and then I said "where's daddy" and she pointed right to him. Twice! (I stopped after two)
Dh will be so happy when I tell him tonight. He is so concerned that she won't know him when he gets back and although this may not "prove" anything she did point to him. Twice! After the way today started out, this is so wonderful! I can't wait for dh to call!
Kate
Dh will be so happy when I tell him tonight. He is so concerned that she won't know him when he gets back and although this may not "prove" anything she did point to him. Twice! After the way today started out, this is so wonderful! I can't wait for dh to call!
Kate
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August 12, 2006
August 12, 2006
Here's part of an email from my dh from this afternoon...
"We had some action in our area. I cant get into details on it but maybe later."
Obviously I know he's okay, but other than that I don't know anything. Please pray for the guys stationed with him and their families. You never know what "some action" means. In the last four months the area he's in has only had a few minor roadside bomb incidents. Nothing severe and no deaths. (PTL!) Please pray that's still the case.
Thanks so much!
Kate
"We had some action in our area. I cant get into details on it but maybe later."
Obviously I know he's okay, but other than that I don't know anything. Please pray for the guys stationed with him and their families. You never know what "some action" means. In the last four months the area he's in has only had a few minor roadside bomb incidents. Nothing severe and no deaths. (PTL!) Please pray that's still the case.
Thanks so much!
Kate
Thanks for all the prayers! Here's part of the latest email from him:
"Everything is okay. ONe of our pumphouses came under attack. 2 guys were hurt but are going to be okay. I believe all of the insurgents are dead. Thats what was going on. Im okay and I wanted to go help but then reality sets in and I think of you and the kids. Its more important for me to get home to you guys in one peace than getting into action."
I am so glad that he decided to stay in the arms room rather than go out and help. (I'm not sure if his 1st Sgt would have let him go anyway) I'm sure it gets boring for him just issuing weapons and such, but that's where he's needed and it also helps keep him safe.
Last week he told me he'd be leaving Iraq sometime in February but then a couple of days ago he was told not to count on that because they may end up over there longer. I just keep praying that he'll be home for my birthday in March. We'll have to wait and see what happens.
Thank you again everyone.
Kate
"Everything is okay. ONe of our pumphouses came under attack. 2 guys were hurt but are going to be okay. I believe all of the insurgents are dead. Thats what was going on. Im okay and I wanted to go help but then reality sets in and I think of you and the kids. Its more important for me to get home to you guys in one peace than getting into action."
I am so glad that he decided to stay in the arms room rather than go out and help. (I'm not sure if his 1st Sgt would have let him go anyway) I'm sure it gets boring for him just issuing weapons and such, but that's where he's needed and it also helps keep him safe.
Last week he told me he'd be leaving Iraq sometime in February but then a couple of days ago he was told not to count on that because they may end up over there longer. I just keep praying that he'll be home for my birthday in March. We'll have to wait and see what happens.
Thank you again everyone.
Kate
When did your DH first deploy? Is your birthday past the one-year mark? I'll be praying that he'll be home for your birthday in March! My birthday is coming up in a few days, and as much as we're not very holiday/celebrating people, it's still sad that he won't be here for it. I know how you feel. I'm so glad yours will be home soon for R&R!!!!!
I just looked at your ticker in your signature, and it looks like your DH will be home for R&R at almost exactly the same time that my DH comes home. How wild is that? We're going to be some giddy girls come mid-October... (cheryl)
Going by his deployment date for "training" in Mississippi (I use the "" because he said most of it was a joke and totally useless even though he had to be there for over 4 months) he was deployed November 1, 2005. He left for Kuwait March 27, 2006. I don't know for sure when he left Kuwait for Iraq. My birthday is March 24. He was home for his mom's funeral in March and left to go back to MS the 20th so he missed it this year.
Since he was a "fill-in" and isn't with the unit he usually drills with, some of the guys he's with were deployed September 1, 2005 for training. All of them left for Kuwait within a week or so of eachother, though. They are all on an 18-month deployment (total) and are only supposed to spend 12 mos of that in country. We'll see.
It's just hard because a group he used to drill with was deployed two years ago this October. They spent about 1 1/2 mos training stateside before they went overseas and they were home before Christmas 2005. I just don't understand the lack of consistency within the National Guard (maybe the military in general). It's just really frustrating.
Maybe I'm crabby because a lady at church said something stupid that I should just ignore, but being human (and PMS-ing) I can't. When she heard dh may be gone longer she asked how long he's been gone and I said since November but only in Iraq since March. She said "Well, that's not so bad. At least he hasn't been in that heat all this time. " I know it wasn't meant to downplay my situation, but I can't help being a little ticked by it since, yeah, I think it is "so bad" for my dh to be away from his kids for so long. I know we've had a million threads about the stupidity of people who speak before they think and I'll just chalk this up as one of those times, but I still had to just walk away from her after that comment to keep from saying something I'd regret.
Sorry this ended up as a kinda long vent when I started just answering a question. Oh well. Thanks again for all the prayers and such, I really appreciate it. The Our Daily Bread devotional had a couple that seemed to be put in there just for me these last two days. I'm sure it's just a coincidence but it really has helped me to focus on God and what He's doing with all this rather than on myself and how miserable I am without my dh.
Thanks again!
Kate
PS Cheryl, you're right... October can't come soon enough!
I just looked at your ticker in your signature, and it looks like your DH will be home for R&R at almost exactly the same time that my DH comes home. How wild is that? We're going to be some giddy girls come mid-October... (cheryl)
Going by his deployment date for "training" in Mississippi (I use the "" because he said most of it was a joke and totally useless even though he had to be there for over 4 months) he was deployed November 1, 2005. He left for Kuwait March 27, 2006. I don't know for sure when he left Kuwait for Iraq. My birthday is March 24. He was home for his mom's funeral in March and left to go back to MS the 20th so he missed it this year.
Since he was a "fill-in" and isn't with the unit he usually drills with, some of the guys he's with were deployed September 1, 2005 for training. All of them left for Kuwait within a week or so of eachother, though. They are all on an 18-month deployment (total) and are only supposed to spend 12 mos of that in country. We'll see.
It's just hard because a group he used to drill with was deployed two years ago this October. They spent about 1 1/2 mos training stateside before they went overseas and they were home before Christmas 2005. I just don't understand the lack of consistency within the National Guard (maybe the military in general). It's just really frustrating.
Maybe I'm crabby because a lady at church said something stupid that I should just ignore, but being human (and PMS-ing) I can't. When she heard dh may be gone longer she asked how long he's been gone and I said since November but only in Iraq since March. She said "Well, that's not so bad. At least he hasn't been in that heat all this time. " I know it wasn't meant to downplay my situation, but I can't help being a little ticked by it since, yeah, I think it is "so bad" for my dh to be away from his kids for so long. I know we've had a million threads about the stupidity of people who speak before they think and I'll just chalk this up as one of those times, but I still had to just walk away from her after that comment to keep from saying something I'd regret.
Sorry this ended up as a kinda long vent when I started just answering a question. Oh well. Thanks again for all the prayers and such, I really appreciate it. The Our Daily Bread devotional had a couple that seemed to be put in there just for me these last two days. I'm sure it's just a coincidence but it really has helped me to focus on God and what He's doing with all this rather than on myself and how miserable I am without my dh.
Thanks again!
Kate
PS Cheryl, you're right... October can't come soon enough!
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August 19, 2006
"I did get a piece of shrapnel from that one."
Here it is in context:
"The next day I went out again with a different patrol. Again we were rolling along and the lead vehicle called back and told everyone to halt. They told us they had just rolled over(tires did not hit anything) what looked liked two wires protruding out of the ground. One guy walked up for a closer look and it appeared that something was buried. EOD came out and set it off. They believe it was a pressured detonated IED. I did get a piece of shrapnel from that one."
This is from an "update" email my dh sent out to the people in his addressbook. What do you think he means by that sentence? I'll wait and give my take after I get a few responses. I don't want to involuntarily influence anyone's response.
Thanks!
Kate
Here it is in context:
"The next day I went out again with a different patrol. Again we were rolling along and the lead vehicle called back and told everyone to halt. They told us they had just rolled over(tires did not hit anything) what looked liked two wires protruding out of the ground. One guy walked up for a closer look and it appeared that something was buried. EOD came out and set it off. They believe it was a pressured detonated IED. I did get a piece of shrapnel from that one."
This is from an "update" email my dh sent out to the people in his addressbook. What do you think he means by that sentence? I'll wait and give my take after I get a few responses. I don't want to involuntarily influence anyone's response.
Thanks!
Kate
So because I just realized it's 1:20am and I know my little darlings will be waking me up in a few short hours I am going to go ahead and reply and then head off to bed.
Since I figure I already know everything in the "update" emails since we talk on the phone regularily, I just skim them to see what he's telling people so if anyone asks I can give them the shortened version of the email he sent out.
That sentence jumped out at me and I was instantly so worried about him and so irritated with him for not telling me about it that I started emailing him this terrible email and then I reread the sentence in context and I got a different interpretation so I had to rewrite my email. (thank goodness I didn't send the first one!)
He really needs to watch how he words things because I know reading that he got shrapnel and thinking that meant "got hit" scared me half to death and made me so mad that he would nonchalantly mention it in a group email and not to me on the phone. Sometimes I wonder about him! I did mention that he may want to send out an email clarifying what he meant just in case some people think he got hit.
I'm interested to see what anyone else has to say, but I'm so darn tired I'll have to wait until morning. Night all!
Since I figure I already know everything in the "update" emails since we talk on the phone regularily, I just skim them to see what he's telling people so if anyone asks I can give them the shortened version of the email he sent out.
That sentence jumped out at me and I was instantly so worried about him and so irritated with him for not telling me about it that I started emailing him this terrible email and then I reread the sentence in context and I got a different interpretation so I had to rewrite my email. (thank goodness I didn't send the first one!)
He really needs to watch how he words things because I know reading that he got shrapnel and thinking that meant "got hit" scared me half to death and made me so mad that he would nonchalantly mention it in a group email and not to me on the phone. Sometimes I wonder about him! I did mention that he may want to send out an email clarifying what he meant just in case some people think he got hit.
I'm interested to see what anyone else has to say, but I'm so darn tired I'll have to wait until morning. Night all!
Thanks everyone. It's good to know that I'm not just a paranoid wife who over-reacted when I skimmed through that email. I did ask him to call me in the email I sent him and he did (thankfully because otherwise I wouldn't have been able to sleep!). Yes, he just got a souviner, but he could understand how it may have been confusing with how it was worded. Especially when taken out of context.
I have actually had people on his email list talk to me about some of the stuff he puts in there and how strange they think it is that he's so nonchalant about it. I think maybe because he's a deputy and a lot of the people on the list are from the Sheriff's department that he doesn't really think anything of it. I just hate having to be the one deflecting the questions about stuff like that when I only know about as many details as they do.
One of the first times he went out on a patrol he didn't tell me about it because "he didn't want me to worry" and he didn't send me the "update" email that he told people about it. My parents are on his email list, though, so imagine how great I felt when my mom started talking to me about it and I didn't have a clue about any of it.
Thanks again for confirming that I'm not a complete freak for initially reacting how I did. Part of it is that he uses abbreviations that the average civillian doesn't know. I don't know what EOD is I assumed they were the equivalent of the bomb squad, but I don't know for sure. Anyway, time to tend to my kids. Thanks again for the responses!
Kate
I have actually had people on his email list talk to me about some of the stuff he puts in there and how strange they think it is that he's so nonchalant about it. I think maybe because he's a deputy and a lot of the people on the list are from the Sheriff's department that he doesn't really think anything of it. I just hate having to be the one deflecting the questions about stuff like that when I only know about as many details as they do.
One of the first times he went out on a patrol he didn't tell me about it because "he didn't want me to worry" and he didn't send me the "update" email that he told people about it. My parents are on his email list, though, so imagine how great I felt when my mom started talking to me about it and I didn't have a clue about any of it.
Thanks again for confirming that I'm not a complete freak for initially reacting how I did. Part of it is that he uses abbreviations that the average civillian doesn't know. I don't know what EOD is I assumed they were the equivalent of the bomb squad, but I don't know for sure. Anyway, time to tend to my kids. Thanks again for the responses!
Kate
*UPDATE* (august 21)
So I got an email from dh today letting me know that he's had to email at least three people who thought he had been hurt by the shrapnel from the sentence in question. I just got off the phone with him and he let me know that at least four more people had emailed him asking how he was doing after being hit. He said he's going to have to send out an email to everyone and let them know he's okay. DUH!
I told him to do that when I first emailed him! I figure if I, his wife who's known him over nine years and who he talks to almost every day, had a hard time understanding what he meant then there would definitely be others who were also misunderstanding the intent of that sentence. I guess he just had to figure it out for himself since he must have thought I was just being a paranoid freak or something. Silly boy! Maybe someday he'll learn how wise women can be in situations like this.
So I got an email from dh today letting me know that he's had to email at least three people who thought he had been hurt by the shrapnel from the sentence in question. I just got off the phone with him and he let me know that at least four more people had emailed him asking how he was doing after being hit. He said he's going to have to send out an email to everyone and let them know he's okay. DUH!
I told him to do that when I first emailed him! I figure if I, his wife who's known him over nine years and who he talks to almost every day, had a hard time understanding what he meant then there would definitely be others who were also misunderstanding the intent of that sentence. I guess he just had to figure it out for himself since he must have thought I was just being a paranoid freak or something. Silly boy! Maybe someday he'll learn how wise women can be in situations like this.
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